The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

By Stuart Turton

Mystery (sci-fi?)

430 pages

Hardback

Warning: contains copious spoilers.

This was our school book club pick. 

I'd heard of this book before, and was super eager to read it. Yet, somehow, it still wasn't exactly as I expected. 

The cast of characters. 

Below are the notes I made while reading.

Day 1: Sebastian

What a weird story so far. Things I remember or suspect - plague doctor is himself? He wasn't a good person. Drug dealer. Expects to have pocket stuff and doesn't. Someone took the contents of the trunk. Anna was not who was killed, but is part of the... it's not time travel. Anna is maybe a maid? Why was the oldest brother murdered? Was the gamewarden... Stanwin- was he actually the original accomplice? Evelyn hasn't been murdered yet. 

Items of note:

Compass- initials SB. Given to Sebastian in the woods. Taken by Dr. Dickie. Found smashed in graveyard. 

Chess piece - Anna carved on bottom. Wood and flecked with white paint. Left on mantle on Sebastian's room? 

Probably not the murderer:

Butler Collins - injured and drugged up and being watched by a maid

Artist Gold - strung up in gatehouse and injured

Dr. Sebastian Bell - unlikely that first pov would be from the murderer? 

Day 2: Butler Collins

Okay. So the main character remembered the previous day. 

We learn that the butler has been badly burned. And that he has "spells" or "turns." But then he gets beaten to insensibility and the day ends. Lucy, the maid, is strikingly pretty. She has an altercation with Stanwin the previous day. No suggested or explicit murders.

Day 3: Donald Davies

The implication that this is only one round in an ongoing saga. The knowledge that there will be 8 days, 8 hosts. That there are others also body hopping -  rivals in solving the mystery. The plague doctor is magical & eternal. Death?

Day 4 parts 1&2: Lord Ravencourt

Schemes to communicate. Paper slid into a book. A nap leads us back into the Butler! Day 2 part 2! A full day in each host - a full wakeful day.

We learn that Cunningham, Ravencourt's valet, has a secret, disappears for a good part of the day, and has a mysterious tattoo. 

The protagonist learns to leave notes for himself. Anna is around. There is an attic full of plague doctor masks. Ravencourt & Evelyn are betrothed.

Evelyn shoots herself by the pool, with a different gun than she had hours previously. 

Day 5: Jonathan Derby

Fewer details seem important. And yet everything does. Stanwich is blackmailing people. Dr. Dickie is part of the drug business? Evelyn knows she's in danger. Lady Helena Hardcastle is still MIA. Millicent dies. Jonathan is a terrible rapist. Anna told him to watch from a stone and not move, and the events changed. Evelyn still died, but her brother collided with Jonathan instead of making it to her body. 

Evelyn said she had to kill herself or someone she loved would die. 

Day 6: Edward Dance

Is Lucy Stanwin's daughter? Cunningham is Helena Hardcastle's son? Anna did betray Aiden? Another host killed. 

(Two more).

Day 7: Jim Rashton 

More death! Two Plague Doctors. A mysterious authority they answer to. They can be shot. Answers revealed, but no escape offered.

Day 8: Gregory Gold

Surprise twists, false identities, and an interesting option for penal/rehabilitation system. Total psychopaths. I was content with the ending. 

author info.

It's like a mystery meets Groundhog Day meets Dark Tower. I was thinking we were going to fully go Dark Tower and not actually escape the loop, but we did. 

Remarkably Bright Creatures

By Shelby Van Pelt

Fiction 

355 pages

Hardback

A loan from a friend

This book was sad and beautiful and funny and perfect. 

There are chapters from the octopus point of view, and also from the point of view of several human characters. 

first octopus page

first human page 

I thought I knew what was going to happen, but the way there was twisty enough that I stayed engaged and curious. 

Things didn't work out "perfectly" but they did work out satisfyingly. 

I read it on a friend's recommendation- probably wouldn't have picked it up for myself, but I'm glad I did read it. 

author info

Yes. I read the whole thing in one day. 

Me Before You

By Jojo Moyes 

Fiction

369 pages

Paperback

It was a really readable book. It had some romance novel clichés: the innocent, clumsy girl whose family is constantly taking advantage & the brooding, angry at the world, rich guy. 

It was also sad, and hopeful, and thoroughly engaging. 

first page

I enjoyed it. It didn't end the way I expected. I didn't expect the commentary on the power dynamics of money. 

I won't re-read, but I'll take it to school and put it on my shelf.

Castle of the Cursed

By Romina Garber

YA Fantasy 

284 pages

Owlcrate Special Edition 

front cover

endsheet and blurb

This was a great book. I didn't actually read the summary before I read the book, so some things that shouldn't have been surprising were - like vampires.

Came with some serious warnings. 

It was dark and sad, but not as "rough" as I feared it might be. 

first page

It was a satisfying book. Things came through, pulled through, were consistent without being annoying. Everything tied together well. 

Not a series!

Also, it's gorgeous. Just look how pretty! 

My Little One really loves the styling, so I'm going to let her steal it from me. 

Signed! ❤

Author letter! ❤

This book also had a bonus chapter - some key events from a different character's point of view. 

author info 

Hearts the Cut

By Kika Hatzopoulou

YA Fantasy 

326 pages

Owlcrate Special Edition 

The second in a duology. The first is Threads that Bind.

I really enjoyed these books. The reincarnation of gods and their powers was handled in an interesting way. The story started a little slow, but was well crafted. The characters were varied and detailed. The ending wasn't quite what I expected. 

first page 

author letter

a beautiful little snippet that ties in both titles 

I really liked it.

Bamboo People

By Mitali Perkins

YA fiction

Paperback

264 pages

A coworker asked if I'd be willing to read a book he was thinking of teaching next school year (for the book approval process). Of the pile he had, I selected Bamboo People because of the setting. 

I lived in Burma decades ago. 

It was a quick and easy read - the two main (boy) protagonists set in the backdrop of warfare and military oppression. They are on opposing sides of the conflict, but events bring them together. 

It was a good book. Not one I would have picked up simply for the joy of reading, but I am glad to have read it. 

first page

resources

The Power

By Naomi Alderman

Paperback

382 pages

Fiction / Dystopia

This was a little harder for me to get into. It had many disturbing and uncomfortable scenes. But they were purposeful, not gratuitous. 

It was a really good read. The characters were complex and interesting, the switch of mindsets and power dynamics was believability portrayed, and the ending was satisfying. The frame story with the publisher letters was brilliant. 

first page of the story