Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed the subject but really struggled to settle into reading this book. It’s a good read but not an easy one

What a book - featuring a detective duo, witchfinders, murders on the high sea, some sassy women and even Old Tom himself stalking passengers on the ship. Set in 1634, a detective is imprisoned on board on way to his execution. His side-kick, Arent Hayes, sets out to solve a crime on board and to prove his friend innocent. The plot thickens fast and before long a leper has appeared after he was killed, passengers are killed and the ship is at risk.

This is a rollocking read from Stuart Turton, author of the similarly twisty bestseller, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Readers who like twists and turns, historical fiction and detective books will love this.

As a big fan of Stuart Turton’s previous novel, I was really excited to see that he had a new one on the horizon and well, wasn’t this a fantastic second outing?

Sammy Pipps and Arent Hayes, a detective and his bodyguard, are returning to Amsterdam from the United East India Company outpost of Batavia (modern day Jakarta). However, Arent is walking onto the ship and Sammy is in chains. And then the devil strikes on the ship taking them home, the Saardam, and literally, all hell breaks loose. Who to trust and who is good, bad, or downright ugly is for you to work out.

If I could condense it in one concept, I would say it’s Sherlock Holmes in the 17th Century but that is too small a description for the rich, epic adventure Tustin manages to create in The Devil and the Dark Water. It’s involved, it’s gripping and it’s incredibly interesting.
My only complaint really, like with Evelyn Hardcastle, is at times I get lost in the prose. It’s too much, it’s too rich and too much - you forget who is what or how they tie in for a bit. It’s a lot of threads to hold onto. Each character has a secret of which some never quite get revealed properly.... However, when you think about how long it is, and how many characters there are, and how infrequently this confusion happens, it’s an extremely accomplished work.

If you enjoyed his first effort, this is a glorious second course.

Thank you to #Netgalley & #Bloomsbury for this arc.
It is 1634 and the Governor of Batavia is returning to Holland with the closely guarded secret "The Folly". It will take 8 months for the journey to be completed but his prize is a seat on The Gentlemen 17 committee who control trade via the Dutch East India Company. The Governor is accompanied on board the ship Saardam by his wife, daughter, mistress and various employees. Included in this group are Samuel Phipps an English investigator/problematory who has solved many mysteries but is now in chains accused of treason. His companion is Arent Hayes whose task is to protect Sammy. The drama begins on the quayside before the ship is boarded. A leper claims that "Old Tom" an occult figure will make sure none of them reach Holland. Events on the quayside set the scene for the drama that follows on the ship. The mark of Old Tom appears as the ship sets sail and soon discord has been sown between the crew and the passengers. Short rations, the slaughter of the livestock and mysterious happenings all feed into the fervid amotsphere on the ship. And the man most capable of solving the mysteries is locked in the brig. The scene is set for a marvellous locked room mystery. Is it one person acting alone or several people acting in unison? As the tension develops the claustrophobic feel of the ship is accentuated.
I couldn't put this book down and the short chapters kept me reading long after I should have put it away.
For fans of Stuart Turton's debut novel The 71/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle this 2nd novel is different but just as good.
The Devil and the Dark Water is a rip roaring tale of greed, corruption, the occult, superstition and so much more. Read it!
There are characters

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC of this book.

This is a very interesting book. It follows a Holmes and Watsonesque duo on a sea voyage from Batavia to Amsterdam in the 1630s. The ship appears to be besieged by a devil threatening people and causing deaths and the pair must solve the mystery of the deaths. Is it really a supernatural devil or is there a more rational explanation?

It’s a very atmospheric, intriguing and unpredictable book. I think Stuart Turton is a very original author. His books keep you guessing until the end and I was so relieved that it had a very satisfying ending which explained everything.

I found it slightly hard to keep track of all the male characters with unfamiliar Dutch names. However, I particularly enjoyed that the female characters have very modern sensibilities, are strong and intelligent and complain about not having pockets in their dresses.

A very enjoyable historical mystery book with an interesting setting which manages to be both complex and thoroughly readable.

This really was a ‘full speed ahead’ story which I found difficult to catch up with! I felt as though I had missed out on a prequel and was missing out on the full story. The Dutch names didn’t help my confusion and despite the list of characters I was never quite sure who was who and what rank they held aboard the Indiaman! I enjoyed the relationships that surrounded the He man’ hero Arent and I could almost taste and smell the atmosphere onboard ship. Despite my confusion I was carried away by the story and enjoyed chasing the demons which threatened the crew and her passengers!

A supernatural mystery set on a ship sailing from Batavia to Amsterdam, with a Sherlock Holmes type detective on board. What's not to like? Turns out, not very much at all, as this is a really clever, well plotted story with great characters, so many of them with various reasons and apparent motives to keep you guessing right to the very end.

