The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Written by Stuart Turton

Narrated by James Cameron Stewart

The Rules of Blackheath



Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m.



There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit.



We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.



Understood? Then let's begin . . .



Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others . . .



The most inventive debut of the year twists together a mystery of such unexpected creativity it will leave listeners guessing until the very last second.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Sep 18, 2018
• ISBN: 9781541481152

Stuart Turton

STUART TURTON is a freelance journalist who lives in West London with his wife. Stuart is not to be trusted—in the nicest possible way. The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is his first novel.

Reviews for The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

[Frances Pelletier · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Positively excellent!! The most fascinating "whodunnit" I've ever read before...

[tanmoyroy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just brilliant! I was hooked a couple of chapters in. One of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time. I listened to the audio book on my commute to and from work every day and during these days, I didn’t mind there traffic. And even when I wasn’t listening to the book, I was thinking about it. Now I want to see if the author has written anything else I can get my hands on. Great narration too.

[Matt Manahan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a fun and wild read. It's like Clue + Downton Abbey + Doctor Who. If you enjoy murder mystery game parties, you'll appreciate this book. (4.5 stars. The only reason why I'm not giving it 5 stars is because I wanted an explanation for one aspect of the story.)

[Rachel Stacy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed the book and the reader’s performance was fantastic!

[Marlaena · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Had to stop reading it, just couldn’t keep my attention. I love a good murder mystery, the premise of it seemed so interesting but it just couldn’t hold me. I kept thinking “move along already” and “stop explaining this again”. With that said I found it hard to follow half the time as well. I really wanted to like it but it wasn’t written in a way that kept the changing story moving at a good enough pace with the right amount of explanation.

[Andrew Benvenuti · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a very interesting concept. The writing style is very dry though. The story moves too slowly to keep the concept fresh and exciting. The mystery is intriguing. Things fly along so slowly that by the time you get to the end, you don’t really care much anymore.

There are also certain plot points that make no sense . So once you get to the end, you can’t pull the strings too hard or things will definitely fall apart.

[Heather Gomez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is long and packed with names to remember. Kind of reminds me of the board game Clue at first but the twist was nice and the lesson was beautiful

[Erin M · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I have regrets and mostly it’s that I wasted SO MUCH TIME listening to this. Such an interesting concept and such a poor execution. I suppose if you love tedious, pretentious white men doling out savior complexes and judgment on every page, well, this is the book for you. Even the mystery wasn’t as mysterious as you might think. I’d guessed more than enough by the end and honestly, this book could have been cut in half and had twice the quality.

[Melanie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a fantastic mystery and the audiobook reading was incredible!

[AmeRu Da · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I loved the way the narrator read the novel. It kept me going through this tangle of the story. Otherwise, I would have given up. It was too weird and complex for my taste.

[Kathryn Soderholm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this one. It is very creative, but not all of the twists hit for me, and I feel like it cheated a little in hiding information from the audience. I might recommend reading this one instead of listening to it to make it easier to follow.

The narrator is good at differentiating the male characters, but almost all of the female characters sound the same. Fortunately, there are only a handful of female characters and there's only one scene with more than one in conversation.

[Angelo Morales · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great book! I picked up the book so i could read along and its definitely a page turner!

[Apparittia Matthews · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books I've read I couldn't give it up so I listened. :)
The way this has a twist. I wasn't even close to the mark, but I like that in a story.

[Vanessa Campos · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The ending makes this book. I have to admit that there were times I wanted to give up on it earlier on bit I'm glad I didn't.

[Beni · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Intriguing concept. Could wait to see what happens next but the ending was so disappointing that I feel like I just wasted 17 hours of my life. Not a great feeling!

[Toni Snyder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“What’s use of rearranging the furniture if you’re going to burn the house doing it. “

What a story! I can’t say that enough. The Seven and half deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton was a mind blown moment for me, and the characters in it! This book takes place on the Hardcastle Estate on the 19th anniversary of Evelyn’s brothers murder, in Masquerade theme. We are told that Evelyn will die, murdered at 11pm. 8 days and 8 witness that our main character will inhabit. The goal is to identify the killer,which will break our cycle. Each day our main character will end up in a different host. Can he do it? Break the cycle and leave this place? But is he the only one playing?

I absolutely loved the clue mixed with groundhogs day feel, it was well done. As we start and continue we see the information come from different characters, not just our host. We watch as our main character goes from body to body, but at what cost?

This book was will done and you stumble along with our main character trying to figure out the death, and much more.

You learn what characters to like and root for, and what characters not, and of course who doesn’t like a good twist.

I give the book a five out of five for sure! If want a good book that keeps you guessing, give this a go!

[aug3zimm-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

More mentally engaging than emotionally which means I didn’t feel driven to read it (the first half was a bit of a slog). Picked up in the second half, I started to really get in to it around the last third, felt a little let down by the ending (but not the mystery reveal - that was enjoyable). My biggest issue was that I didn’t really care about any of the characters. What makes Evelyn so important to Bishop? Anna? There’s a lot that is sort of hand waved into being and the reader just has to roll with it.

[Melissa Street · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It took me a long time to get through it. I love the idea but, whew, it’s long & slow

[Cass St. Phard · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Holy moly! Every time I thought that this story was getting long and a little repetitive, something would happen and I'd like "whoa, this is amazing!" This story is really well written. It's incredibly imaginative and clever. I'm in awe of the author's talent.

[Caitlin · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I don't know how this has such a high rating. The voice actor reads like a robot. There's no inflection or emotion at all. It's horrible. I feel like the publisher could have done better. I'll be reading this one to myself.

[charlotte cecilia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It’s long and winding story, but it’s a good one. Reminds me a lot of the way Agatha Christie’s novel made me feel. I look forward to his next books.

[Mark Kolt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Surely the most complex whodunnit I've ever encountered....Clever and entertaining.

[Alyssa McIntosh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was hooked and couldn’t put it down! Intriguing story, with many twists and turns.

[Julie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

FANTASTIC!! At first I thought I was going to be confused with so many different characters, however there is a wonderful flow from one character to another. The story line is well thought out and super enjoyable! I recommend this book to everyone who likes mystery, intrigue, and who done its!
The writing style is incredible! I could see every little thing that was being written with such a vibrant description....I Love this book!!

[buffycharpentier · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was truly an intriguing read. You follow your narrator as they inhabit 7 different bodies. All able to provide vital information to who killed Evelyn Hardcastle. It is your responsibility to tell the mysterious figure who you are not sure if they are friend or foe, whodunit. I must say this had some surprising twists but thorugh it all it ended as it should have. It is a great look into motivation and the changing of humanity.

[Margarita Medina · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

thrilling book until the end...love it's twists and turns and a really clever idea.... definitely recommend!!!

[Bryan Bobrick · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great writing - complex but very fun way to experience a murder mystery! Thank you to the author (and audiobook reader). I’ll probably pick this up in book form and give it another go.

[phkung · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

great reader!
the characters are trapper in some kind of a hell (for which the mechanism is never explained)

[eliza mf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very well written and very well read! Gripping from beginning to end!

[phyllis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was convoluted, and had a lot of characters. I failed to understand the basic premise of the story. It just wasn’t entertaining for me though I did finish it.