I stayed up late trying to finish this book for a week. It is a mystery that is absolutely engrossing and impossible to put down. The nail-biting tension begins on the first page and never lets up.

I absolutely loved how the author plays with the genre, allowing the main character to witness the same murder eight times from eight perspectives.

I cannot wait to hand this to every reader who approaches me asking for "something good".

I adored this book! It was a bit slow at times and I constantly put it down, but I think it was a worth it read!

Wow! Agatha Christy meets Quantum Leap. I couldn't put this book down.

It took me a moment to understand what was happening at the very beginning but then it became addictive. Each character bringing another piece of the puzzle and more insight into the other characters. So many twists along the way. Stuart Turton is a genius.

I highly recommend this book.

Stuart Turton's deft writing style made this book such a joy to read. It felt so timeless and classic, like I was reading an Agatha Christie novel. Each character/suspect is so intricately fleshed out and you can chart the growth of the narrator as he experiences each new twist and turn.

The story involves murder - a murder that Aiden Bishop must solve before midnight. But in a Groundhog's Day twist, he gets to relive the same day eight times, in eight separate hosts, which he must use to question suspects and piece together all the evidence to discover who-dunnit. And only piece by piece can he put together who he, himself, is in the process.

I loved how complicated and puzzle-like this story is. The plot picks up within the first few chapters and then it takes off. It's fast-paced and it kept me guessing throughout it all. There are plenty of twists and with each new piece of evidence uncovered, I kept gasping in surprise. I love mysteries, especially murder mysteries, and this was one of the best I've ever read.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially mystery lovers who don't like predictable plots - this will keep you guessing!

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle reminds me of an old fashioned mystery told in a more modern style. It is reminiscent of Agatha Christie mysteries. Every night at 11 PM Evelyn Hardcastle dies. Aiden is doomed to repeat the same day over and over in a different body until he solves the puzzle of her murder. At first this book was a little complicated to get into because of the details. However, it was very enjoyable once it got going. Readers who like books with an intricate puzzle mystery will definitely love this book. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for a free copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thouroughly enjoyed this book.
Was very entertaining.
Mixture of drama, mystery, murder.
Very Agatha Christie but definable a stand alone author.
Very well written.

An utterly original premise that made for a complex and satisfying read. The rich cast of characters could have come straight from an Agatha Christie novel. This mystery kept me engrossed until the final page.

Really interesting plot-twisty mystery. I did find the events a little bit challenging to follow as the main character moved from body to body, living the same day. Trying to figure out what time something happened to character A in order to see how the ripple affected characters B-Z was difficult. The guest list at the beginning of the book was helpful.

Definitely one of the the most creative story ideas I've ever read!