It's a stand alone story, but I would read the hell out of prequels detailing the adventures of Sammy Pipps and Arent Hale, and the fact that they have such a rich history adds to the fullness of their characterisation. Sammy Pipps is a problematory, a detective with almost preternatutal skills at uncovering the truth of things, and Arent is his giant framed bodyguard. His Watson, but with extra muscle, for revealing and accusing murderers and thieves is a risky game.

Sara, Lia, and Creesjie are all strong female characters, esch with a destiny and a will of their own to survive and prosper despite the male attention they attract and which obviously in the timeframe wants to dominate them.
Set in 1634, aboard a Dutch merchant ship, the time is vividly portrayed as a dangerous place for women, who do what they're told and should be submissive. On the surface this appears to be the fate our three ladies are resigned to, but over the story we discover this couldn't be further from the truth.

I hadn't read this author before, but will certainly be checking more of out his work.

This is a fantastic ,addictive read with many twists and turns that will keep you turning each page to see what comes next. The writing is vivid and descriptive ,as we learn about the harsh reality of life on the ship. The characters are diverse and entertaining and grab you from the start, from the ship's crew to the noble passingers, each has a secret to keep.
This is definitely one I'll be recommending again and again.

Stuart Turton is proving himself to be a master of intricately plotted, unpredictable and hugely satisfying mystery stories.

After loving his debut novel, I eagerly read this book, his second, and was not disappointed. Taking an entirely different premise for the plot, all the elements which made his debut novel so good were all here too.

Set aboard a ship journeying from the East Indies to Amsterdam in 1634, the novel starts with a leper appearing and warning passengers that the ship and voyage has been cursed by "Old Tom", the devil incarnated, before bursting into flames. What follows is a mystery full of murder, mayhem and mutiny with two characters at the forefront working to solve the mystery and uncover the devil among the passengers and crew.

All the key characters within the plot were well developed and there were plenty of twists and turns to keep the story interesting. I would have loved to have seen more from Samuel Pipps, the talented detective heavily inspired by Sherlock Holmes, and found the ending a little too neat and tidy for my liking. Overall this was such a fun adventure story and brilliantly captured the darkness and gruelling conditions aboard the ship. A perfect read for Autumn and Winter.
Thank you to Netgalley and Raven Books for the ARC.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing U.K. Raven Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ by Stuart Turton in exchange for an honest review. I complimented my reading with its audiobook, narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt.

“Know that my master sails aboard the Saardam. He is the lord of hidden things; all desperate and dark things.” - a leper addressing the departing passengers.

Murder, mystery and intrigue on the high seas! In 1634, a small fleet sets sail on an eight month journey from the Dutch East Indies to Amsterdam. On board the Saardam, Samuel Pipps, the world’s greatest detective, is being transported to face trial and execution for a crime he may, or may not, have committed.

He is accompanied by his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. Among the other passengers are a noblewoman, Sara Wessel, and her husband, the governor general of Batavia.

Even before they have left port a strange event occurs in the dramatic warning given by the ragged leper as quoted above. These incidents increase once they are at sea. There are whispers of a demonic presence and what is the secret cargo, known as ‘The Folly’? I won’t say more in order to avoid spoilers though will say that this proved a cracking high seas adventure.

Following Stuart Turton’s highly acclaimed 2018 debut, ‘The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’, I was very excited when details of his next book were announced. I am a huge fan of historical mysteries, especially with Gothic elements, and while I don’t often read maritime tales its being set on board an East Indiaman was rather intriguing.

I felt that this an extremely well plotted mystery. I quickly found myself totally immersed in it and was riveted until the final page. While it has a more linear narrative than ‘Seven Deaths’, Turton still delights in mixing genres. In addition, there were plenty of twists and surprises including an intriguing locked room mystery.

I felt that Turton exhibited great skill in evoking both its period setting and the claustrophobic atmosphere on board a 17th century sailing vessel.

Overall, I felt that it proved worthy of the prepublication excitement. It is an entertaining historical mystery/adventure that is certain to delight Turton‘s existing fans and win him many more.

Highly recommended.

I couldn't get into this book at the start, despite having loved Stuart Turton's first book, however, when I put it down then picked it back up a couple of days later, I was drawn in, so it's worth persevering! Once I'd restarted it I found I was dragged in and wanted to learn more about the characters and the events. It's not an easy read but it is hypnotising and eerie.
It is set in the Early 17th Century on a ship, sailing to Amsterdam, which at that time took 8 months - a long time to be on a packed ship. On board are the Governor General, his wife, his daughter and his mistress together with an imprisoned renowned detective, Samuel Pipps, and his huge bodyguard, Arent Hayes. The Governor General has brought with him a secretive cargo called The Folly, which needs to be protected.
As unexpected events occur during boarding and when onboard, the ship is full of suspicion, blame, danger and religion is called into question. It makes you ask yourself whether evil actually exists or is someone doing the deadly deeds to frighten the passengers and crew?

