The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (Costa First Novel Award Winner 2018)

Who could’ve predicted that a novel combining Agatha Christie, Downton Abbey, Back to the Future, and Groundhog Day could possibly work in a million years? Not me? Well, not only does it work, ‘The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’ is imaginative, bizarre, trippy, ground-breaking, creative, spell-binding, and gripping. That’s a lot of adjectives I know, but it deserves every single one of them. Just a brief synopsis, as it’s better to go in blind, and I’m loathe to spoil anything. So, basically you have Aiden Bishop cursed to repeat the same day, waking every morning in the body of a different guest, until he solves the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. I had it in my head that ‘Seven Deaths’ would be a bordering on cosy mystery, with glittering jewels, sparkling champagne, fancy decor, gorgeous gowns, etc, and that the ‘body jumps’ would be a fun, amusing addition. Um, nope, that’s not this book. Several pages in and I was chilled to the bone, and that feeling of ominous dread never let up. It was a lot darker than I was expecting, and I relished every thrilling page. It’s a spooky, eerie tale, that included just about every gothic-horror element you could possibly dream up. Just to name a few, there’s a foreboding lake, secret passageways, flickering candles, creepy masks, stormy weather, damsels in distress, and deceptive, cunning villains. I would also class it as a haunted house story, as ‘Blackheath House’ is a remote, decaying, cold building, with a tragic, violent history, and the guests have a ghostlike quality to them. Don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom though, there are lighter, comedy moments, but they are few and far in between. Word of warning, you will find the plot very confusing at first, but don’t despair, stick with it, you will eventually get the hang of things. And as soon as you do, more confusion will follow. My head was spinning the whole time. There’s also a lot to keep track of, as well as a large cast of characters, so reading it is quite the commitment, but there is a handy list of players, as well as a map of the grounds at the front of the book. In the beginning I wasn’t even sure I was reading the right novel as it didn’t appear to resemble the book summary at all, luckily there were several characters with the surname ‘Hardcastle’ otherwise I would’ve been totally lost. I listened to the first four chapters in audio, and it did not work for me for some reason, I couldn’t follow it at all. So I switched to the kindle version, and re-read the chapters, and there were huge chunks I’d missed, even though I’d been listening really closely, so not sure why that was, but reading it was so much easiest to retain everything. I did read really slowly though, partly because I didn’t want to miss anything, but largely because I didn’t want the book to end. Out of the 72 books I’ve read this year, this is my favourite, and with only a little over three months to go ‘The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’ is going to be hard to beat. Stuart Turton, you are a true legend! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for penning such an incredible book. Hope you have another one up your sleeve... and soon... Note: Also published under the title ‘The Seven and a ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’.

This book requires concentration and is one that is best read in big chunks over a brief window of time. There are a lot of characters and the plotting is complex, but it is worth the read. I felt the beginning was a little slow, and occasionally became confused over some of the characters, but the ‘invitation’ listing the characters at the beginning is very useful. I thought the concept brilliant and the execution well done, although it could possibly have been a little shorter and one or two of the lesser characters could have been combined to lessen the confusion. I came to the book with a few preconceptions because the write-up blurb didn’t cover the setting well enough and so some of the beginning was more confusing that it needed to be. The period is never fully explained but this isn’t a contemporary setting which was the first point I needed to get my head around. The concept is that Aiden the protagonist repeats the same day eight times until he solves Evelyn Hardcastle’s murder. On each day he inhabits the body of a different guest. He has to work within the physical limitations of each host and also within their characteristics. As each day passes he finds he’s losing himself to his hosts. There is a very gothic feel to Blackheath wrapped up in a great mystery. Characters change from kindly and helpful to malevolent and vice versa as each day passes and more of the mystery is revealed. If you love mysteries, then this is a good book for you.

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Once I read the description I fell in LOVE with the concept and came in with such high expectations. So I think this one may have (in part) fallen victim to my own overhype. I still love the concept and Turton structured it well, I just don’t think it met it’s full potential. Especially with character development, I don’t feel like we ever got to truly know the main character. It wasn’t super crucial to the story but I feel it would have added to my enjoyment if I had even somewhat connected to him. Now I am all about books with big plots and multiple characters. I love being kept on my toes trying to piece everything together rather than guessing what happens halfway through. However, this book was a little too confusing and took a lot of work to keep it all organized. (I definitely suggest having a notebook and pencil handy.) Unfortunately the ending was a little underwhelming for the amount of buildup that took place. Don’t get me wrong I still enjoyed this book and recommend you give it a shot!

