“If this isn’t hell, the devil is surely taking notes.”
What an incredible mystery novel. The only reason I hadn’t read in one sitting was the fact that it requires a lot concentration.
Stuart Turton is a travel journalist and The Seven (and ½ for US readers) of Evelyn Hardcastle was his debut novel.
I won’t give any synopsis because the best way to enter Blackheath is by knowing nothing and be surprised with all the twists. All give you this though: several characters try to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle in Blackheath – Hardcastle’s property, where the action unfolds.
This could be a typical Agatha Christie mystery crime novel, even though we can see the similarities with the crime master, in Turton’s writing, the author being a huge fan of hers.
I can’t see any flaw in this book. I loved it all.
The plot has an extraordinary complexity, without making it confusing.
According to the author in an interview, it took him 2 years to write the novel in a way where that the knots are all tied together at the end.
An extremely hard work that pay off, because I never read something so complex but, at the same time, gripped the reader beginning to end. When we think it’s just the simple story of a murder, the author drops, little by little, more information that leaves more questions than answers.
There’s a timeline that gets interrupted several times, to go back to a certain period of time. There’s a moment when the answers begin but there’s always some question until the end. Even to keep us in doubt to how all of this is going to end.
The characters are magnificently well written. The author was able to apply several personality changes according to each character, as well each of their attitudes according to several situations.
It’s witnessed the growth of thought from a blank slate into a full one and defined by ideals and a fierce tenacity, namely from the main character. Turton was able to deceive and take the reader where he wants, without the reader realising what’s happening, to later slap us with the reality.
Something that stayed with me was the persistence and tenacious nature of one of the main characters, regardless the situations the character faced. The difference between what’s our nature and what transforms us. Our essence is always present, nonetheless the education and life experiences. I want and will believe that’s the light, the Good.
I’ve read this edition with the map, that was a great visual aid to follow situations and characters at simultaneous time. The environment and location description is very clear but the visual aid stimulates our imagination making the story more realistic.
With that being said, Turton gained a fan and I can’t wait for his next novel coming out this October – The Devil and The Dark Water.
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
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