Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered.
It is the 1920’s and Aiden Bishop wakes up in a forest calling out in terror, the name of a person he does not know.
He is also in a body he does not know.
After a harrowing experience, he makes his way to a nearby home, only to find out that everyone there knows him as this someone else, and apparently he was a guest there at the previous nights party. As he attempts to puts things together he discovers that each time he sleeps, he awakens as a different guest – all the while trying to solve the murder that takes place – apparently EVERY SINGLE DAY.
So….
Picture yourself as a pawn in the game CLUE. You are put in a cup and you are shaken about and dropped onto the board as a guest to solve the crime….
Yet, every so often, you are tossed back in the cup, shaken up and dropped back in the game as a different pawn, trying to device what you have already learned from your past-pawn experience, as well as put things together as this new pawn…
and then..
it happens again.
and again.
And again.
and…
You get the picture. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is like that. With each new body Aiden encompasses, he learns a little more, being able to use this body so to speak, to find out things that perhaps in the previous body he could not. The trick is of course, that none of this is in any kind of order – so some things he is experiencing too early to understand, and some things might make sense much later.
Yeah.
It’s like that.
In some ways, this book is brilliant. I listened to this on audio (incredible narration!) and found myself in bewilderment of the authors mind to come up with all of this AND keep it all straight as you weave back and forth and sideways through the guest list. I do like me a good who-done-it.
However as time went on, my mind was so tangled in the details and repetitions that it started to feel LLLLOOOONNNGGGG. Just when I thought we were close, we were not…
Honestly, I am not entirely sure what I feel about this book. I am glad I had the opportunity to experience it. It sounds like NETFLIX will have this as a series and yes, I will certainly give it an attempt to see if all things click better visually. In the end, I feel I am left with more questions than answers.
I am actually uber curious to see what others thought of this book and look forward to our discussion on June 21st on ZOOM with the Books Burgers and Brews group.
All are welcome – if you would like to get in on this book discussion feel free to register here. There is a pretty good chance I will dress the part. ;P
Book Journey 
I started it but gave up midway through..at age 84 there are too many books I will enjoy reading…no no longer feel obligated to finish a book i do not enjoy 👍👍👍 Sent from my iPad
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I liked the narration and we are discussing it in a couple of weeks so I finished – I think I would have finished even without the discussion as I was curious about how it would all come together as well as the fact that the book won awards.
Wow, what an intriguing story line! I might have to check this one out further. Thanks for sharing.
It is a brilliant idea – I am excited to hear what others think
I read this a while ago and loved it! It was hard work keeping track of everything though 😅 Great review!
Thanks, Beatrice – it was a lot of all over the place and if perhaps I could have invested more into it like keeping track and reviewing the map more it would have flowed a little smoother 🙂
I bought it a while back and hated it enough not to bother finishing it nor reviewed it. Maybe another time
LOL I can get that – I peeked at reviews online yesterday and it is all over the place…. it seems to be a love it or you hate it book. 😛
Yep, did not like it! It was very long and way too confusing for me. I’m glad you felt the same way because a lot of people are raving about this and I thought there must have been something I missed.
What a fascinating sounding book! I have added it to my TBR list.
I haven’t read this book. For some reason, it feels like The Time Traveler’s Wife, which I also found confusing, but liked it in the end. Considering that this is a mystery, I think I should give this book a try – it definitely sounds intriguing.
Interesting that it’s becoming a Nerflix series because as I read the premise, I thought it might work better as a visual than a book.
What do you use for your email subscribers? Since Google is bailing on Feedburner, I’m in the market for something else. Have you heard anything about follow.it?
I absolutely agree about it having the potential to be an exciting Netflix series. I enjoyed it until the fat-shamey chapter, which made me squirm a bit. I found the plot rather innovative, but (as you did) was left with a few unanswered questions
I am rather tired of books where the plot cycles you through repetition whether dying and coming back to life or coming back as someone else over and over again. I feel like it’s a lazy way to tell a story. Tell me something new. I hate that groundhog day feeling.
Hmm! My concentration not all it should be at the moment, I’m not sure I could cope with this book at this period in time . Still, never say never, your review is such that I’ll certainly be making a note of it.
This sounds so good.
http://www.rsrue.blogspot.com
This sounds like a book I’d have to read in print so I could fip back and forth to keep everything straight. Even so it might be too much for me though!
Puts me in mind of another book I read {THE FIRST FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST by CLAIRE NORTH} which I struggled with. Concerned that likewise I’d struggle with this; I’m worried that my liking of this book will begin and end with the book cover which for all its simplicity I love.