Turton’s debut novel, <i>The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle</i>, was one of my top reads of the year it came out. While there was some confusion due to a large cast and interesting timeline choices the plot was so interesting that it kept me hooked the whole way through. I will be re-reading that book for years to come. Unfortunately, the second book by Turton did not work for me in the same way.


<blockquote>A murder on the high seas. A detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.

It’s 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world’s greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Travelling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent.

But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered. And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel.

Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?

With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent can solve a mystery that connects every passenger onboard. A mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board.</blockquote>

The opening scene is full of dynamic moments. We are introduced to the main group of characters that the book focuses on and quickly establish their main characterising quality within a couple pages. The questions that the first chapter poses had me intrigued and I quickly read on to see how the mystery would develop. Unfortunately, I found the plot to drag for a large chunk of the middle of the book.

Over the course of the first two thirds, the book expands on the cast to bring in more secondary character. The previous book by Turton suffered due to its large cast and I found that this one did as well. The character are introduced quickly, and there is not much time to get to know each character before the next one is brought in. I particularly found this to be an issue with the secondary character as they became more and more indistinguishable as the book progressed.

Samuel Pipps is the Sherlock Holmes of this book but falls short. Much of the his legend relies on other characters referencing the published retellings of his cases but when it comes to Pipps on the page, he does not resemble the man of legend. His character fell flat.

<blockquote><i>Cleverness is a type of strength, and they won’t accept a woman who’s stronger than they are. Their pride won’t allow it, and their pride is the thing they hold dearest.</blockquote></i>

As the plot progressed, my interest wavered. The cast of characters grew larger and all of the clarity in the mystery was saved until this end. Unfortunately this mixture of factors meant my interest in the progression of the book dropped off as I reached the midway point.

In the end, I gave <i>The Devil and the Dark Water</i> two stars overall.

This sounds absolutely wonderful. I was gripped from page one and cannot wait to read the full book. I hope Father Christmas brings me a copy in my stocking this year!

This sampler contains the first two chapters of this brick of a novel from Stuart Turton. This couldn't be any more different from Evelyn Hardcastle but I like that in an author. The book opens on a gritty scene involving manacles, market places and lepers. So far so good. I can't wait to read more. Thank you Netgalley for the sampler.

This was just a sampler and have managed to read the full volume and have done a review of the whole story interesting cleverly written worth a read set in the olden time when women were commodities.

Seafaring plot twists, fighting, sleuthery, and magic? It's a difficult but to put down, it was a lot of fun.

After finally getting around to reading this sampler I immediately bought the Kindle version of this so I could carry on reading! Gripping from the first page, the characters have already began to develop, and you can feel the tie between Samuel and Arent already. The description of the setting is extremely evocative, you can really imagine yourself. This feels different to his first book, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, but Turton’s amazing writing shines through again!

You know when you read a sampler and you are left wanting more..... yes that. 

I loved this, I love Stuarts style of writing and his previous book #SevenDeaths was a masterpiece of words.  This one will just stun me too, I already know it.

When Arent Hayes steps aboard a ship headed back to Amsterdam, he's on a mission - to save his best friend and famous crime solver Sammy Pipps from the hangman's noose. Pipps has been arrested on unknown charges by the governor general, and Arent is intent on clearing his name. However, things become complicated when a cryptic message is shared by a leper as they board the ship, who promptly bursts into flames. The crew and passengers are soon haunted by a demon known as 'Old Tom' and everyone's past comes into play as Arent ends up on a mission to not only save Sammy but everyone on board.

For anyone looking for a dark book with an engrossing mystery tangled up with a bit of horror, and solid characters you really feel for - this is the perfect pick! I really enjoyed this book, and I found that everything was laid out really well, and the mystery just kept turning corners, to the point where there were times I felt I couldn't quite keep up with it (in a good way).

I really loved the dynamic between Arent Hayes and Sammy Pipps - the crime-solving duo where Pipps gets all the praise. They typically fell into the small and big partnership with Sammy being light, delicate and clever and Arent big and brawny yet full of intellect and kindness. They reminded me a little bit of Locke Lamora and Jean from The Gentleman Bastards series.

I also really loved the intelligence and strength of all the women on board - from Sara to Lia and Cressjie, as well as Isabel. The women all had really great qualities as well as flaws, and stood strongly next to the male characters in the book without feeling like pale comparisons (which can sometimes happen in historical thrillers where women are often confined by social status).

There were some great jump scare moments in this book, and scenes that really made me feel creeped out. They were described really well, as were many great points in the book and I often felt like I could see the scene play out in a movie or TV show (the candle coming closer and closer to Vos without him knowing for example).

One of the strongest things for me in this book was the utter wretch that would have been life on this kind of ship - from the small cabin spaces (if you were lucky enough to have a cabin) to the constant threat a crew on the edge portrays. There was always an air of danger and darkness from the soldiers to the musketeers.

I did feel like I was pleasantly surprised in this book at different times, particularly with Arent - he was a bit like Shrek - many layers of onion to unpeel.

While the ending and the reveal did feel a bit extravagant, it was also impressive - the rolling out of the whys and hows. At first, I felt it may be a bit over the top but the more I think about the more impressed I am at these characters and all the intricacies laid out within the pages to make everything come together so nicely.

It's hard to give a review after reading a sampler, as you have no idea in which direction the story is going to go. However I cannot wait to find out! From the little I've read, it is instantly atmospheric, mysterious and a bit bloodthirsty - exactly what I was expecting from the title and blurb.