I found this book on Instagram and Litsy and was dying to get my hands on it. When I found it for request on NetGalley, I jumped on the opportunity and kept my fingers crossed I would get approved. When I received the email saying it was ready for me to download, I literally squealed for joy.
This gem is marketed as Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day, and, honestly, I didn’t expect it to live up to that hype. I love Agatha Christie’s novels, but at the same time, I knew no publishing company would use the comparison lightly, or at least, I hoped not. It did, however, live up to the hype. All the wonderful things people have said about this lovely, are true.
I was hooked in from the beginning. Who is this person? Who is the doctor in the plague mask? Why is he being forced to live out this day again and again? How many times has he been through this but doesn’t remember?
And the ending, did not see that coming. The whole book is set up for you to try to figure out who kills Evelyn Hardcastle, but there, like usual, are more variables to factor into the overall equation than what first meets the eye. Each day, Aiden, the person he believes himself to truly be, has to figure out bits and pieces of the puzzle. Each body he inhabits provides him with a different set of clues and a new perspective to evaluate. It’s like Clue on steroids. And to add to the chaos, Aiden has to survive in each body for as long as possible because the one only referred to as the footman is trying to kill him before he solves the murder.
There was so much going on and so many things to keep track of, but, just like in Clue, attention to detail is key. For me, it wasn’t confusing to keep track of the story, the only confusing part was who was Aiden really and how did he end up in this strange series of events, forced to live the same day over again and again in a different body. Of course, that is pieced together in the end (Thank goodness), but that plot-line falls to the wayside while trying to figure out: Who killed Evelyn Hardcastle? But, I could see how the multiple points of view and details of the day could be difficult and infuriating to get a handle on.
This was unlike anything I have read before or possibly ever again. With each “day,” Aiden is a new person. He has to adopt that person’s mannerisms, tone, habits, and completely ignore himself, or who he believes he is, in order to not draw attention to what would be viewed by others as bizarre behavior but also to gain as much information as possible to solve the murder. When he lets himself take control of the body, he suffers for the decision by losing a day and not gaining any clues. There was this constant inner battle between who he was or thought he was and who he was supposed to be. It actually reminded me of the inner turmoil of Prufrock in T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”
In the end, the mystery is solved and questions answered, which is not an easy task. I wasn’t left angry that I had more questions than answers. I was infuriated that there was a twist ending that felt forced or like the author ran out of story at the end. I was pleasantly surprised by how conclusive the ending was and that the story was so well built. I received a digital copy of this from NetGalley and honestly, I want a physically copy to keep on my shelf and possibly read again. Just like with Agatha Christie, even when you know the ending, the journey is still enjoyable. And that cover! Read the novel then look at the cover again and it sheds an entirely new light on it and the designer is a genius!
Happy Reading!

Many thanks go to Stuart Turton, Raven Books, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. Who is Anna? Where is she? Is she safe? We open the book to these questions being shouted in the forest. And the investigation grows from there. Because unless our protagonist can solve a murder in seven days he's stuck. Forever. This book was brilliant. I can’t imagine what Turton's study must have looked like trying to keep up with all of his plot threads. There were so many twists and turns my heart couldn't keep up with my head. I became so obsessed with this book I read it in one day. I refused to put it down. I had to know how it ended as soon as possible. And there was no way I was ever going to ever be able to guess. There were just too many possibilities. I was kept on my toes beginning to end. I recommended this to my ladies' book club as a selection once it's released. It's perfect!

Wow. This was absolutely AMAZING. I needed a whole day just to wrap my mind around it all, and I'm still SHOOK.

I really don't want to give too much away with the summary, but here we go:
Aiden Bishop wakes up with no memory, but a name on his lips: Anna. He is doomed to repeat the same day over and over again, and Evelyn Hardcastle will die over and over again. Aiden is trapped in this endless loop, and the only way to escape is to find out who murdered Evelyn. But how can you solve a murder that doesn't even look like one? And to make things worse, there's an enemy hidden in the shadows that is much more ruthless and incomprehensible.

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was absolutely mind-blowing. Although the plot may sound similar to some other time loop days, this one was definitely very unique in one thing (mind the mild spoilers): [Aiden is forced to live the same day over and over again, but in a different host. And he has eight days to solve the mystery. The way time worked in this book was therefore so different from any other book I had ever read.] This entire story was absolutely mind-boggling from beginning to end, and I absolutely could not put the book down.

There were definitely lots of characters within this story, but surprisingly I found that I was able to get a clear picture of what kind of person every character was. It made the setting much more realistic, and as a sort of mystery book, this set my brain into overdrive as I tried to figure out the story for myself. Which I did not, by the way. There was absolutely NO WAY to predict what was coming.

The writing style was superb. It was delicate and elegant, but also intense and cryptic. The writing style reminded me a bit of books like Caraval or The Night Circus, and it made the book immersive and absolutely magical. (Not gonna lie - I had to force myself to pause reading halfway through because it was nighttime and I was slightly afraid and creeped out. But in a good way.)

Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend this to everyone. Seriously. Everyone. Stuart Turton has written a spectacular page-turner that will absolutely blow your mind.

