I loved this book. One of the best books I’ve read all year. Agatha Christie meets Quantum Leap

Wow, I can only imagine how much plotting went into the creation of this book. This is one hell of a psychological thriller. It is utterly unique with a cast of intriguing characters. This is going to be one of the most talked about books of 2018. Stuart Turton’s novel is a mind bending piece of work. It’s hard to believe that this is his debut!

As the novel opens, Dr Sebastian Bell finds himself in the grounds of Blackheath house with one word on his lips – Anna, he is screaming into the night. But he has no memory of what has befallen him before he arrived in this place. And as he becomes reacquainted with himself, he is presented with a task. Someone is going to be murdered in the house tonight the daughter of the owner, Evelyn Hardcastle. To escape the house and find out who he truly is our lead character must solve her murder, but he has eight rivals and only one of them will be freed. And until one of them can discover who kills her, the day will repeat itself over and over again.

Stuart opens the story with plenty of intrigue both for his main character and the reader; I found this a really interesting idea as his character is finding out information about himself the same time the reader is, it was fascinating to see his reactions to revelations about his own past. Our main character, Aiden Bishop, who has come to Blackheath to solve Evelyn’s murder, becomes attached to one particular character which proves tumultuous for his time at Blackheath.

When I first started reading this book I was worried that I was going to find the story hard to follow, particularly as the plot of the novel is so complex and Stuart packs a lot of information into this book about the characters and their murky pasts. But I really didn’t have any trouble at all in understanding the plot and I didn’t have any difficulty in keeping track with the character changes.

Stuart’s writing is utterly absorbing as he takes the reader into the heart of Blackheath. There is a race against the clock element to the story as Aiden races to solve the murder ahead of the others whom he is competing against; the difficulty here is that he does not know who he is up against so it isn’t a case where he can work out their weaknesses or even work out the strength of his own position.

The ending of this book has left me wondering if perhaps there is a sequel in the works. I would love to find out more about the characters and it would be fascinating to see how Stuart would choose to visit this world again if he decides to do so, I don’t think your mind will ever quite leave Blackheath once you have finished reading. Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book to read.

So if I was grading this on originality it would be a 5 star. The story was so complex and with so much detail that I have no idea how the author kept track of all the threads. While acknowledging the skill displayed I have to be honest and say that it was just too clever for me. I’m pretty sure I would have given up about half way through if this hadn’t been a review copy. I think this is a great book but that I just wasn’t the right reader for it.

It is unique, innovative and certainly a compelling piece of fiction, with an almost dystopian like plot.

Think Fallen (1998 with Denzel Washington) with the psychedelic feel of Clockwork Orange and crime element of a 24/7 days a week ongoing Groundhog Day meets Christie mystery.

‘Nothing here is arbitrary’ and that is exactly what readers have to keep in mind whilst reading this.

Aiden has, as far as he is aware, been summoned to Blackheath to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle, and until he can do that he has to relive the same day over and over again. Initially it all sounds like a rather complex murder mystery weekend. Then things start to get a wee bit more sinister and violent.

Aiden awakens each day in the body of a different guest, which gives him the advantage of seeing the crime and clues from a variety of angles. There are also disadvantages to inhabiting a new host every day though. When there are two conscious minds in the same body only one can be in control, which means that might not always be Aiden.

He finds himself struggling to maintain control and to differentiate between friend and foe. There seem to be other players in this nefarious game, the question is whether they are working with him or against him.

I liked the concept in its entirety, especially the retribution angle of the plot. In fact log this as a potential future method for so-called rehabilitation a la Dante’s nine circles of hell. I will gladly plan very specific scenarios for certain people, just saying.

I am certain we will be reading more by Turton in the future, and I do hope he manages to maintain his ability to think outside of the box, which in turn gets readers grey cells twisting like tiny tornadoes. I do so like the occasional unpredictable storm in my head.

After reading all the praise for this book, I'm sorry to add a short review that isn't very good. When I saw this book on NG, I became interested because of the description. I love timetravel and such stuff. However, I just couldn't read the book past page 100 or so, and even reading some pages at the end didn't help. It is just so depressing all: the weather, the house, the state of the house, the people. The story...
It is very well written but even so, I don't want to become depressed by a book I'm reading.

