The 7 1/2 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

 A man wakes up in a forest calling out for someone named Anna.  He has a feeling she is in danger, and indeed, he hears a woman scream and a gun shot, but the man can't remember anything else about himself, even his name.  As the day progresses, the man discovers that he is caught in the world of Blackheath, and he is destined to relive the same day--which involves a Edwardian English dinner and ball, and ends in the death of the young woman--over and over again until he can solve the mystery of who killed Evelyn Hardcastle.  Each day his spirit inhabits a different host, and he must deal with the host's mind and memories.  There are those who don't want him to be successful, and others who seem to help him, but he doesn't know what is really going on or whom to trust. 

This is an amazing, complex, book.  It is probably one of the most intricately woven plots I have ever read. I kept thinking, "he is spinning out so many threads here, how will he ever gather them all up?"  But, amazingly he does.  The plot, however, is not even the best part of the book.  The characterizations are amazing.  As Aiden enters the head of his different hosts, the reader gets to experience what it feels like to be obese, lecherous, artistic, bloodthirsty, etc just as Aiden does. And that isn't even the best part of the book either.  The best part is Turton's word craft.  He uses the most original, yet effective, descriptions I have encountered in a long time.  I was repeatedly delighted by his turn of a phrase, or apt metaphore. It blew my mind when I found out this was Mr. Turton's first novel.

I must add that this is not a book for a literary wimp.  The recorded book version is 17 hours long, and I played it at 125% speed.  Like I said, it is super complex, and there are 20 significant characters. So take your vitamins and do your mental jumping jacks before getting into this one. (2018, 482 p.)