A complex and enjoyable read. Reminiscent of the movie Groundhog Day with a murder twist. This book kept my interest throughout.

This will mark the second time in my Netgalley history that I'm going to stop reading to write a review and then go back to it. I'm halfway through this book right now, and I'm mesmerized. The writing is stunningly strong. Stuart Turton has a gift for turning a phrase. This plotline is so intricately detailed. I can't wait to finish it. I have a feeling it will be tomorrow. There are elements of Agatha Christie, Groundhog Day, and Quantum Leap here. What a combination. I'm only slightly embarrassed to say that there was even a moment about 60 pages ago that reminded me of one of the coolest moments in time travel movie history -- a particular scene that I won't mention from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. I know that sounds dopey, but I love time travel movies, and this moment hit me exactly in that satisfying spot. There are laugh-out-loud moments (now talking about 7 1/2 Deaths, not Bill & Ted) and so many times when I've found myself in awe of a plot point or even a metaphor I'd never imagined. I will come back here and edit this if I get to the end unsatisfied, but I am confident that my review will stand, and it will have a permanent place on my shelf of recommendations -- just like the other book I stopped reading to write a review.

What a brilliant and clever read. From the start to the finish I was hooked on ever page, It is a book that really should be read in one sitting- which won't be hard to do because it's amazing! It has so many different elements interwoven within this book that I can do define it under one genre. It's a very refreshing read as it is something different and I absolutely loved this book.

This is the type of book you have to experience for yourself because no description can adequately capture its essence. From page one you feel like you are dropped right into the middle of the mystery, as clueless and frightened as the narrator, whose memories have been wiped and is trying to figure out his own identity, location and purpose. The dark atmosphere of the Blackheath estate and its surroundings, as well as the toxic secrets and misdeeds of its guests, leap off the page and stay with you even when you’ve put the book down (which is hard to do given the cliffhangers and heart-pounding drama and suspense!). As Aiden Bishop moves through the same day, viewing it from the perspectives of eight different guests at the house party — with surprisingly little narrative overlap among them — small pieces of the puzzle click into place, but the big picture (and even bigger picture beyond that) stays tantalizingly out of reach until the very end. This is not the type of mystery where you can predict the outcome from chapter one — the non-linear narrative and twists and turns make guessing futile but the overall reading experience even more enjoyable. When you reach the end, your mind will be blown by the complexity of how all the moving pieces finally come together and how much work went into constructing a cohesive timeline presented out of order.

In summary: go pre-order or buy this book now! You will not regret it!

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for providing an ARC of the US release for review!

Such a clever, unusual and unique mystery book - if you're a fan of crime / mysteries then you NEED to read this!

“If this isn’t hell, the devil is surely taking notes.”

Is it possible to miss a book once you’ve finished it?

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton is quite a book – both in content and size. As I was/am going through a whole phase, I’m a tad intimidated by books that are on the heavier side. Obviously one of the advantages of reading it on a Kindle is you don’t quite know what you’re signing up for. In the case of Seven Deaths, I was hooked right from the opening line, “I forget everything between footsteps.”

The book starts with a man waking up in a forest, with no memory of anything except for a name: Anna. He hears a scuffle and is convinced Anna has been murdered and a man whom he assumes to be the murderer hands him a compass. Using the compass, he finds his way out of the forest and reaches Blackheath, where preparations for a ball are underway. Servants and maids are running around, cleaning, arranging, decorating… He runs into a few of the guests, including a doctor, and they tell him his name is Sebastian Bell. He tries to reconcile his thoughts with the man he now knows he is. In the meantime, he meets Evelyn, the daughter of the Hardcastles of Blackheath, who spends most of her time in Paris and has returned for this ball. It is revealed that the ball is being held on the anniversary of the death of Evelyn’s youngest brother and the same guests who were present that day have been invited for this event. All of this is a lot for Sebastian to process. However, that’s the least of his troubles, for when he wakes up the next morning…
… he isn’t Sebastian Bell at all.