When The Grumpy Scotsman and I were first married we had a favourite tv series that we were addicted to and that we never missed. It was called Quantum Leap and was about a scientist called Dr Sam Beckett who travelled in time ending up in different bodies and righting the wrongs in their lives before "leaping" into the next person.  He ended each episode looking at his new face in the mirror and saying "Oh boy.." And that's how I felt when I finished this book except replace "Oh boy" with OMFG!!! Honestly, my mind was completely blown by the unique and quirky premise here and I think I would probably now have to describe this book as Quantum Leap meets Doctor Who via Groundhog Day with a shot of Agatha Christie! But whatever you see this book compared to, you really do need to read it yourself because you have to experience one of the most unusual but amazing books you will have ever read.

I'm not even going to attempt to explain the plot here! There is no way I could convey in a few sentences what the author has obviously spent months planning with his complex timelines and interwoven plot threads. You just need to know that a murder is going to be committed and one of the houseguests at a countryhouse party is going to have to live each day again as one of the other guests until he solves the crime. So each evening he will watch Evelyn Hardcastle die and be unable to prevent her death. The only way to stop his nightmare is to work out who is responsible and why!

I would recommend reading this in huge chunks like I did as there is just so much information to take in initially that you really do need to get your head around the unique concept at the heart of this mystery. And it doesn't necessarily follow through in chronological order either so you need to keep your eye on the ball. But although it is a long book it never seems to drag as you quite quickly become immersed in the plot as you try to work out what is happening at the same time as the poor unsuspecting soul who has discovered that his role within the confines of his society is not what he was expecting. Much as this book was not what I expected either! It's a sumptuous tapestry, intricately woven so that up close it looks simple and one dimensional but as you draw your eyes away, the full picture starts to become clear. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a vibrant and exciting debut that will surprise and delight it's readers with both its originality and its classy delivery. Well worth checking out!

I absolutely ADORED this Escher painting of a novel. I spent the whole of Sunday totally engrossed in its tangled world. It is a fabulous escape from reality that is crafted with love, ambition and a twist of mayhem. I have already decided who I'll be gifting it to as I know so many people who'll delight in its quixotic charm. I loved the suspense as I waited to see who'd be waking up each day.Seeing the house refracted through the perception of each successive character was fascinating and felt freshly inventive and a fab twist on a classic whodunnit - more like a who-is-it :) Stu Turton is definitely one to watch and is as engaging on social media as his novel is original and darkly inventive. Five stars and can't wait to see where Stu takes me next!

I don't want to spoil this, so I won't say much about this book. This was a complex and interesting murder mystery with an unusual approach. I liked the body-hopping protagonist even when it got a bit confusing, because there are so many people and names involved. You have to keep track of the protagonists hosts and also of the days he uses them while he investigates a murder that repeats itself every day. It's a bit like "Groundhog Day" but with a crime story instead of the humour.
I had two small problems though. The first has to do with unnecessary lengths. Sometimes the story could use tighter editing to get to the core of things. The second is due to a lot of unanswered questions and a rushed ending - at least when it comes to Annas secrets. But overall it is a very good read and I would recommend it to readers who like interlaced plots.

Such a fantastic idea, which in the wrong hands could have been over-complicated and confusing, but Stuart Turton has created a gem. Gripping from the outset, with well drawn characters, this is a mind-boggling, intelligent mystery and one which deserves to be a great success.

