I have been really looking forward to this author's next book as I loved The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I was not disappointed,exciting, dramatic and introducing some great characters. I definitely wanted to read on and find out what happens on The Saardam ! I can't wait until October.

Unfortunately this sample was just not long enough. I am now sitting here in anticipation of reading the full novel when it is released and I cannot wait.

Well this taster sample has well and truly done its work well. I’m already hooked, intrigued and very much looking forward meeting Arent and Pipps as the new, or should it be pre-cursor to Holmes and Watson. Can’t wait to read more.
I loved Seven Deaths and this appears to be equally well written and engaging from the off. It will undoubtedly be a bestseller. Thank you to the author and Bloomsbury for totally whetting my appetite.

This sampler provides the first two chapters to Stuart Turton's new book.

Having really enjoyed his debut for the uniqueness it provided I was unsure how his next book would live up to expectation. Having a sample to read has intrigued me with this next book, I found Turton's writing so easy to read.

I could see the Sherlock Holmes influence in the way Pipps character was figuring things out through observations.

Unfortunately this book doesn't seem like it will be for me. The opening chapters aren't particularly engaging, it's just a whirlwind of characters without much context. It didn't grab me, which is a shame.

As someone who absolutely adored Stuart Turton's debut, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I have been waiting with baited breath for his next novel! When I heard it was going to be a historical novel, set in the 1600s, I was even more intrigued, And on the basis of this sampler, The Devil and the Dark Water is not going to disappoint!

From the very first page I was swept up in Turton's vivid recreation of the Dutch East Indies colony of Batavia, and in the mystery that promises to lie aboard the ship that will take a motley group of travellers back to Amsterdam.

Samuel Pipps, alchemist and detective, is being taken back to Amsterdam in chains. Protected only by his loyal bodyguard Arent Hayes, it is clear that he is accused of something terrible in Batavia. But what? And to what lengths will Arent be prepared to go in order to prove his friend's innocence?

Noblewoman Sara Wessel, meanwhile, defies her husband, the stern governor general of Batavia, to provide aid to a dying leper whose final words speak of a terrible evil that will befall all who dare to board the ship. But how can a leper whose tongue has been cut out speak such a prophecy? And how does a man with a disfigured leg climb a stack of crates to deliver such chilling words?

Given that all of these mysteries are contained before our cast even sets sail, I am confident that The Devil and the Dark Water will see a return to the mind-bending mysteries and seemingly impossible puzzles that made Evelyn Hardcastle such an engagingly thrilling read!

I’ve given in again and downloaded a sample despite knowing that it will be a tortuous wait for the novel to be published. But this was Stu Turton and having loved Seven Deaths I couldn’t resist.
There was just enough in these opening chapters to grip me. A woman who knew she was alienating her husband to care for someone who was in a lot of pain, a girl who was hidden away by her father ( I’m really looking forward to finding out why), a threat given but one I suspected would be ignored.
Very atmospheric, I almost felt I was there experiencing the fear, the heat and the smell.
Counting down the weeks until Oct 1st.

I probably shouldn’t have downloaded a sample of this book as I was already looking forward to reading this book and now I really am desperate to read the rest! This book is so immersive right from the beginning taking you into another World that feels so far away but so real at the same time. The first few chapters are already full of interesting characters and intrigue. I can’t wait to read more.

Absolutely intrigued. 'Seven Deaths' was my favourite novel of the last 3 years and it blew my mind. So many good, inventive, clever things about it. I've been waiting patiently for Stuart Turton's next and it's finally here. This sampler has me hooked. I can't wait to carry on reading...

Based on a mere extract only. A prologue and a couple of chapters.

I would never dream of reading a book; or buying it to read based on just the two opening chapters.
Yet by reading this sampler I am doing that and encouraging you to do likewise.

My reasoning is clear and holds up to any emotive challenge as it is not based on either this author’s previous work or the written narrative here.
My interest in the book began simply with the introduction on how the story came to him and the plot lines developed.

I suppose I am part of the generation that grew up with the sixties classic The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Also the drama and fallout over the Mutiny on the Bounty, a film from the early sixties.
School taught of great sea adventures rounding the Capes and great voyages of discovery from Ferdinand Magellan, James Cook, Vasco da Gama and Francis Drake.
The author here, in an unscheduled moment came across the story of the wreckage of a merchant vessel on a tiny coral island. This is what triggered the process of writing this novel. He outlines the ingredients which lent themselves to make a working novel, what to include and I was intrigued and hooked.

Two chapters is barely sufficient to gain an inkling to a book short of the writing style and perhaps a shocking opening that demands more reading. Here we have the laying down of characters as you would expect.

The hook if you see it as such is the strange incident at the harbour prior to departure. Seven similar boats lie at anchor. The one we are interested in is the one that those we meet are booked to sail upon which is destined for Amsterdam. This very vessel is highlighted by means of a cruse pronounced by a mute leper, who in effect condemns all who sail on her and prophesies that she will not reach her designated port.

Now if I was at Heathrow and someone announced that my Virgin Atlantic flight to New York was going down into the cold North Sea, I’d feel a little put off any in-flight meal. Well readers rejoice we get to follow an eight month voyage that appears doomed like a slow-mo Titanic without Kate Winslet.

Stuart Turton has in the manifest a Holmes/Watson type crime team so all may not be lost for the crew and passengers but I for one would not embark. Happily I can share the horror and evil from my armchair where my escapism is pain free. This is what makes reading such a joy and why I am keen to read The Devil and the Dark Water.