He is doomed to repeat the same day multiple times, each time waking up as a different person, a witness to the event that the title of the book alludes to.

When I realized what was going on, my mind immediately went to David Levithan’s Every Day. Unlike that one, Seven Deaths has body hopping as well as time travel. I’m not a fan of time travel usually – it leads to too many questions and there are always continuity problems that just cannot be explained. I kept all those doubts aside and just delved into the story.

What’s really impressive about this book is, even though it has so many named characters, at no point do you feel it’s an overload of information – each character has a distinct voice and a well-defined role to play. I quite liked the characters of Ravencourt, Dance and Rashton. The three serve as hosts on three different days and have the sharpest minds in the story. Dance’s sadness added an emotional side to this mystery.

In most books, around the 80-85% mark, the climax is done with and you’re just waiting for it to be tied up with a bow. No tying up here – for even at 90% you’re on a rollercoaster ride realizing all the information you’ve received so far is only half the mystery. The book keeps you on the edge until the last page – gripping and completely unputdownable, especially so in the last few chapters. It’s incredible, completely unreal!

The early reviews of this book have called it Nolan-esque and Agatha Christie-ly atmospheric. Both of these comparisons are apt. Add in a bit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the mix for the brilliance that are the last few chapters.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle from NetGalley/Sourcebooks Landmark

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book, having someone switching bodies to figure out a murder sounded right up my alley. The descriptions of the characters and the old mansion were very detailed and I liked how things were pieced together as characters changed. However, it also got confusing with switching people and days so I feel it took me longer to get through the book.

*I received this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton exceeded all my expectations for a mystery thriller. Very seldom do I find one that literally keeps me guessing until the last page. I do not know how Turton did it but he definitely did.

Reminiscent of Quantum Leap ( one of my favorite TV shows as a child), we start our book at the close of another for Aiden Bishop. He wakes up with no memory of his past with the exception of one thing, the name "Anna". This seclusive memory becomes his driving force for the rest of the novel: he must save her at all costs. While he searches for ways to accomplish this, he is accosted and when he awakes he soon realizes that he's in yet another body repeating the same day. As the events quickly unroll, Aiden realizes that he's stuck in a loop of a visit from the Plague Doctor confirms that he will be stuck until he can solve the riddle of who killed Evelyn Hardcastle. The hunt is on for the killer, and Aiden only has 8 days and 8 lives to solve it. But he learns that he's not the only stuck in this prison and he must defeat his reveals who both hide in plain sight.

I HIGHLY recommend this novel to anyone who needs a good thought provoking escape.

I've never encountered a book that was this twisted in on itself. I actually felt like I needed a whiteboard to work out what was happening and by whom.

We start off in the woods, in the mind of someone who only knows the name Anna. This is Dr. Sebastian Bell, a guest at Blackheath, a guest of the Hardcastles. He has no idea who he is but he sees Anna getting murdered in the woods. Racing away, for we learn that he's really a coward, he comes across Blackheath manor and, inside, the other guests know him and take him in.

Our protagonist is not really Dr. Bell. Our protagonist is the person inside Dr. Bell, who is the person inside the butler, inside Davies, inside Derby. He is jumping bodies every time he falls asleep or is knocked out. But why? To stop Evelyn Hardcastle from being murdered. He lives 8 lives in 8 days and must solve the murder before it happens each day. If he doesn't, he starts back over with day one in Dr. Bell. This sounds easy enough, yes? Except he's being pursued by a killer footman and has other rivals in the house who need to solve the murder before him. The person who solves the murder goes free.

But it's really not what you think and it's STILL not that simple. Mind. Blown.

I refuse to hand out spoilers for this book because it was such a crazy "Are you KIDDING me?" ride to the end. The author does a fantastic job at revealing what is happening to us and the protagonist. He's learning who he is and where he is right along with us and, truly, I think we all get equally confused at points.