The Devil and the Dark Water

One of those rare books that lives up to the description. Ghost ships? Check. Murder on board? Check. In 1630s Batavia in the East Indies, Sammy Pipps and his very large sidekick Arent are on board a ship filled with spices and (probably) murderers back to Amsterdam. There are whispers that a devil called "Old Tom" is behind the killing of a leper who used to be on the ship they're sailing.
I loved the writing, fantastic pacing, and complex puzzles embedded in this historical mystery. Won't be out until the fall, but it was truly fantastic and kept me up late needing to find out what happened next! Thanks Netgalley for the early reader copy.

Ship ahoy! Prepare yourself to have a dangerous intercontinental trip to Europe and feel the vibes of Pirates of Caribbean meets Murder in the Orient Express vibes embellished with supernatural/paranormal elements.

Bring out your pop corns and refreshments because this is going to be unputdownable, addictive, action packed, dazzling, mysterious, twisty experiment and stock your adult diapers because during your read you want to cut your restroom breaks and be fully concentrated on the story, flipping pages. ( I bribed my husband to put a slice of pizza on my mouth and move my mouth up and down to help me chew so I wouldn’t get starved when I focused on this incredibly exciting story! Good thing he accepted my pay in Belgium chocolates!)

Tatatataaaa! The year is 1634 (when I write this review I can hear the voice over of Morgan Freeman in my head which improves my encouragement), an East Indian Company ship named “Saardam” is about to set sail and the passengers slowly arrive to board into the ship including a special passenger- a very famous detective Samuel Pipps: arrested and sent to Amsterdam for his trial accompanied by his devoted best friend& protector Arent Hayes whose only intention is proving Pipps’ innocence to the authorities.

Don’t worry: Pipps doesn’t make stand on the railing of the ship, grabbing Hayes’ arms as he extends them out. There is no line in the book like: “I’m flying” and we don’t hear “My heart will go on” in the background. So their journey seemed a routine and necessary trip till a leper without tongue appears from nowhere, shouting at them: “they’re all gonna die and there is a devil in this ship coming after them” before put himself into the fire. Yes, I called it: that’s how you make a great entrance!

The governor general of Batavia is also on board. Arent asks for his wife Sara for the help after the unexpected and shocking dead of leper. But as we’re introduced with his abuser, arrogant, dangerous husband we realize Sara cannot get his support to solve the mystery. And the leper’s premonition comes true, already three deaths are marked by the devil and it seems like he has no intention to stop. But I’m stopping here because giving any more details may ruin the big twists (they keep coming and you need to sit tight not to collapse after the head spinning, fast paced, intense, action packed, terrifying chapters.)

I have to admit: I enjoyed “7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” even it burned each grey cells of mine and for one month I could only watch “Kardashians” and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” because these were the only shows can be watched if you feel like lackwit with a brain cannot function properly.

But this book was way too much better than the first one: it was smart, entertaining, surprising, gripping, adventurous and remarkable. So if I could give five and half stars or six solid stars to that book, I would give it without thinking a second.

This is best fast paced, twisty, exhilarating historical fiction I’ve read this year and I’m so pleased to recommend it to its genre lovers.

Special thanks to NetGalley and dear Cristiana Arreola for sharing the ARC’s widget with me in exchange my honest review. I truly enjoyed it so much!

1634 - As passengers arrive to board The Saardam - an East India Company ship, a leper with no tongue, shouts that the ship and all who sail in her will be cursed, before he is engulfed in flames.
As the ship sets sail for Amsterdam with its nervous crew and passengers, the devil marks three people out for death.
Set on the high seas, this is a fast paced historical crime with a few twists and turns that you won't see coming...
This was the first book I've read by Stuart Turton and I absolutely loved it, and would definitely read more if he decides to do another with these characters.

