A time hopping, body swapping murder mystery. We review The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Evelyn Hardcastle – the blurb
“Tonight, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed … Again
It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.
But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot.
The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath…“
How do I describe thee?
This book! Think Agatha Christie, Groundhog Day, Downton Abbey, and Quantum Leap. It’s a very complicated premise and to be honest I spent a lot of the book not having much of an idea what was going on. I had difficulty remembering the characters, there is a large cast and our ‘host’ skips about in them so you have to have your wits about you. It’s a fabulous way of unravelling a locked door kind of mystery – seeing things from all angles as each character teases a little bit more out of the plot – but boy does it require concentration.
Lost count of body count
It was surprising how easily ‘lead’ character Aiden managed to get away with not knowing much about the body he was inhabiting. Numerous conversations took place without the other party noticing anything was amiss. Turton managed this pretty well as it didn’t feel overly contrived. Aiden comes across plenty of villains and also quite a lot of dead bodies. If you like an old house choc full of secrets but with a little more bite than Midsommer Murders, Evelyn is the girl for you.
Bring your best concentration pants
It’s probably best not to think too hard at the overall position Aiden finds himself in and to just concentrate on the murder(s). I enjoyed the mystery element but there was a lot of other stuff going on. Even the murder reveal was quite convoluted. I’m not sure stripping the plot back is the answer, that would make it too like Poirot but as it is, it does require you to put your best concentration pants on. Maybe not one to read as you fall asleep on a nighttime, you will only need to read it again the following morning.
If you like your murder mysteries old fashioned but with a bit of a twist try The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz.