For me autumn brings a desire to read mystery books. Books that you can curl up with and get lost in. The Devil and the Dark Water is defiantly one of those books, although, at times, it is far from a comfort read. Even when you want to escape its pages it pulls you back in to its haunted and claustrophobic world which in my mind is what a perfect thriller does.
The book is set in the early 17th Century and is centred around Samuel Pipps, a famous detective who has been imprisoned on board an Amsterdam-bound Dutch Indiamen called the Sardaam. With him, is his loyal bodyguard Arent Hayes who is desperate to protect him and have him freed. Very soon, strange, unsettling occurrences start happening aboard the ship and we are trapped in a brutal and hostile environment fraught with division and suspicion. Having never read a book set aboard a ship, I found Turton effectively bought to the fore the sense of claustrophobia convincingly. The smells, sounds and proximity to others were constant throughout the reading of this book and added a dimension of shared desperation to solve the mystery.
Arent feels that without Pipps’ freedom he is unable to solve the mystery of Old Tom, the spirit supposedly haunting the boat but from very early on the governor general’s wife Sara Wessel helps to try to solve the unfathomable events. Arent and Sara’s relationship grows as they are propelled towards ever increasing danger. The characters were all fully realised and nuanced, compelling the reader to be fully invested in their successes and failures. The books explores the boundaries between good and evil as well asking us to question notions of responsibility and duty to others in contrast to serving our own needs and desires. How character is built through facing our fears and seeing beyond our own individual experiences, in order that we do what is right was the message I took from this book. I cannot wait to own a physical copy which I hear has some beautiful maps and illustrations.

The Devil and the Dark Water was so good. I love books set on ships and I do want to be a pirate. Turton presents a sort of locked room mystery where no one on board the ship is who they say they are and they are all hiding something throw a in devil summoning curse, some murder, a crime solving partnership that bears more than a passing glance at Holmes and Watson and a feisty red headed rebel with a genius daughter and you’ve got a gold standard locked room mystery.
I enjoyed this a lot, much more than the Seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I thought the writing was clever, sharp and witty. Arent, our hero, is a good man who has done bad things and is the size of a house I loved him and I was routing for him and Sara throughout they were tops. I did guess who was behind the plot quite early on but there was another twist I didn’t see coming so it wasn’t disappointing.

Overall extremely well-crafted mystery and skilful take on Sherlock Holmes. Stuart Turton is clearly a master at plotting. Pacing dragged a little in the middle section but picked up in the last third.

Having loved “The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle”, I was really excited to hear of a second novel from Stuart Turton.

His second book is set on a merchant ship in the 1600s. As the Saardam is about to set sail, an ominous warning is issued by a burning man - the ship is doomed and a devil is aboard this ship. You are immediately enthralled by a chilling murder with a seemingly supernatural cause.

During the voyage, mysterious symbols appear, impossible events occur and someone is whispering to the passengers, promising their heart’s greatest desire if they make a bargain with the devil.
You get a sense of the claustrophobia and danger on the long voyages and you are never quite sure if there is a devil on board or not.

It’s difficult to review this book. I enjoyed the spine tingling events that are really creepy and well written but I struggled with the pace of that book. There is a lot of back story, red herrings, dead ends and investigative plot between the haunting unholy miracles. For me, this meant that the tension didn’t have the chance to build up enough to get under my skin and have me gripped by the plot. I didn’t guess the ending and I was glad as I love to be surprised. The conclusion did wrap up every detail and clue and it was really clever - I wouldn’t have guessed it in a million years. It also revealed the book is perfectly named and I really enjoyed the symbolism in title.

However, we’re told the Saadarm was due to sail for eight months to reach its destination and it felt like I had been reading the book for a similar length of time when it had concluded. For me, the slow pace robbed the ending of some of its impact.

That said. I look forward to the next novel, it’s clear you can rely on Turton’s books for interesting concepts and shocking endings.

After loving Turton's previous book, I was thrilled to get this one! Another murder mystery, but with Turton's expertise, who knows what would unfold!
This was well written, but the plot and setting didn't engage me and I found it difficult to follow with the different characters, even with the aids at the beginning. I think it may be easier on a physical copy so will endeavour to purchase this book as Turton is a master of storytelling genius!

"Good mysteries so rarely come along, but if you've got a little imagination you can invent as many as you want" - so says one of the main characters as the book concludes, and it's a timely comment on this excellent read.