It's 1634 and a ship is about to set sail for Amsterdam. Amongst the passengers is the prisoner Samuel Pipps, a famous detective and his protector Arent Hayes, Pipps is returning to face trial for a crime only a few know of. Arent his loyal friend is determined to prove Pipps innocence. However, Pipps is not the only important passenger, the govenor general of Batavia is onboard with his wife Sara Wessel. As soon as they set sail unusual occurences happen making all onboard worried that the devil has boarded and the ship will be doomed. With Pipps locked up it falls to Arent to investigate with the help of Sara.

Stuart Turton clearly loves writing novels with twists and turns, look at his previous outing The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. The plot and narrative of The Devil and the Dark Water moves along at pace daring the reader to try and work out whether there is a demon onboard or who is behind the mayhem. I do hope there will be a second outing for these characters as there is so much more he could do with them.

Although this is not a bit like The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, it should be another hit for Stuart Turton! I really enjoyed going on this wild ride to a place I'd never really been before--what more can you ask for in a novel? I found this book a little more straightforward and easier to follow than the author's first book (which I also loved), but still with many intricate puzzles to solve. Fans of Mr. Turton's first book will not be disappointed!

Just finished reading THE DEVIL IN THE DARK WATER by Stuart Turton. I received this ARC from Sourcebooks Landmark via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Official publication date is October 6th, 2020.

This was one of my highly anticipated reads for 2020, and Turton didn't disappoint. I was also a huge fan of his debut novel THE SEVEN DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE.

Welcome aboard the Saardam setting sail from Bativa to Amsterdam. It's the 1600s and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective is aboard being transported to be executed for a crime he may, or may not have committed. Arent Hayes his loyal associate and friend is along for the ride to prove his innocence.

As soon as the ship sets sail though it is anything but a normal journey. There seems to be some devilry going on, with a leper stalking the ship, a ghost ship appearing in the night, strange demonic symbols, and murdered livestock. Hayes must use his knowledge learned from years working with Pipps to discover if this demon haunting the Saardam is real or fake.

With the help of some intriguing characters including a governor generals wife, a witchfinder, swashbuckling musketeers, a dwarf, and a mistress... what will they find?

This story had me hooked from the beginning and I definitely didn't see the ending coming. It was twisty as hell and I enjoyed the detailed atmosphere that Stuart Turton paints a picture of in my mind. Couldn't put this one down. Felt like I was right there on the ship!

"A murder on the high seas. A remarkable detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.

The extraordinary new novel from Stuart Turton, author of the bestselling The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, winner of the Costa Best First Novel Award.

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. A mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board."

After devouring The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle earlier this year Stuart Turton instantly became an author to watch and an author to recommend to anyone willing to listen to me. Hence the publication of his second book is a BIG DEAL in my world!

An easy 5 star read where Sherlock Holmes meets Agatha Christie in a thrilling super natural suspense mystery. I loved ‘The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’ so much, it was one of my favorite books that year as well as one of my favorite reads ever. It was such an original and inventively clever book. So when I saw that Stuart Turton had a new novel I was extremely happy and couldn’t wait to read it. This book is excellent, Stuart paints a great picture everything is vividly described, the characters jump off the page and are well defined. The story makes perfect sense and flows as if Stuart has written as many books as Stephen King. The story isn’t as complicated as 7 1/2 Deaths but is still as engaging and mysterious. The readers will not want the skip or skim any portion of the book, small or large, because there are the smallest details everywhere to help the reader try to solve the mystery. Don’t pass on this one.

I was surprised how much I liked this because it is not my usual kind of book, although I really loved his past book 7 .1/2 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I really have to be convinced historical fiction books these days because most are the same and follow some account or backstory about World War II. I am glad this book had a different timeline and followed the East India Company that was big on the transporting of exporting and importing of goods between continents.

This plot involves murder and lies on the high seas in the 1600's. There are twists and turns, and for historical fiction this was great and a time period that is not discussed often enough. Some mystery and intrigue too. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley, Stuart Turton and Sourcebooks Landmarks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 10/6/20

Thrilling, addictive, and brilliant!

Turton has done it again with another masterpiece.

This was my most highly anticipated book of the year and I am so happy it delivered.

