Reader's Corner
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The idea of waking up on the same day over and over again is not a new concept in entertainment. Movies like Groundhog Day, and Edge of Tomorrow, and TV shows like Supernatural and Russian Doll have all played with the concept of repeating the same day on a loop. However, in The 71/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuart Turton takes the idea and runs with it, creating a murder mystery in which the reader loops through the same day, experiencing each day in the body of a different guest. Sound interesting? It is.
To give you a quick plot overview, Evelyn Hardcastle, wealthy heiress, will die at 11 p.m., in front of a large crowd, at a party full of her family’s “friends.” And she will continue to die, until someone figures out who killed her. Everyone is a suspect. So there are a couple things about this book that I really like. One, there are a TON of plot twists. This book kept me guessing the entire time. I had NO idea who did it until the very end...and then there was ANOTHER plot twist. It’s crazy y’all. Seriously crazy. I don’t know how Turton managed to keep it all straight. The only thing I can say is that he must have had one serious outline prepared before he started writing. The second cool thing about this book is that it switches narrators throughout the entire story. This story really plays around with the concept of perspective. The reader wakes up in the body and brain of eight different guests, some of whom are more reliable than others - and some whose experiences and understandings of events directly contradict others. Knowing who you can trust as a narrator will keep you guessing the whole time and keeps things really interesting. I will say, I spent the first few chapters really confused. Like...really confused. But, I promise if you stick with it, it will all make sense. Just know that you are not alone in being confused and that Turton actually WANTS you to be confused. The plot is full of action and moves fairly quickly through events. There is some character development for the guests that the narrator inhabits, but otherwise this is more of a plot-driven novel. Totally fine by me, but if you’re a fan of Tolkien and really like heavy character development, this is not what you’re looking for. Honestly, I loved this book. I grew up playing Clue as a kid and reading Nancy Drew books, so this book was right up my alley. If you, too, like a good mystery, definitely check this one out.
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