The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (Raven Books)

Phew, this is an interesting and complex book!

I confess that at one stage - around 150 pages in - I considered giving up on it as I was finding it increasingly difficult to follow the plot and work out who was who.

But, actually, that is almost the whole point of the book ,which is an immense time-travelling and enigmatic riddle.

Main character Aiden wakes in a mansion with no idea of who he is and how he got there.

The property is faded, going on ramshackle and is inhabited by a wide range of mainly upper class guests who are there for a party.

But the celebration is due to turn to tragedy as Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is to be brutally killed that night.

But she will not die just once. Until Aiden - of the guests summonsed to Blackheath for the party - can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself over and over again, each time ending with a fateful pistol shot.

The only way to break the cycle is to identify her killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest.

And to make matters worse, someone seems desperate to stop him ever escaping Blackheath.

There are some great feats of imagination and plotting in this novel - the author must have kept a detailed crib sheet to hand as he wrote to remind exactly where the characters were in the house at every minute of the day.

It's confusing but also rather compelling. A lot of the characters are dislikeable and you sometimes wish for a change of scenery (Aiden and the rest can never leave until the mystery is solved). But there is action, violence, intrigue and some romantic interludes.

In the end I persevered to find out how the conundrum would resolve itself.

It you like a clever puzzle then this book is for you.