Author: Stuart Turton
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.5 / 5
Medium: Audiobook
Length: 16h 42m
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Synopsis
Evelyn Hardcastle will die at 11:00 pm every day, until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. If he fails to do so in eight days, the cycle starts all over again with his memories wiped. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. Some of his hosts are more helpful than others. And he’s not the only one caught in this mess…
My Thoughts (Spoiler-Free)
The main reason I picked up this book was because none of my other audiobooks were available on Libby yet and this book’s title sounded very similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, another book on my TBR. (Later I also found out that this book’s title was adjusted to be “7½” to avoid confusing it’s name with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo). And that is the most accurate way to describe how I felt about this book; a good filler book while I waited for others.
The premise of the book is great. Who doesn’t like a little time loop? And the idea that the main character isn’t just stuck in a time loop as himself but also has different hosts, each with different personalities and abilities? Fantastic. Though one can imagine it would be hard for the author to keep things clear, right? Maintaining all the different versions of him, especially as he’s technically all eight hosts simultaneously but for him (and us) it’s still one after the other. Add on the fact that there are others in the time loop with him but go through it in a different order, and surely the author would struggle keeping it all together. Well, turns out, yes. It did prove to be challenging.
The book got a bit too convoluted in its own webs. That’s not to say the author didn’t put in a commendable effort in going over everything in detail. It’s honestly quite an accomplishment to even write a book like this. It can just be a bit much for the reader given the complexity.
All that said, it still made for some good entertainment. The tense scenes kept me on the edge. It was exciting to see the mystery be gradually revealed, with twists thrown in. Pieces fall together, only to fall back apart as new layers are uncovered. And the ending is quite the mind-bender. The story is very intricately put together, as are the characters.
I really enjoyed Aiden’s character. Especially as he’s really eight different characters. I feel like the author did a great job in keeping Aiden’s personality alive despite him also taking on the traits and brains of his hosts. The line gets blurry between his mind and his host’s minds but the line is still there. We still see the real Aiden in there.
Spoilers Ahead
The only interesting question the book raised, with it’s repeating cycles and sequential but simultaneous timelines, was the idea of free will. If Aiden is meeting a future version of himself (as a host he’s not been yet but who knows more about the events about to unfold; yes it’s confusing), does he really have control over his actions? Or are they predestined somehow? The book does explore this a bit but not in enough depth.
Also the author barely goes into the actual world that makes this time loop possible. There’s clearly supernatural elements involved and someone out there beyond the mysterious Plague Doctor who is pulling the real strings. But we only get some surface-level knowledge about that. And it’s very similar to that one Black Mirror episode about the memory wipe prison. Personally I think it’s just coz the author wanted to explore this concept of time loop with different hosts without wanting to go into details of what makes it possible. Valid, tbh.
Kavi Reads 
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