I remember enjoying The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, but remember it being quite a complicated book. I was looking forward to reading The Devil and the Dark Water.

Set in the 17th century, this is a historical novel set on board a ship embarking on an eight month long voyage from the Dutch East Indies to Amsterdam. Pipps is on board the ship as a prisoner, but he senses there’s trouble on board the ship and begs the captain not to sail. They pay no heed and set off, despite the warnings of a curse.

There are a lot of characters in the book and I found it so confusing trying to remember who was who and it made it difficult to follow the story.

I plodded on until about halfway through but nothing really happened. The book isn’t badly written and clearly the author has done a lot of research into the time period. Some parts are well described and you get a sense of the squalor on board.

Unfortunately, I didn’t finish the book as it took me weeks to read half of it and nothing much had happened. I didn’t feel invested in the story or the characters. I think if the book had been shorter and faster paced it could have been better but sadly not one for me.

Sadly this one wasn't for me.
I enjoyed Turton's previous book which is why I requested it but this felt like a slog.
The pace is quite slow amd I didn't really warm to the characters.

Imagine Sherlock Holmes met Hornblower, as written by MR James, with help from Agatha Christie. A nautical murder mystery like no other, this is an excellent read. Enjoy the voyage!

Huge thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this title in exchange for my review.

This was intriguing and I didn’t know what to expect from the title but I was pleasantly surprised

What a genius Stuart Turton is. You can feel the pain and tears gone into creating this outstanding read. I didn’t think he could beat his last, but this is definitely on par, if not better. Highly recommend!

A weird but very enjoyable mash up of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, historical fiction, ships and a mystery involving the devil. The writing was excellent, Turton really knows how to compile a thoroughly engaging story and I loved not knowing where the plot was taking me. The ending didn't quite live up to my expectations but I had a fun time reading it.

Although I loved, loved, loved Stuart Turton's first novel (it was actually the first book I ever received an ARC of and for that, I will be forever grateful), his second attempt really didn't work for me. Everywhere The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle succeeded, this struggled: the plot, the pacing, the characters. Although it undoubtedly suffered under the weight of my expectation, the genius for form and ideas that I had originally glimpsed was nowhere to be seen.

I'll admit that even though I own Stuart Turton's first novel, The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, this is actually the first I've read by him. The reason I picked this one up first was because I'm a bit of a sucker for settings where the characters can't escape easily, along with anything with a whiff of the paranormal.

The Devil and the dark water is a historical mystery packed full of atmosphere and tension. There was also a classic mystery vibe through the story, which I enjoyed.

Stuart Turton's writing is wonderfully descriptive and I could picture myself aboard the ship but what made it was the characters. I absolutely loved Arent and Sarah. Arent is a mercenary used to using his strength rather than his intellect to get what he wants and always second guessing himself. Sarah, on the other hand, may be high born but has suffered abuse at the hands of her husband, and wants nothing more than freedom. Together they made a fabulous sleuthing pair!

I was slightly disappointed after over five hundred pages at the ending. It just felt a bit anticlimactic, even though there were a few twists in there.

Overall, the book is enjoyable, if a little long, and I will definitely read more from Stuart Turton in the future.

Sometimes you start a book and think "I'm just not getting into this." only to pick it up a few days / weeks /months later to find "I need to read this right now." The brain is a funny thing.

Stuart Turton's murder mystery on the high seas is a rock solid read. In the beginning I was feeling disheartened with the long-winded exposition about long distance sea travel and thought Turton was a wee bit too obsessed with sanitation, hygiene and the toiletry habits of 17th century seafarers. But take heart, dear readers, Turton is not a writer who is frivolous with his words. The devil is in the details.

You think you've worked out the twists only to have them thrown in your face the next few pages. You think you've solved the mystery only to find out that wasn't the mystery at all. It wasn't even a breadcrumb and something bigger is in play. You think you know how it's going to end only for your little storybook world to be upended in the next chapter. This was very slick and clever. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Turton's work

Recommended for fans of: Agatha Christie, Anthony Horowitz

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the reading copy.

Whilst I have ticked giving this book three stars, I have to be fully honest and say that I did not finish this. I absolutely loved The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, also by this author, and that is what made me request this.
What I do love with Turton's writing is the complete and utter puzzle you are drawn into straight from the beginning, and I was constantly thinking of all possibilities of where this story was going.
I liked the characters I cam across but I found it difficult to remain interested - perhaps this was just me though.

The cover is gorgeous and was another reason I was looking forward to picking this up.