I'm doing a little victory dance at the moment on Stu Turton's behalf. He's written a work of genius.
It's Agatha Christie from a man's perspective and its brilliant!
The premise of the Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is unique and impressive. I can't sing its praises enough,
So to a brief synopsis?
Go on then . . .
A man finds himself caught on a loop, repeating a single day of a murder every day for seven days until the murder is solved.
Nothing new there, right?
it's a typical structure of a murder mystery, right?
Wrong!
The unique premise of this book is this. The character who is to solve the crime before time runs out, must complete each day as a different character. So what I mean by that is, they wake up each day as someone else.
I know, genius right? Particularly seeing as though the author writes point of view so cleverly, giving each character a distinctive voice and therefore making them believable, real, likeable and sometimes downright annoying!
However, before you pour yourself a gin and tonic and settle down to read this, make time for it.
Devour it, savour it.
This isn't a quick read. The detail the author has included and the intricacies of the plot — although impressive — take some getting through (but in a good way!) and takes a certain level of concentration and commitment.
I took me a whole weekend to read this pretty much full time, but oh was it worth it!
I mentioned Agatha Christie earlier because this book definitely has a 'whodunnit' feel. There's a cast of suspicious characters, any one of which, could have committed the crime. The mystery unravels slowly and for the most part, I was compelled to keep reading.
Well, I wanted to know who did it!
Did I guess? Nope!
What else?
Oh yes the characterisation was a masterclass . I loved the notion of the different 'hosts' and how their complex personalities affected the protagonist's decisions and actions; so cleverly done.
Was there a propensity to get confused? No not really, although at times, I did have to slow down my eager reading so I didn't miss clues.
So, let's nit pick: only because I'm a bit jealous and also because I have to find something!
The length of the book was loooooooong! It could have been a little shorter, perhaps. I also think the ending could have been a little sharper and tighter. The ending was a little off the wall and disappointing. I felt a bit grumpy when I'd finished the book. Probably, because I was sad to stop reading and leave this mad world of great characters but also because I wanted to know more and had unanswered questions. Why was information about the main character withheld at the end? Who knows? Ooh, unless of course, Stu's planning a sequel?I really hope so!
Overall, this was a fabulously compelling and engaging read.
As for plotting it all out - Stu, I salute you! What a huge and difficult task to map out a plot so complex and clever, but you pulled it off effortlessly. Now, go and throw yourself in a vat of wine! You deserve it. And next time you write a book, send me a proof!
Oh and readers? Buy this book. Now!
Well, pre-order it at least! You'll thank me for it later.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance copy.

Atmospheric, unusual and creative, however I found it difficult to follow in places. But I liked the fact that the mystery element holds up well even outside the context of the narrative structure.

I loved this book. It was incredibly well crafted. It won't be for everyone, the beginning can be extremely confusing and I can see a lot of people turning away because of that. However, it's worth it. I loved the atmosphere surrounding the whole book, how you never quite know what's going on. I was a little disappointed with the reveal, but even still I'd give it 5 stars.

My brain is melting!

Devilishly clever and a work of pure f****** genius.

I can't even begin to fathom how to review this one without any kind of spoilers so I'm not even going to try. For a start I'm still working through the puzzle that is this enigma - like a rubix cube in book form just when you are cheering yourself quietly for getting all the blue squares on one side you realise you still have yellow, red and green to go and any attempt to get all of those behaving properly naturally unravels the blue and puts you back where you started.

There are many things I loved about this one - Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day with a splash of Conan-Doyle type dastardly plotting, plus a hint of the Dr Sam Beckett all within an old school setting , with quirky, believable and engaging characters. As if that wasn't enough this twisted tale of murder and skulduggery doesn't end up all caught up in itself leaving the author floundering for a resolution that makes sense (hey we've all read THOSE books) but rather messes with your perception of things then turns it all around into an intelligent and thought provoking finish.

Like I said - a work of pure f****** genius.

That is all.

I have just finished this book and I need to lie down! This is a wonderfully innovative and inventive mystery. One murder, eight days and eight hosts to work out whodunnit! Thrilling

Wow! The twists and turns in this book just keep on coming! Gripping from the very beginning, the reader is drawn into a labyrinth of truths and lies and a very dark version of ‘Groundhog Day’. Sebastian Bell wakes in a forest, not knowing who or where he is, and a stranger hands him a compass and tells him to head East. A murder/ mystery, the story is portrayed from different witness viewpoints. But this is no ordinary murder, a race is on, with the first person to unmask the murderer gaining their freedom. The loser gets to relive the day and subsequent murders again and again, from the perspective of different witnesses, all whilst being pursued by a deadly killer. Both exhilarating and thrilling, this story kept me thoroughly gripped. At times a tad complicated and somewhat gory, I needed to focus to keep up with the plot but it was definitely worthwhile and I couldn’t guess what would happen next. A really clever thriller and a recommended read!

A man wakes up in the middle of a wood, with a single name on his lips: "Anna". That's all he has. His mind and memories are blank. Who is Anna? What is she to him? Who is he? He has no idea. When he sees a screaming woman running through the wood, followed by a man in a dark coat, and hears a shot shortly afterwards, he knows he has just witnessed a murder. But when, terrified, he stumbles out of the woods and into the grounds of a crumbling country house, he discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. For this novel is in a genre all of its own: a ferociously creative, time-travelling, body-hopping murder mystery, which reads like a cross between Memento, Inception and Groundhog Day, written by Agatha Christie.

It turns out the man's name is Sebastian Bell and that he is a guest at a house party here, at Blackheath, given by the Hardcastle family. He nervously begins to piece together other fragments of his identity, but the answers only bring more questions. Why is Bell at Blackheath? Why are the Hardcastles throwing a party on the nineteenth anniversary of their infant son's murder? Why are two eerie figures shadowing Bell - one, a man in a plague doctor's mask; the other, a vicious footman? Why does the plague doctor think that Bell can save Evelyn Hardcastle, the hosts' daughter, who is due to be murdered at the ball this evening? And why, after stumbling through an increasingly terrifying day, does this man wake up to find himself in another body, back at the start of the same bewildering day?

Gradually, things seem to fall into place, although our narrator is met at every turn by bluffs, double-bluffs and revelations that throw into question everything he thinks he knows. He is not Sebastian Bell; nor is he the burned and abused butler in whose body he wakes up on the second morning. He is someone else, temporarily using these unwitting 'host' bodies in a quest to solve a murder that has never been explained. And he has lived this day hundreds, thousands of times, and each time so far has been a failure. This time, he's determined that things will be different. If he can find out who murdered Evelyn Hardcastle, and bring the plague doctor the answer at the stroke of 11pm, he can be freed. But he isn't the only one searching for an answer. And his rivals are more ruthless and more knowledgeable than he is. Only one person can escape. And the race is on.

I can honestly say I've never read anything quite like this before. It's not a novel so much as an experience: it demands a lot of focus. At times, it becomes deliciously complicated, as our narrator looks through the eyes of his current host to watch his previous hosts hurrying around on his earlier errands. Turton must have got through reams of paper, plotting out the movements of his various characters. It brims with imagination. The one thing I would say is that at times it didn't really feel like a novel: it felt more like reading the action from a particularly brilliant computer game, in the old-fashioned investigative adventure mode (did anyone else play games like King's Quest or The Last Express?). That is not a criticism, mind. I haven't played a proper computer game in years, but I'd buy something like this like a shot. There were a lot of questions left unanswered, though you could argue that it's better that way, as the story walks a strange line between fantasy and moral fable. But it does mean that one has to read it in the right frame of mind: engaged enough to follow the labyrinthine twists, but not so engaged that you start to ask questions that can't be answered.

Curious and compelling, this is a confident debut and well worth savouring. Turton evidently has an incredibly rich imagination and it'll be a treat to see what he comes up with next.

This review will be published on my blog on 1 February 2018 at the following link:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/02/01/the-seven-deaths-of-evelyn-hardcastle-stuart-turton

A very intriguing book, which keeps you on your toes with all the multi layers. I found myself being absorbed by the different character and quite intrigued by the evolution of the mystery. It is a book that is not easily put down and requires some investment of time to enjoy it.

This gets four stars as wow it takes a very clever mind to write such a complex layered novel .i did struggle if I’m honest as like a few who have reads this it gets confusing as agood few characters come along and time lines go back and forth forth and back and hard to get a grasp of where the characters are and what point in the tale
Did I guess ? Well weirdly sort of ,but not fully correct
Very Agatha Christie but with a lot of time looping and a very unique way of finding out who done it .
I admire the author and must have taken years of plotting remembering and planning it out so expertly
I wanted to know more about the concept of blackheath the footman and the plague doctor
It take concentration this novel and it is so very good but I didn’t find it a page turner as such just a body of work that I admired ,and appreciated a lot
Thanks to net galley and Bloomsbury publishing for letting me read this clever novel

Extremely enjoyable read. Without giving anything away, I would say that concept is a really different twist on a classic whodunnit and it has been pulled off brilliantly. Plot is interesting and intricate, and characters are really well developed. I would strongly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a complex plot and a classic mystery.