Ask the Author: Stuart Turton

“The Last Murder at the End of the World is out in the US today. It’s Agatha Christie meets Lost, and I think you’ll love it.” Stuart Turton

Answered Questions (134)

Sort By:

An error occurred while sorting questions for author Stuart Turton.

Just read "Murder at the End of the World," and am almost done immediately re-reading it. Don't know how I missed "The Devil and the Dark Water," but it's next (after a 3rd read of Hardcastle). Is there a Blackheath in it? (If not I'm DONE with you!) Keep 'em coming. 8,000 characters, 700 mysteries, and 9,000,000 missed clues, these are the kinds of novels I need. Every 4 years is fine, just don't stop.

Stuart Turton No Blackheath in that one I'm afraid, but there are a few nods to things coming up.

flag

9 likes · like
Comment

Just finished The Last Murder at the End of the World and couldn’t help but notice a few character names. Jack, Clara, Ben - are these all nods to Lost? Love the parallels with the fog/smoke monster, secret science labs/dharma initiative scattered around the island, etc. Loved it!

Stuart Turton Yup! Glad you liked the book mate.

flag

2 likes · like
1 comment

Will The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle be getting a sequel? I absolutely LOVED the book and have been waiting for more since I finished in back in 2018!

Stuart Turton Don't think so. There's nothing really I can add to that book without detracting from the things that made people like it.

flag

4 likes · like
Comment

Blackheath is important in both 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Last Murder at the End of the World. Is there any world crossover here or are they completely different in both books and just a fun Easter egg?

Stuart Turton The world's definitely crossover!

flag

2 likes · like
1 comment

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Stuart Turton

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

flag

1 like · like
Comment

I am absolutely hooked on your books so far and am so excited for this new one to come out in a few weeks. Where do you draw inspiration from? I find your mysteries very unique and definitely love this style!

Stuart Turton Thank you, that's really lovely to hear. I always say that inspiration isn't the problem, time is the problem. I'm absolutely full of ideas. More than I could ever write. The hard part is knowing which ones go together in satisfying ways.

flag

17 likes · like
1 comment

Will there be a sequel to any of your books, or are they all standalone?

Stuart Turton They're all standalone mate.

flag

11 likes · like
Comment

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Stuart Turton I plotted out every two minutes of every character's day, so I always knew what everybody was doing.

flag

19 likes · like
1 comment

Seven Deaths is easily my favorite book, and the only one that I've come across that did body-swapping/time looping in such a fascinating way. Have you come across any other books that have done this (uniquely niche) sub-genre justice? (Sidenote: Do you have any plans to visit Australia? I am based in South-East Queensland and would love to visit one of your book signings!)

Stuart Turton Thanks for your question! I visit Australia quite a lot, as my wife is Australian, but sadly I don't usually tour. It's a huge country, and would require a lot of time away from my young family. If that ever changes I'll flag it on social media. Unfortunately, I haven't encountered anything else in this niche sub genre. That's part of the reason why I wrote mine. I wanted to read something like this.

flag

7 likes · like
1 comment

Do you desire to see your books done on screen (movie or TV series), or do you feel that you'd prefer it to remain in book form only? What do you feel are the pros and cons of books becoming movies?

Stuart Turton I don't mind adaptations. The original always exists, even if the tv show/movie isn't successful. As for pros and cons, I feel that adaptations serve as edits for the original material. They can make boring bits interesting, and present the information in novel new ways. I like seeing them be bold with the material, rather than playing safe.

flag

3 likes · like
Comment

Hello,i wanted to say after reading The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle it reminded me when i was a teenager and reading Agatha Christie's books... it was brilliant! keep going ,can't wait to read your other books but i need to ask , in the beginning the book had a lot of funny sarcastic tone ,but that suddenly disappeared ,was that intended? i really loved that tone by the way.

Stuart Turton Awwww, thanks. Yeah that tone is Aiden's. It slips away as he loses himself to his hosts.

flag

5 likes · like
Comment

First off I wanted to say that Seven 1/2 Deaths is one of my all-time favorite books and one I’ve re-read countless times. It was also the inspiration for my homebrew Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and my friends had a blast trying to figure it out (with changes of course, since I’m still holding out hope that they’ll read the book!) Why did you choose the Plague Doctor costume for Aiden’s handler?

Stuart Turton I always wanted the plague doctor to be enigmatic. You're never sure if he's on Aiden's side, or not. The costume fit that perfectly. It was the uniform of a doctor back in the 16th Century, but was incredibly sinister at the same time.

flag

20 likes · like
Comment

Hey, I just wanted to thank you for the book, I'm not easily impressed, but it was excellent and has all that I dearly love in books: time travel, mystic atmosphere and a really complex detective story. I loved it! I will be very much looking forward to reading your next book. I was wondering what time does the real Aiden live in? I was hoping for a glimpse of that world but it never came...

Stuart Turton Awww thanks. I intentionally left the world beyond Blackheath vague. I wanted to leave all of that to your imagination. More fun that way!

flag

15 likes · like
Comment

Hi Stuart! I just read 'The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle' in one sitting and i absolutely loved it (I wish I knew about it sooner). I am a sucker for murder mysteries, could you please suggest me some books to read till your next book is out, perhaps any of your favourites? Thanks!! :)

Stuart Turton Ha, thanks. A very late reply to this question - I don’t know how Goodreads works :) - but I’d recommend anything by Christie, or Raymond Chandler. Anthony Horowitz writes wonderful mysteries. My new book is out in March, so if you’re after something a bit different there’s that. Have a lovely day!

flag

15 likes · like
Comment

Hi Stuart, Thank you for this fantastic book. Totally loved every bit of it. and once I was through and started thinking about what all was good, I loved it even more:). Hence, sharing this with you. Thought you may like this, hope you don't mind? Not many people know the book in India. I am sure that will change in the years to come :) http://filmyfool.com/the-seven-deaths-of-evelyn-hardcastle-book-review/

Stuart Turton That’s really kind, thank you!

flag

like
Comment

Kudos to you, my good man. I really enjoyed 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and like many of your blurb authors, I wish I'd had the idea myself! But clearly, you were the one meant to write it. So thank you. Any chance this has been optioned for screen adaptation?

Stuart Turton Three years late to a question! A new record. Sorry, I’m only now discovering these questions. I’m glad you enjoyed the book. It was a lot of fun to write. It has been optioned, but we’re still trying to get the script right.

flag

3 likes · like
1 comment

Just wanted to say "Stuart, you rock!" The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle truly screwed with my mind, but I loved it so much that it has become one of my favourite reads of all time. It must have been hard to keep it all straight in your head. Lots of diagrams and charts? Tell me, was the setting really Hell or Limbo and Aidan and Anna escaped to Heaven?

Stuart Turton Thanks mate. Sorry for the late reply, I’ve only just discovered these questions. The setting for the book is whatever you think it is. I purposefully kept those things vague, because I love letting my readers imaginations run wild!

flag

1 like · like
Comment

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Stuart Turton The timeframe of the novel is intentionally vague, just because I think it’s more interesting to let the reader speculate about that stuff. For me, the genre was always murder mystery first and foremost. The other stuff is definitely there, but it’s a sort of genre garnish :)

flag