After reading Turton's previous novel, I'm anticipating a thrilling, puzzling and possibly mind-bending mystery. I'm pretty certain this book will not disappoint.

I have had a signed copy on pre-order for months and it should be winging its way to me now. I will be dropping everything in order to delve straight back between the pages once it arrives. Stuart Turton is fast becoming one of my favourite authors (and not just for his cheeky tweets!).

Congratulations to both the author and publisher on what I anticipate will be another roaring success!

sounds wonderful!!  My signed waterstones copy arrived earlier in the week and I can't wait to read the full book.
I so enjoyed The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle as it was such an interesting, engaging and unique read.  High hopes for this one too!

Well that little sample completely piqued my interest, but thankfully I won't have to wait long to carry on as I will definitely be popping out to buy a copy tomorrow when it's released. I found myself getting swept away with the characters and the story so far. I'm looking forward to carrying on reading and seeing where it goes.

Turton’s second novel offers another large cast, echoing the literal numerous faces present in The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, but I’m currently finding it easy to keep track of names, roles and relationships. Turton’s writing style creates a subtle but definitive delimitation between the primary characters and those who are more secondary or tertiary without hindering the quality of their character development, interactions, or the narrative. The character-driven quality of this novel is certainly the primary draw at this point. I’m thoroughly enjoying learning about each primary character and following their escapades. The chapters do follow a different character, but in the third person, so it is closer to moving throughout the ship to follow them rather than dropping into each person as in Seven Deaths. Even if particular characters seem on the fringes of the narrative, or simply don’t stick around for very long, Turton has injected their appearances with enough intrigue to ensure they remain at the forefront of both the reader and character’s minds.

The hidden nature of Samuel (Sammy) Pipps’ crime is proving to be delightfully frustrating as I just want to know already! I’m hoping for a meaty reveal further down the line, especially as I’m currently learning more about Arent Hayes’ life and background. Sara Wessel immediately made an impression and her perspective on the Governor-General is a welcome, intriguing contrast to the sycophantic underlings and dignitaries usually surrounding him. Similarly, their daughter Lia Jan has piqued my interest immediately and I hope I’m going to learn more as she begins to speak out more.

I will admit that initially, the ship setting made me nervous. I’m learning that my reading taste seems not to favour books set on boats. In real life I quite like boats, I don’t get seasick, so I’m not sure why this is. For example, while I adore Frankenstein, I could easily leave Walton’s extensive descriptions of his boat hoping and hiring of individual sailors. My favourite mystery/thriller setting is a gorgeous big house which holds lots of secrets, maybe a good creepy attic, that I can delve into and learn about. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the balance Turton has achieved when it comes to the boat setting in particular. The setting is certainly informing some action and spurring character development and interaction, but it is also very much the backing to said action meaning it’s interestingly not setting off my apparent boat setting dislike. It’s going to be interesting to see if the setting progresses and the intricacies of boat life become more apparent. I also loved the reliance on the sail as one of the first mysterious elements.

I loved this sample of this book and was desperate to read on, so, I really want to read the whole book as soon as possible. I read The Seven Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle and thought it was fantastic and I know this one is going to be just as good or even better.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this sample in return for an honest review. I do hope I will be able to review the whole book in the very near future.

Wow! I've heard lots of fantastic things about Stuart Turton's writing and after reading this sampler, I can see why. With beautifully atmospheric writing, intriguing characters, and a fascinating historical era this sounds like the beginning of a phenomenal read. I definitely need to read more and will look out for this author in future.

I loved The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, so my expectations were high already. And I am not disappointed. I want more. I need more. 

This is a book totally different from Seven Deaths, and I'm glad it is. Even with the sampler, I got the feeling that I knew the characters and which ones I would love and which ones I should look out for. It sounds like an amazing adventure I will love. 

Lepers, musketeers, healers, mercenaries... I don't need to hear anything else, I just need more. So excited to read the entire book.

I went into this sampler blind on my Kindle, without having read any of the blurb and was hooked straight away by the descriptive and evocative writing. Intriguing characters including a cursing leper, a chained prisoner and his bodyguard together with a storyline filled with promise has definitely made me want to read more. An enjoyable and 'readable' writing style, this is definitely on my wishlist.

I was given a sampler of this book. I loved the different spin Stuart Turton put on the crime genre with Seven Deaths and recommended it to many customers. I was therefore very intrigued and excited to read this sample of The Devil and the Dark Water. It draws you in immediately and the characters already appeal as do their apparent relationships which I look forward to reading about further when I read the book. This is what I like about my job - books that I would not normally pick up, the horror side would put me off, become a new treasure to behold.

The sampler of The Devil and the Dark Water provided an excellent insight into what can be expected in the book: great characters, an intriguing storyline and a wonderful writing style that Stuart Turton introduced in The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. After reading the sampler, I can't wait to read the book!

Awesome ! Just awesome ! This short extract from the book has been intriguing, can't wait to read more. Very evocative and highly interesting.

I was given purely a sampler of this book; a little taste of this new adventure and by golly did it leave me needing more!

In a very few pages the environment & characters have been vividly birthed and the mystery already has begun.

Instantly there’s a clear love and skill of the history, the elements in both fiction and non fiction and ultimately the writing.

It’s safe to say this is a dangerous voyage I must board come October!