The Devil and The Dark Water, Stuart Turton. 3/4

A murder on the high seas. A detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist. Its 1634 and Samuel Pips is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may or may not have committed, with loyal bodyguard Arent Hayes who is desperate to prove Pips innocent. No sooner has the voyage began than does the devilry begin.

Evelyn Hardcastle was a firecracker of a debut for Turton. I’d never read anything quite like it, i recommended it to everyone and it instantly hit my favourite shelf. Thanks to #NetGalley and #BloomsburyPublishing for my ARC of this one.

This is an eerie one, layered with history, mystery and what feels like the devil himself riding the high seas. This is nothing at all like Evelyn Hardcastle so if you go in expecting more of the same you may find yourself slightly disappointed. Turtons writing remains as teasingly brilliant, easing the story out slowly, submerging you in the complexity of the plot so you cannot turn away.

The plot itself is remarkable, less Pirates of the Caribbean and more Black Sails. Turton has already established himself as a must read, this just adds to the evidence pile.

A very intriguing historical mystery that keeps the reader guessing. The characters are well-formed and believable within the setting. There aren't many modern books, mystery or otherwise, set predominantly on board a ship, so the setting for this book was refreshing.
Just as in The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, the clues are expertly woven within dialogue and descriptions along with a few red herrings. I enjoyed every aspect of the story and characters and my only critique would be that the atmosphere was a little lacking at times, but this was still a very satisfying mystery with some really interesting elements- in particular I felt the 'supernatural' events and the idea of Old Tom kept the mystery feeling original and eerie.
I feel I do need to mention that there were a lot of typing mistakes. Every 100 pages or so I noticed 2 or 3 mistakes close together, probably the most I've come across in an ARC. This didnt influence my review of the book at all, but I feel I should point it out so it can be checked through once more before publication if it wasn't due to be already. I'm blaming Covid for all errors!
Thank you sincerely for this ARC Netgalley and publisher, I knew I would enjoy this, having been written by Stuart Turton and it was a privilege to read it early!

A really clever and original idea from an author who can create twists and turns right up until the end. Thoroughly enjoyable and engaging as a mystery with the added intrigue of an unusual setting and varied cast of characters. Gripping and exciting.

From start to finish I was trying to guess at what would happen next, but much to my delight I was always surprised. Stuart Turnton is a force to be reckoned with and just like his first book, The Devil and the Dark Water is an incredibly well-plotted and exciting murder mystery that will keep you turning page after page. One of the best books I've read this year.