The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Book Review

“The future isn’t a warning my friend, it’s a promise, and it won’t be broken by us. That’s the nature of the trap we’re caught in.”

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is one of those novels that comes around once a year and on word of mouth alone becomes a massive, overnight sensation.

Personally, I remember hearing about this book months before it was published, and thinking that it was an interesting concept, but ultimately not something I gave a lot of thought to. That is, until the cover design came out.

Just seeing how stunning the designs were kept the book in the back of my mind until I finally saw it on my local Waterstones bookshelves. I knew then and there that I had to have it, so later that day a copy came home with me.

And it very quickly cemented itself as one of my very firm favourites.

From the very first page I was spellbound. The main character, Aiden, knows about as much of the plot as the reader does, i.e: nothing at all. It is only as you follow him and his actions throughout the novel that both Aiden and the reader discover the plot, of both the novel and against Evelyn Hardcastle.

There are so many different elements to the story, that it should feel overstuffed and confusing. Yet Mr Turton masterfully keeps a hold of the reins of the plot; giving the reader just enough that they don't feel stupid for not knowing what's going on, but at the same time, still keeping them in the dark but hungry to find out where everything is leading.

As a murder mystery, the book is flawless. It cements the victim as a figure of mystery, yet at the same time she is charming and innocent, not the obvious target for a murder, raising the audience's curiosity - why was she killed? Then you have the 'detective' figure in Aiden, who learns all the twists in the case at the same time as the reader, giving the story a focus point for the reader's emotions, interest and shock. As well as this, the side characters are also just as intriguing, especially once the twist is established, and the extra element that is added to their characters makes everything all the more interesting, not to mention a more impressive feat of writing. Also, the story makes sense, the reader is not confused by the ending, rather they have been guided to it just enough that it isn't obvious, but it doesn't come out of nowhere just in the appeal of shock factor.

For being a first time novelist, Mr Turton took a lot of risks with Seven Deaths, namely all the extra, crucial elements that have to come together at exactly the right time or the effect of the story is ruined. Personally, I think he pulls it off incredibly well, and Seven Deaths is a triumph of a story. A modern take on the classic murder mystery, in a form to rival even Agatha Christie's tried and true methods.

But don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself and let me know in the comments what you think of the novel, after all, everyone's experience of the same thing will always be a little bit different.

-The Act of Writing-