I do intend to pick this back up again, I just do not know when :/

A detective duo on the high seas, a mystery wrapped in superstition and death, The Devil and the Dark Water is a uniquely spun 'who dunnit' that captivates and intrigues.

I loved the relationship between Samuel and Arent. They're very much a Sherlock and Holmes duo, with Arent thrust into the spotlight with the pressures of solving the mystery when Pipps can't (with the help of Sara, the Governor General's wife). I also really liked the overall tone of this. It's not a straight up mystery, rather encompassing and using the historical setting to its full advantage in what has clearly been a heavily researched, atmospheric world. Having the mystery take place on a ship, although not entirely unique, still sets up certain boundaries as to possible suspects and helps guide the reader along with the characters. I also thought the overallmplotting of this, and the reveal of certain clues was also well done.

I will say that the pacing is quite slow, especially in the middle when it feels as though the investigation has come to somewhat of a stall. There's a lot of floundering on Sara and Arent's part as they try desperately to (and sometimes repeatedly) share their theories and ask questions. I wanted at least a little action or advancement at this point, and my interest did start to go.

However on the whole I found this to be a unique take on the murder mystery genre with some solid characters and cleverly crafted writing.

I loved Turton’s first book so his next was highly anticipated and this one did not disappoint. Just so compelling!

I loved Stuart’s last book to the extent that I bought everyone in my immediate family a copy of it for Christmas, so I was so so excited when this came out.

Although his last book will always hold a special place in my heart, I really really enjoyed this one too. Set on a boat with a demon named “Old Tom”, allegedly on board, the crew are terrified, everyone is suspicious, and fear has control of all…..

This kept me on tender hooks all the way through and I literally could not believe what happened….

My thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for the copy.

This is never boring, with a twist, turn or edge-of-your seat moment every few pages. I enthusiastically recommend it to our customers who like history, ships, adventure, and mystery - so that's quite a lot of them. Everyone has loved it; no one has been disappointed. We can't wait to see what Stuart writes next.

It’s 1632 and Arent Hayes is accompanying Sammy Pipps to Amsterdam. Sammy is to stand trial for a crime he may or may not have committed and Arent wants to prove his innocence. But there are high jinks and bedevilment aboard their ship in the name of ‘Old Tom’ whose disciple is a leper. Strange symbols start to appear and the deaths start to mount up. Just who or what is behind these peculiar events?

This is a dark but gripping murder mystery come adventure story. It really kept me on my toes. There’s a bit of all sorts going on including a hint of the supernatural and some witchcraft. But at the heart of it is an intricate and clever plot with some fantastic characters. There’s definitely a feeling of underlying menace and it’s quite creepy too. I did find it a little confusing at times as there are quite a lot of characters, some of whom had different ways of being addressed. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the Seven Deaths of Eleanor Hardcastle but still found it an exciting and intriguing read.

A much anticipated novel for me after liberally enjoying the authors first book, and it didn’t disappoint, although not quite reaching the heights of ‘Seven Deaths…’ a clever historical mystery

If you loved The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle as much as we did, you’ll be desperate to get your hands on Stuart Turton’s second book – a complex, atmospheric and quirky tale that’s part epic adventure, part detective novel, putting a spin on the traditional Holmes and Watson duo. Don’t miss it.

This book was great. Loved the storyline and the characters.
Made me feel like I was really there.
Easy reading.

I really didn't understand this one and couldnt connect to it at all. I ended up DNFing it because I wasn't enjoying it and found myself dreading reading it.

Dark, bloody and visceral, this story follows unlikely pair of brawny Arent Hayes and brainy Sammy Pipps aboard the ‘cursed’ ship, the Saardam… well, actually, it follows Arent Hayes and Sara Wessell (wife to the Governor General) mainly, as Sammy is locked in a tiny hole below-decks for unspecified heinous crimes.

Poor Arent has to struggle with not only strange symbols, slaughtered animals, mysterious lights across the water, and a horror-film leper, but also his own crippling insecurity and self-doubt, as self-appointed Watson to Pipps’ Sherlock.

There is a bit of everything here, from historical murder mystery to feminist politics, to romantic love story, all with the underlying question of whether events are being driven by paranormal horror or a more human evil.

Despite a slow start, this would have been an easy 5* read for me, if it hadn’t been for certain decisions made at the final reveal. Without spoiling any of the plot, I just didn’t feel that moral compromise was in the nature of the relevant characters as they had been presented to us, and therefore their choices felt forced upon them in order to tie up the resolution with a neat bow.

Even with that discomfort, this was a gripping read and would be ideal for anyone who loves a well-written historical mystery story.