The narrator of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle awakens to cold and confusion. He doesn’t know where he is, why he’s there, or even who he is. The one thing on his mind is a mystery too: Anna. Before he can begin sorting through these circumstances, he hears a scream, and a chase ensues.

What follows is the ultimate fictional puzzle.

But “puzzle” is far too simple a description. It’s several puzzles—large wooden pieces mixed with small cardboard cutouts, pieces from thousand-piece boxes, 3D components, and a few LEGO bricks thrown in for good measure. The reader’s job? Rearrange all those varied pieces and somehow make them fit into a clear final picture.

To be fair, that’s our narrator’s task as well. What he learns is this: at 11 PM, Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered. He has until then to meet the man he calls The Plague Doctor near the lake deep in the woods, where he must reveal the murderer, explain how the murder will take place, and share evidence from his investigation. If he can’t, he’ll awaken in the body of another guest at the estate, and the quest will start again.

Eight days. Eight hosts. Eight opportunities to solve a murder.

I was fascinated.

At some point, I had to actively disengage my mind from trying to figure out the killer and simply suspend disbelief in favor of immersing myself in the setting. I could never have guessed the final reveals!

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is astonishingly enigmatic. Utterly unique and unforgettable.