At a party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed – again.

She’s been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. The only way to break this cycle is to identify Evelyn’s killer. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is desperate to stop him ever escaping Blackheath…

TOO LITTLE INFORMATION AND YOU’RE BLIND,
TOO MUCH AND YOU’RE BLINDED

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is infuriating. It’s one of those books that is so bloody amazing that it’s taking all my strength not to burst at the seams and tell you all the little clever details of every shocking twist and turn.

Truth be told, I’m in disbelief that this is Turton’s debut novel. Every character that our protagonist Aiden inhabits – and there are a plethora of them in Seven Deaths so you’ll need to keep up! – is so distinct from the last. The story itself is trippy stuff and I’ll refrain from trying to sum up the premise even further otherwise it’ll just sound completely bonkers, but I promise you that it works!

Reading more about Turton’s writing process, it’s no surprise he describes it as ‘just awful‘. What he has accomplished with Seven Deaths is extraordinary. The sheer amount of careful plotting and planning that must have gone into making this book is evident on every page. I must confess, I’m slightly envious of how much of genius Turton is. As a connoisseur of the whodunnit genre, spending much of my childhood getting my amateur sleuth training from Agatha Christie, I was truly in the dark throughout most of Seven Deaths. I clenched my jaw during every tense moment (the footman !! Anna !! Evelyn!!) and gasped out loud with every shocking revelation.

One could say it’s essentially Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day/Source Code, but gosh, it is so much more than that! Seven Deaths exudes the stylish opulence of Christie with the luxurious and eerie setting of Blackheath, but Turton’s cast of shady characters certainly gives Christie a run for her money! The Plague Doctor had me captivated every single time he appeared, feeding my appetite to know more about Blackheath’s mysteries. You won’t want to put the book down for fear of missing out! I’m confident Turton has produced a modern classic with this book.

It’s honestly quite unfair how spectacular Seven Deaths is. Alas, the less you know about Stuart Turton’s body-hopping, time travel mystery thriller, the better your experience will be. All I’m saying is, prepare to be amazed…

Turton’s next novel The Devil and the Dark Water will be released in hardback on October 1st 2020 and is available to pre-order to here.

RATING
★★★★★