Here’s how much I like The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton: I still had five minutes left to listen to when I decided to buy it for my brother for his birthday this week. And it’s taking me all my self-control to not buy a copy for myself, for my mom for Mother’s Day (because it’s earlier in the year than Father’s Day and they can share), for my second brother for his birthday, and for my third brother for his birthday. Heck, I want to buy a copy of this book for each of you and reach through the interwebs to thrust the glossy cover in your face.
Listening to this book gave me as much glee as watching Knives Out, written and directed by Rian Johnson. And that was the first mystery in a long time that gave me such utter joy and excitement over trying to figure out the mystery and be along for the ride. So when I kept thinking of Knives Out, it was most definitely a compliment.
Don’t read the summary provided by publishers. I feel like it gives too much away. Though not quite too much. But still a bit. Just know this: a man wakes up in the middle of the forest, a woman’s name on his lips, his memory gone. Then, hearing a woman’s cry for help, he runs to save her.
Thus begins a mind- and time-bending mystery, with our protagonist trying time and again to save someone who cannot be saved.
Oh my goodness, I can’t say any more. There’s time travel, yes, but not how you’re thinking. There’s whodunnit, but not what you’re expecting. There’s twists and turns and more twists when you think all twists are done. There’s detail after painstaking detail that makes this book demand rereading. And all the threads weave beautifully into a complete tapestry that will leave you breathless.
And I just learned that Stuart Turton has a second book. Eeep!
Ellie Reads ~ a lot 