The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Author : Stuart Turton
Title : The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Published : 2018
Publisher : Raven Books
Pages : 528
Genre : Mystery / Thriller
It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed. But Evelyn will not die just once.
Until Aiden - one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party - can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot. The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath...
Over the last few months, I think I have seen this book just about everywhere, From blogs to bookstores, it seemed to be inescapable. So on my last trip out, I figured I would pick myself up a copy and give it a go. I am prone to reading a great deal of mystery and thriller books so trying to find something different can always prove to be a little problematic. But the description for this book grabbed me right of the bat. I suppose the comparisons to Groundhog day are always going to be there. It's a trope that seems to be popping up more and more over the past year. From films to t.v shows people seems to be giving it a crack and trying to find new ways to play about with it.
What really caught me here is while taking this theme the author managed to push it off the rails by having his hero wake up in a different person each time. It allows us as the reader to explore the crime from multiple angles without having to get to grips with a new character each time. It also adds to the race that Aiden is locked in, bound by the knowledge of his previous live troughs he is always trying to play catch up. With each pass through you get to eliminate one suspect from the pool of players. I have to say I like Aiden, no matter how much is thrown at him he always tries to do the right thing. But with much of the book, Aiden's own real sense of self and his memory's are but a blur to him. This all adds to the mix as for him trying to solve this Might just unlock who he is and why he has come to find himself in this place. With all this going on we can also throw in a mysterious plague doctor who would appear to know far more than he is letting on. Whether he is there to help or hinder you will just have to read the book.
This is a book that I absolutely relished reading and raced through to find out just what the hell was going on. With every twist and turn the author pulled me into the world he had created. And to be fair its a truly bizarre little world he has created. The atmosphere he has created pins you down and beats you about the head, in the best possible way of course. It's moody and dark and the plot is so truly complex that you can not help but want to pursuit to its mind-blowing end. I find it difficult to believe this is the authors first outing. having finished it I can now see why there was so much hype about it. Usual Hype can be a tricky thing to often I have been lulled into believing it only to be left feeling let down and confused by why this book is so talked about but here it is truly deserved. It is a strange book that for me sits apart from so much that is out there at the moment. It manages to blend different genres and create a piece of literature that stands firmly on its own two feet. As I worked my way through bits of it reminded me of so many films, t.v shows and games I have played in the past but at no point did I think the author had ripped anyone off, more just a gentle homage to the things that had come before it.
This is a book that I have already recommend to people I know, how could I not. It pulls together so many genres that I enjoy reading. At its core is a truly great murder mystery that I would put up there with some of my favorites. But it blooms into something so much big and better than that. I would love to say more but in talking about some of my favorite aspects of the book I fear I would let slip some of its greatest secrets and I would hate to spoil it for you.
Until Aiden - one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party - can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot. The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath...
Over the last few months, I think I have seen this book just about everywhere, From blogs to bookstores, it seemed to be inescapable. So on my last trip out, I figured I would pick myself up a copy and give it a go. I am prone to reading a great deal of mystery and thriller books so trying to find something different can always prove to be a little problematic. But the description for this book grabbed me right of the bat. I suppose the comparisons to Groundhog day are always going to be there. It's a trope that seems to be popping up more and more over the past year. From films to t.v shows people seems to be giving it a crack and trying to find new ways to play about with it.
What really caught me here is while taking this theme the author managed to push it off the rails by having his hero wake up in a different person each time. It allows us as the reader to explore the crime from multiple angles without having to get to grips with a new character each time. It also adds to the race that Aiden is locked in, bound by the knowledge of his previous live troughs he is always trying to play catch up. With each pass through you get to eliminate one suspect from the pool of players. I have to say I like Aiden, no matter how much is thrown at him he always tries to do the right thing. But with much of the book, Aiden's own real sense of self and his memory's are but a blur to him. This all adds to the mix as for him trying to solve this Might just unlock who he is and why he has come to find himself in this place. With all this going on we can also throw in a mysterious plague doctor who would appear to know far more than he is letting on. Whether he is there to help or hinder you will just have to read the book.
This is a book that I absolutely relished reading and raced through to find out just what the hell was going on. With every twist and turn the author pulled me into the world he had created. And to be fair its a truly bizarre little world he has created. The atmosphere he has created pins you down and beats you about the head, in the best possible way of course. It's moody and dark and the plot is so truly complex that you can not help but want to pursuit to its mind-blowing end. I find it difficult to believe this is the authors first outing. having finished it I can now see why there was so much hype about it. Usual Hype can be a tricky thing to often I have been lulled into believing it only to be left feeling let down and confused by why this book is so talked about but here it is truly deserved. It is a strange book that for me sits apart from so much that is out there at the moment. It manages to blend different genres and create a piece of literature that stands firmly on its own two feet. As I worked my way through bits of it reminded me of so many films, t.v shows and games I have played in the past but at no point did I think the author had ripped anyone off, more just a gentle homage to the things that had come before it.
This is a book that I have already recommend to people I know, how could I not. It pulls together so many genres that I enjoy reading. At its core is a truly great murder mystery that I would put up there with some of my favorites. But it blooms into something so much big and better than that. I would love to say more but in talking about some of my favorite aspects of the book I fear I would let slip some of its greatest secrets and I would hate to spoil it for you.
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