I want to start off this review by saying that this is my favorite book so far in 2019. Not only is it well written, giving readers a plot so full of twists and turns that it’s impossible to put down, but Stuart Turton also does something that I wasn’t sure was possible. He makes the reader connect to and root for characters that we don’t even truly know.

The Hardcastle’s are a family with very deep wounds, having lost their youngest son to murder. On the anniversary of their son’s death, Mr. and Mrs. Hardcastle host a party at the Blackheath Estate, inviting many distinguished and influential people. At 11:00 p.m. on the night of the party, Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered and Aiden Bishop has to figure out by who. Aiden Bishop is stuck in Blackheath. He is given 8 days and 8 different hosts to find out who killed Evelyn, or else his memory will be wiped and he’ll have to do it all. over. again. Aiden is forced to relive the same day, the day of the party, and wakes up each day in the body of a different guest who was at the party. Each guest was either witness to the murder or played a role in the series of events leading up to the murder. Aiden has to use each day and each host in order to determine the killer, only then will he be able to escape the endless cycle of Blackheath. Sounds confusing, but I promise you get the hang of it pretty quickly.

Turton is able to bring you into this world and hold you hostage, much like Aiden himself. I couldn’t get this book out of my head as I was reading it, lucky for me I was able to finish it in a day, otherwise it would have been all I thought about while attempting to finish it. As I was reading 7 1/2 Deaths, I was constantly trying to solve the mystery along with Aiden. Some of the hosts that Aiden inhabits are a lot less helpful than others and some only play a small role in the story, however each host is equally important to solving the murder. Not only is this book thrilling, it’s also a lot of fun. You get to know each guest that Aiden inhabits very well and uncovering the role they play, as well as all the clues Aiden has to find, is like playing a really good game of Clue.

The 7 1/2 Death’s of Evelyn Hardcastle is Stuart Turton’s debut novel, which is just so cool. Turton was able to create something as unique and captivating as 7 1/2 Death’s in his first go-around. Authors are lucky if they can write one novel as outstanding as this one, let alone have it be their first published work. I am eagerly awaiting Turton’s next book, I can only hope it’s as special as his first.