The 7 1/2 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

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Title:

The 7 1/2 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Alternate title:

Seven and one half deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Author:

Turton, Stuart, author.

Summary:

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.

General Note:

Originally published as The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle in 2018 in the UK by Bloomsbury Raven, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing.

Physical Description:

435 pages ; 24 cm

Genre:

Detective and mystery fiction.

Paranormal fiction.

Subject Term:

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Sourcebooks Landmark,

Publication Date:

2018

ISBN:

9781492657965

Publication Information:

Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks Landmark, [2018]

Call Number:

TURTON

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003341701	Adult Fiction	TURTON	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

"This book blew my mind! Utterly original and unique."--Sophie Hannah, New York Times bestselling author

A murder mystery novel inspired by Agatha Christie with a dash of Groundhog Day and a hint of Quantum Leap and Downton Abbey.

The Rules of Blackheath

Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m.

There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit.

We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.

Understood? Then let's begin...

Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others.

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive locked-room mystery that follows one man's race against time to find a killer, with an astonishing time-turning twist that means nothing and no one are quite what they seem.

From the author of The Devil and the Dark Water, Stuart Turton delivers inventive twists in a thriller of such unexpected creativity it will leave readers guessing until the very last page...

Praise for The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle:

Sunday Times Bestseller

Costa First Novel Award 2018 Winner

Stylist Magazine's 20 Must-Read Books of 2018

Harper's Bazaar's 10 Must-Read Books of 2018

The Guardian's Best Books of 2018

Buzzfeed's 17 Mystery Books You Won't Be Able to Put Down

BookRiot's 10 Mystery and Thriller Authors like Agatha Christie

Author Notes

Stuart Turton is a freelance travel journalist, born in the United Kingdom. He holds degrees in English and Philosophy. His career has included working in a bookshop, teaching English in Shanghai, working for a technology magazine in London, and writing various travel articles.

He is the author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. The title in the U.S. is, The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. It won the Costa Book Award 2018 category, First Novel.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Turton's complex debut blends mystery with Groundhog Day and Quantum Leap. Guests have been invited to the Hardcastle family manse, the dilapidated Blackheath House in the English countryside, for a masquerade ball that the Hardcastles are holding for the return of their daughter, Evelyn, from Paris. At the novel's start, several days before the ball, an unnamed protagonist comes upon Blackheath and enlists those inside to find the body of a woman he thinks has just been murdered. He's forgotten his identity, but people at the house think he's Dr. Sebastian Bell, an invitee to the ball. It turns out Bell is the first of eight people-invited guests of the Hardcastles, their associates, staff, and a police officer-whom the main character will inhabit over eight days in a repeating loop. This loop revolves around two mysteries: who killed young Thomas Hardcastle 19 years ago, and who murders Evelyn, his older sister, the night of the ball? As the hero amasses clues about the past and present, a mysterious costumed "Plague Doctor" chimes in to direct the action, explaining the only escape from this loop is to expose the identity of Evelyn's murderer. This is a complicated, twisting plot that may delight some looking for a puzzle but may leave others exasperated at the overly abstruse rules and kitchen-sink concept. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Library Journal Review

DEBUT Turton's first novel starts with narrator Aiden Bishop waking in the woods with no memory of how he got there or who he is. He hears a woman's yell for help and thinks he sees her shot to death. Making his way out of the forest, he comes upon Blackheath House, the country manor of the Hardcastle family. There he's identified as Dr. Sebastian Bell, and though his claims of the murder are met with some skepticism by the house party, a search does get underway. No woman is found. Aiden goes through his day confused and scared but finds no answers. The next morning, he discovers he is now in the body of someone else in the household and is reliving the same day as this new person. As he is reincarnated as different guests, he's told by a masked man that he must solve the murder (that will happen that night) of Evelyn Hardcastle, daughter of the house, before he can escape his current circumstances. VERDICT -Turton's debut is skillfully done. He expertly manages the many moving parts of the plot while taking readers ever deeper into the story. Recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 3/26/18.]-Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.