On board an Indiaman from Batavia to Amsterdam, with a cargo of spices, a riveting cast of crew and passengers are set for a journey of fear, mystery and thrills.

Although the male characters are also beautifully crafted, I particularly loved the women in this book: Sara, wife of the governor general, craving independence and wanting to allow her gifted daughter Lia to shine; Creesjie, a smiling, merry yet enigmatic woman; Isobel, religious and dedicated. Their relationships with the men on board are often deep, often shallow, often thrilling, often dangerous.

I could talk about this a lot longer, but instead recommend you pick it up for yourself!

Another smash hit from the wonderful Stu Turton. A fantastic second novel. A historical supernatural mystery set at sea and two detectives to solve it. A complex plot, but Stu is the master of complex plots. A fantastic read.

I really enjoyed Stuart Turton's first novel. It was different, clever, and entertaining I was very interested to see what he would come up with next.
This novel is wildly different from his first but without losing any of the style and smarts that characterised it.
Set on a merchant ship sailing from the provinces to Amsterdam with a mysterious cargo and a passenger list full of people with motives, the mark of a devil calling itself Old Tom starts appearing on the ship and terrible things begin to occur.
The mystery of Old Tom and saving the ship is put to Sammy Pipps, a famous 'thief-taker' or detective who has found himself onboard not through choice and his loyal friend and assistant Arent.
I highly recommend this to anyone who likes a good mystery but with a clever and interesting twist.

Although I am yet to read Stuart Turton’s very successful debut novel The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I have had a copy of it for a while. I think I just wanted a chunk of time set aside to devote to it and haven’t quite found that urge as of yet. It has been staring at me recently and I will no doubt be giving into it very soon because I’ve just finished his latest mystery and boy, was I shook!

It’s 1634 aboard the Saardam, a ship that has just left the East Indies (modern day Indonesia) bound for Amsterdam. Its crew includes a fantastic detective Sammy Pipps, who is being held prisoner and awaiting execution for a crime he didn’t commit, and his loyal bodyguard Arent Hayes. Not long into the journey, a lame leper inexplicably manages to climb on top of a stack of crates on the deck and burst into flames. Strange symbols begin appearing all over the ship and dark things occur including sightings of this thought-to-be-dead leper. Is there really a demon in their ranks? With the only man likely to solve the mystery in manacles, Arent takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of these bizarre, impossible happenings.

They’re joined by a malevolent governor general Jan Haan, his frustrated wife Sara, their brilliantly clever daughter Lia, Jan’s mistress Creesjie, a Dutch minister Sander Kers, his apprentice Isabel and a band of other officials and sailors. As you might expect in 1634, there is a fair amount of misogyny amongst the male characters but the excellency of the women blast all truth of their remarks right out of the water. In truth, the women of the book do a lot of the actual mystery solving and Turton has written some truly amazing women in this novel, so you’re in for a real treat!

Sara is a woman of noble birth and she has married well but she still bears the brunt of mistreatment and underestimation from men. She was one of my favourite characters and I was so invested in things working out for her in the end. She is incredibly wise and sharp, both qualities that have been passed on to Lia and I had no doubt that her teaming up with Arent would help get the mystery solved. This little line where she complains about the lack of pockets in her dresses made me smile -close to 400 years later, women are still asking for more pockets in their dresses!

The atmosphere on the ship is one of inevitable doom and anticipation of death. I could almost feel a very heavy black cloak over the whole thing and every room and passage way reeked of curses. Turton is great at evoking this gloomy setting and creating an overwhelming feeling of dread. It’s perfect for this claustrophobic Christie-esque air that haunts the entirety of the book.

Arent and Sammy have a very strong Sherlock and Watson dynamic and I loved it. They have such a wonderful bond and unwavering trust in each other and I would love to read more of their cases. At several points, I did fear for Sammy’s life and I had only Arent’s huge presence to assure me that he’d be ok. Although it seemed like a perfect friendship for most of the narrative, the end revealed that even the closest friends sometimes have secrets between them -much like Sherlock and Watson!

In spite of all its death and skullduggery, the book also has a few rays of light. The mystery was still being fully unravelled in the final pages and I did fear that it would leave some things unanswered or not quite satisfactory. However, it was rounded off on a hopeful note and I was grateful to finally emerge from the tunnel of a very immersive reading experience into the light.

The Devil and the Dark Water is an addictive, wise, twisty mystery that is perfect for curling up with during the upcoming long cold nights. The characters are fantastically developed, the twists just keep on coming and the little jewels of wisdom from centuries ago speak directly to a contemporary audience. Agatha Christie fans will devour this chunk of a book.