I invite you to join me for the most intricate game of real-life Clue. One with stakes much higher than the friendly (or not so friendly) one you play on game night.

Our narrator wakes up in the middle of the forest – his memory blank, pockets empty, but the name “Anna” on his tongue. Confusion turns to frustration which builds into fear. Where is he? How’d he get here? And who on earth is Anna?

For every answer he receives, twenty more questions follow. A mysterious figure finally fills him in. A murder will take place at exactly 11pm that night. If the narrator solves the whodunit, he will be set free. The twist? He will live this same day eight times – but as different people. Oh, and if he fails to secure the right answer after the eighth day, his memory will be wiped, and he will start over from square one.

I was absolutely hooked from the first few pages. As someone who has cruised through books this summer, I was ready for something fresh, something innovative, and Turton delivered just that. The setting of the novel was perfect – a weekend soirée at an expansive yet rundown family compound in the late 1800s (time period is my guess). It really felt like a game of Clue.

Our narrator’s hosts have different strengths and weaknesses which affect his ability to solve the murder. Future “characters” interact with his present “life”, often times giving incomplete or seemingly unhelpful directives.

To keep the mystery alive, I am keeping out several key elements that make for a truly unique story. I loved the deception, the violence, the fear and, most of all, the confusion.

Every review seems to be making a long winded parallel so here is mine: The 7.5 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is Groundhog’s Day meets Inception meets Dark Matter meets Agatha Christie.

Verdict: Read it! (4.5/5 Stars)
Length: 448 pages
When: For your next whodunnit.  This one is truly unique.  Prepare to be confused… in a good way.
Quote: “You were a doctor,” he says.  “Then a butler, today a playboy, tomorrow a banker.  None of them is your real face, or your real personality.  Those were stripped from you when you entered Blackheart, and they won’t be returned until you leave.”
Also Try: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Buy The 7.5 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton