The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (Costa First Novel Award Winner 2018) Paperback – September 21, 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.

Review 4.7 starsThis 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 starsSetting/World-building – five starsAuthenticity – four starsCharacters – five starsStructure – five starsReadability – four starsEditing – five stars