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The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

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The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

By: Stuart Turton
Narrated by: Jot Davies
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About this listen

Winner of the Costa First Novel Award 2018

A brilliantly original high-concept murder mystery from a fantastic new talent: Gosford Park meets Inception by way of Agatha Christie.

'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....

©2018 Stuart Turton (P)2017 Audible, Ltd Action & Adventure Crime Historical Murder Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Suspense

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Here is a story that is a kind of science fiction, come detective story, come horror tale but not any of them, in the end, it is just a writers device to spice up a story of redemption and forgiveness. It felt contrived and claustrophobic and repetitive (but that was the warning the title gave), I kept on thinking let's get to the point, and I and the character would be taken back to the same point of the story viewed from a different angle, which did not open any new understandings.

Too much like as nightmare and too long within a conundrum that has no logic except for the one given by the author. It may be fascinating to create this world as a writer, but as a reader, I found it frustrating and without much reward, because in the end, everything had to be explained by one of the characters for it to be understood and have a logic that explained what had happened repeatedly.

Too stylized to feel connected to the character and too repetitive to care for the final outcome. I do not mind putting a bit of hard work for literature, but entertainment should not be this difficult.

A very hard to sustain conceit or device.

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Hands down the best murder mystery I’ve ever read. The less you know about it, the better your experience will be.

Spectacular

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First off, I've gotta say that the narrator of the audiobook, Jot Davies, does a brilliant job. I was worried that he was over acting initially, but the slight exaggerations and breathy excitement work wonders.

This is truly a case of voice <i>acting</i> as opposed to just reading a script. Each character has a distinct voice and there's real emotion on display, which adds to the picture the writing is painting. I really liked the narration.

I also really liked the book, which properly gets going once the ground rules have been laid down. You might be thinking this is a standard murder mystery story, like one of Agatha Christie's tedious torture devices.

But it's not.

It's much more than that.

It's a bloody, gothic, murder-mystery, set in a familiar old manor house, but with a fantastical* twist. Our protagonist's day keeps repeating, but each time his consciousness inhabits a different body. It's smart stuff, the way everything fits together in the increasingly complex timeline. Sometimes I struggled to keep track of all the hosts while simultaneously trying to put the puzzle pieces together. That puzzle being, who's repeatedly killing Evelyn Hardcastle. I don't want to spoil anymore of the plot but I will say that it remains engaging throughout and comes together at the end.

Rather than the sedative that is a Poirot story, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle reminded me of a video game. There are multiple lives and a feeling of progression as more puzzles are solved and more NPC's are talked to. There's actually a great little indie game called The Sexy Brutale, which is so similar in idea to this book, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some influence.

There is one issue I need to mention apart from the occasionally confusing plot and the niggling doubt that it may be full of holes. Sometimes the writing is overly descriptive, with repetitive use of pronouns and liberal use of metaphors. These often sound clever to begin with, but they unravel into a pile of nonsense the more you think about them. I've chosen a few select quotes to highlight the issue.

"His voice, low enough to scoop off the floor."
How does one scoop a voice? Low voices aren't literally low. He could have said, low enough to make my ears vibrate. Something stupid like that would make more sense.

"His nose so mangled it resembles an egg cracked in a frying pan."
So his nose resembled a fried egg with bits of shell in it? Sounds painful??

"His gaze lands on me like a boulder in the lap."
A testicle crushing gaze is truly impressive.

Fortunately, this writing quirk doesn't intrude too often, although it does make me wonder if the whole narrative isn't a careful balanced house of string. Pull on a logic, or plot thread and maybe the whole thing falls apart.

Who cares. I'd still love it. The twist element really elevates this above the usual, drab, detective has lots of boring conversations with boring posh people, concluding with his big reveal of who the murderer is to a room full of boring posh people.

I really don't like Poirot.

* I'd say Sci-fi twist but that element is so little explored, I'm more comfortable just calling it magic

Grisly, Gripping Debut

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I wish I could listen to this for the first time all over again! A thrilling murder mystery that had a satisfying conclusion. The plot is gripping and great fun and Jot Davies has done an excellent job at bringing a huge cast of characters to life in a way that made a complex plot a cinch to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would definitely recommend it.

Original story and beautifully performed

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One of the best books I've listened to (or read) in a very long time.
The story is detailed, intricate and varied. Instead of the classic (and potentially boring) big twist at the end - the book undulates and develops throughout, adding intrigue and understanding.
I can't recommend it highly enough.
It worked well as an audio book too - the narration was clear, and the different characters distinct.

Incredible, beautifully crafted, clever book.

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To tell much of the plot would spoil you discovering but...
Clever, interesting and fast paced
Plus an excellent performance that really brought characters to life

Excellent Puzzle Box of a book

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Wow
The concept of this story is both complex , compelling, and is beautifully written. I became mildly obsessed with listening to every chapter as time went on and thought about it in between. Its superbly narrated, made me gasp and say things like “no way “ out loud on the tube. Upon returning from Aldi I sat parked up outside my house listening to the end and I’m still feeling the loss of it being over. That said it’s well worth a 2nd listen where I’ll no doubt expand my understanding of the plot further. Like a box set binge for your ears if deep dark brain fizzing mind stretching murder mystery is your thing cash in a credit now !

Best book I’ve listened to EVER

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Well written, interesting story..... in general perfect! Also very well acted, with interesting character development

Amazing

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This audiobook probably has the best narration in any that I have experienced so far. I found it to be completely excellent, and it was part of the reason I tore through this so quickly. As many have noted, the plot it so incredibly complex and brilliantly put together its astounding and extremely admirable. I do also see some issues others have pointed out - the ending feels a little... off? And I can see how some may have been frustrated about the lack of reveal of the mechanic or "real world" reveal, but these things didn't bother me too much and I would still recommend it. For me, at least, this is maybe the most intricate, clever and incredibly immersive books I've ever experienced. If you like the genre but are tired of stories that feel predictable, repetitive or uninteresting I would absolutely recommend you try this - it'll certainly stretch out your brain for its 16 hours!

A compelling listsn

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Give it time! It took me a little time to get interested in the story, but it was worth it.

Good narration

good narration

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