THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD
WINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG NOVEL AWARD 2018
SHORTLISTED FOR THE SPECSAVERS NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS 2018
A brilliantly original high concept murder mystery from a fantastic new talent: Gosford Park meets Inception, by way of Agatha Christie and Black Mirror
One of Stylist Magazine’s 20 Must-Read Books of 2018
One of Harper’s Bazaar’s 10 Must-Read Books of 2018
One of Marie Claire, Australia’s 10 Books You Absolutely Have to Read in 2018
‘Somebody’s going to be murdered at the ball tonight. It won’t appear to be a murder and so the murderer won’t be caught. Rectify that injustice and I’ll show you the way out.’
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...
- ISBN10 1408889560
- ISBN13 9781408889565
- Publish Date 8 February 2018
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 4 July 2024
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint Raven Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 528
- Language English
Reviews
littleread1
HekArtemis
Chelsea
When I'm reading a mystery like this I like to guess what's going to happen, which I think is true for many of us. I do get very disappointed when I guess the correct ending so easily. That wasn't the case for this book. While I guessed a couple things right, I don't think there was any way to possibly guess how this was going to play out. It was a mystery until the very end and for that I gave it 5 stars.
zooloo1983
I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!
I mean it took me a while to read it as I was on the run down to Xmas and I had been out and about but when I had the chance to sit and read, I sat and read. I got annoyed with interruptions, I got annoyed when I couldn’t read it. I was completely 1000% hooked!
Seven deaths is one of the most amazing, clever books I have read in a long time! How Mr Turton has managed to wind 8 lives into 1 story in such a unique way = mind blown!
I loved how Mr Aiden lived a different whole life each day and when all the characters started working together. I didn’t get confused I was just sitting there trying to figure it all with Aiden. How did someone know that Aiden would be in a certain place at a certain time? It was just so clever and still hurts my brain trying to figure it all out! There were certain bits where sweeping comments had been made and then later on in the book I was like OMG I remember that from before!
Even with solving the murder, I did not have a scooby! I mean how could you! Just when you think you were close to solving it something new happened! I can hand on my heart say I had zero eureka moments, I didn’t even bother trying to figure out what was going on I just followed Aiden, Anna and the Doctor!
I think this would be a fantastic book to see on the big screen. Yeah, it’s a huge book, so you know 2 hours 40-3 hours would be perfect as I think it would work wonders. It’s a bit of a Poirot story if Poirot could change bodies every day!
I will admit I was bereft at the ending, in one hand it was satisfying and on the other hand no it frigging wasn’t! I wanted more, but I do not know what that more I want is. My world has been turned upside down and inside out. I have been recommending it loads to people but trying to explain what this book about just confused them, I was like “Well you have this guy, he has to solve a murder and it’s like Groundhog Day and it’s just awesome when he meets himself but doesn’t know it’s him and then has to live the day as someone new but no one else knows. Oh, and someone is trying to kill and then there’s is a girl.” And through my excited babble, they just stare at me so what I have resorted to is “Just go and buy the book”
I have heard that Turton is writing another book. I don’t know what it’s about but yeah I want to be first in line to read it. He has blown my world away with this book and I need an author like this in my life.
readingwithbecs
I really liked, that we, as the readers, are trying to figure out the mystery of the book alongside the main character. And even though we are not given a lot of clues to figure out the reveal in the end, I still was just so compelled by this book.
It's also a book you really have to give your full attention to, because it's so complicated.
I have a hard time expressing my feelings and thoughts about this book, so I will leave it at this - But this book was amazing!
luddite
Bianca
08. A book you think should be turned into a movie
We are never more ourselves than when we think people aren’t watching.
— A brilliant murder mystery where Aiden, who wakes in the body of a different guest everyday, needs to solve Evelyn’s murder or be trapped in his loop forever. It wasn’t perfect, but I really enjoyed this. Great read.
abookishblether
To begin with, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a mystery novel like none before it. Aiden Bishop lives the same day in eight different perspectives on repeat; challenged to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle so he may earn his freedom from the loop. I think the mystery was well crafted as it was difficult to figure clues out as you went and prevented me from "solving" the book before the end. In fact, I didn't come close to it. I'm not sure anyone would. The reveal of different perspectives, their limitations and strengths, and their unique relationship to the cast of characters was an incredible strong point for me in this novel and has me ready to add this book to my favourites of the year.
However, I found the last 15% to be a significant decrease in quality. The twist was unexpected and could have been good, but as it was relegated to such a small portion of the book it came across as a rushed decision. I thought it read like the author decided he wanted a twist and wrote it into the book in the forty minutes before submission. I personally feel if the twist had been introduced more gradually, the book would have been a strong five star read. I recommend this book to anyone who is bored with the thrillers and mysteries they've read recently, because this was a shock to the system and deeply addicting.
Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Evelyn Hardcastle is going to be murdered. The main character has to figure out how it's done and by whom. He has eight chances in eight hosts to figure it out. Nothing is as it seems and he doesn't know who to trust. Can he even trust himself?
This book is full of twists and turns. Every time I thought I had a handle on something, the story would shift and I'd be left feeling like, for the one clue I grasped, I missed three others. The best thing about this book is how masterfully the author wove the clues and coincidences into a compelling narrative. It was very easy, after the fact, to go back and follow the clues to its solution. I hate when an ending of a mystery is chucked at a person with zero way it could have been solved by the reader. That's not the case with this book. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, but the answer tracked throughout the book and made perfect sense in hindsight.
I can't believe this is Stuart Turton's first novel; he writes with such confidence. This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. I am eagerly watching and hoping for another book by this author. It was perfect!