Review 4.7 stars This was a ‘must buy’ from the blurb and from reviewers I follow – and I was not disappointed to bump this ahead of other books. Lost in a forest and unsure who he is, not recognising his body or exactly what’s going on, is where the protagonist and the reader find themselves. An opening that enticed me in as I discovered where ‘I’ was and why – well, not exactly. At first, we meet the first host body for the first-person protagonist that needs to identify the killer of Evelyn Hardcastle to break a cycle that he has become trapped in. This is Groundhog Day meets Cluedo with Agatha Christie pulling the strings of a cast that echoes the Golden Age of Mystery. Except this world feels darker with death not limited to one-time only. Although the mystery elements are classic and the basic plot may seem easily solved by some readers, it is not the mystery that makes this novel, but the intricacies caused by a repeating day with the hosts and other players evolving with the unravelling of the secrets. This is the mysterious world that is Blackheath, a crumbling country house with characters hiding as many secrets as the plot. Everyone seems to be guilty of something or hiding their past. The faded grandeur was evocatively described in a language smeared with decay and dread. A mystery convention twisted by the theme. This was a house of layers that Aiden had to uncover with his host bodies. Host bodies that added their own idiosyncrasies to the investigation. He must work with their limitations such as ageing bodies or their own agendas. This is no simple body-hopping as he must pull their minds to his task – or in some cases use their own intelligence. And as he hops there are dangers from shadowy antagonists to losing his mind to his host’s. Each character is distinct especially the hosts, whom the reader gets to experience from their perspective and Aiden’s – in a clever way…without spoiling the gameplay. Full marks to the author for painting such amazing portraits and evolving their behaviour as the day repeats. Some seem to be tortured by their own actions – their consciences perhaps. I’m trying to avoid spoilers so I’m sounding as devious as the author. There are clever twists to catch out everyone - even readers, even if some are ahead of the game. But I was surprised although I had my suspects. With a sprinkling of clues – and red herrings - to mystify hosts and readers, I enjoyed the ingenious plotting that must have taken a wall of sticky notes. The author’s notes clarify the process and added to my admiration. My only minor quibbles were ‘shooting’ described as ‘hunting’ – I come from a shooting-hunting country house background - and a few unnecessary dialogue tags where the speaker was obvious. The ending was unexpectedly artful with even ‘the puppet master’ stunned. After reading this novel, I’d recommend this to mystery readers looking for something different from the norm and open to other genre elements sneaking in. Or are you afraid of getting trapped re-reading this tome? Story – five stars Setting/World-building – five stars Authenticity – four stars Characters – five stars Structure – five stars Readability – four stars Editing – five stars

I LOVED this book. It was compelling, and there are few books that I read that make me not want to put them down at night to go to sleep, but this was one of them. It seriously is like Agatha Christie mixed with Dr. Who...only better! It keeps you guessing until the very last page, and I mean that! You read that about so many books, and it isn't true. It really is here! That being said. Please be aware of what you are getting into when you purchase this book. It is a LENGTHY book that can be VERY convoluted. I did have to flip back and forth several times to make sure what I was reading was making the correct sense that it was supposed to. It's a confusing book, and it isn't a light read, but it is SO worth it. I really, really, really wish this would be part of a series. I can't imagine how long it took the author to write it. I simply loved all the characters, and the descriptions were SOOOO thorough you feel like you are watching a movie more than reading a book. I cannot recommend this book enough if you are up for a long read that may take a bit of time to get through if you want to get the whole story. Is there a movie coming? A TV show based on it? A Netflix original? I hope so!

(Mild spoilers ahead!) Oh my God. I loved, loved, LOVED this book. I love a good mystery, but if someone had told me beforehand how this was going to lay out, the setting, the structure, I would have said "no thank you, that's not for me." I'm not interested in stretchy narratives. But by the time I realised where it was going, I was already hooked. I couldn't put it down. The craftsmanship here is something else. I kept picturing the author's desk, covered in notes and timelines, every single detail painstakingly placed to fit across all the narratives. And you wonder: did he actually get it all right, or did he just make you believe he got it right? Because everything falls into place so perfectly that it almost doesn't matter. The precision is staggering. One thing I regret is reading it on Kindle. I would love to have this in print so I could just open it and flip back through the narratives once you have the full picture. Someone else mentioned they wanted to start all over again the moment they finished, and I completely understand that instinct. Going back through it would be like going back in time, which is the whole concept of the book. It feels like it was designed to be re-read. I understand some people didn't like it, and I'm genuinely sorry for them. But I think that's the nature of this book. You either love it or you hate it. There is no middle ground. This is not a mediocre book by any measure. Absolutely insane. One of the best mysteries I've ever read.

Well it’s a fine mystery to be sure. An odd story but one that pulls you in from the start and keeps you guessing until the very end. My only complaint is the purple prose, it was down right grating at times.

Maravillosamente escrito, es un puzzle que hay que ir resolviendo conforme avanza el relato. A veces es algo lioso pero el autor hace breves recapitulaciones de vez en cuando que ayudan a seguir el hilo de la historia. Totalmente inesperado y con unos giros en la trama absolutamente asombrosos. Recomiendo muchísimo su lectura, sobre todo si te gusta el misterio y las distopías.

This was a Christmas gift for my grandson, he was happy to get it, so I guess it is a good book.

This book is one of the best books I ever read. I came upon it by pure chance and I’m so happy I did. From the first page to the last this story is unbelievable and I couldn’t put the book down. It’s so cleverly written and it’s so unpredictable it keeps you on the edge of the seat. I highly recommend reading it.

Amazing book! It's got the classic feeling of an Agatha Christie's whodunnit, but with an amazingly clever twist. It will leave you at the edge of your seat trying to figure things out. One of the best reads I've had in the last years. 10/10.

It took me a little bit of time to get through the beginning, but after I really got into the story I couldn't help but read it as quickly as possible!