As passengers are boarding the Saardam, on an eight-month voyage from Batvia to Amsterdamn, they are met with a grave warning from a leper before he bursts into flames. Many choose to believe they are the mere ramblings of a mad man, but some cannot shake the feeling that their past dealings with the devil are about to catch up with them.

First of all, I loved the characters in this book. It's a very large ship and there were a lot of minor characters to keep track of. Sometimes this was confusing as I would forget who some of them were or would get them muddled with others, but the leading characters were very well fleshed out and very distinguishable from one another. Sammy Pipps had a lot of Sherlock-like qualities in his approach to mysteries and problem solving, particularly the way he in which he was excited by cases and bored instantly when he was done. It seems Turton took more care with Arents character to make him his own, instead of a carbon-copy Watson type sidekick, so I'm glad he took on the leading role in this mystery while Sammy was in his cell.

Secondly, even though this book has over eighty chapters, the pacing was brilliant. At first it may appear to be a slow burn, but the creepy build-up and time taken to flesh out the characters' secrets and relationships has an amazing pay off throughout the rest of the book. The mounting sense of doom is presented from many different sides. Maybe the demon will get them, they could be attacked by pirates, they could run out of rations, be blown to nothing, and lost the sea. You are trying to figure out how their downfall could occur, not just who or what might be behind it.

Lastly, the ending took me by surprise. It was definitely not what I expected but in hindsight, it suits the themes in the book very well. When all was revealed, I thought it all fit together very well.

I know this book isn't actually published yet but I am already very excited to read Tutons next book as he is one of my favorite authors.

Thank you to #netgalley for granting my wish for this advanced ARC.

“Something was stirring in the dark water, the old sailors claimed. Something that called itself Old Tom.”

Like The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, The Devil and the Dark Water is a similarly stunningly original and absorbing story, though I thought it lacked the clean, clever, and effortlessly beautiful writing of Evelyn. It took me a little while to get very interested in the story, and even longer to become invested in the characters but once it all got going I was *hooked*—and I loved the ending.

I think the main problem for me was that I was not in the mood for or really expecting an historical fiction novel and certainly not one set entirely on a ship on the sea which I feel one really has to be in the *mood* for to properly enjoy (I get very claustrophobic and Turton’s descriptions of what life is like on a ship were very atmospheric and extra claustrophobic 😅), BUT Turton really just blewww me away with his penetrating look at human psychology and an incredibly absorbing mystery plot. And tbh there was still a lot of his beautiful writing just not as much as in Evelyn.

One of the things I especially liked about the book was that from the beginning, nothing that I was expecting to happen happened. The characters in particular were wholly unpredictable and original—which was the case in Evelyn as well. Turton writes more deeply about human psychology in his mystery-plot novels than many authors who pride themselves on their literary fiction featuring complex characters.

He also painted such an interesting presentation of the nature of patriarchally oppressive misogyny in the 17th c. West, and Sara’s development in the face of her historical period and inner desires in spite of the horror going on on the ship was extremely well done. Turton writes of his historical characters acting out historical mistakes like they’re actually real people that just don’t realize that things could be different if they didn’t blindly follow cultural expectations and unquestioningly uphold unexamined social values and constructs. Which seems so obvious but he shows the psychology and actual experience of it rather than just regurgitating the words.

I also really liked the conversation Lia and Creesjie have at the end of chapter 54. I’m glad Turton was clear about what these two women discussed in light of the humanity he paints all his characters with—I feel that this conversation was super important to include which many authors of historical fiction *never* do and is why I’m very disenchanted with the genre in general.

BUT, the philosophy and psychology of the book—the exploration of the nature of superstition and, as Turton says in the interview in the back of the book, “how we come to collectively believe untruths” etc. was *spot on*. I loved all the discussion of good vs evil, nobility vs depravity, and how each character perfectly encapsulated one of the many facets of that debate—Arent, Sara, Lia, Sammy, Creesjie, everyone. And all the anticapitalist nuggets surrounding the Company and the fate of the Folly were an important element to discuss as well that I was very pleased to see Turton include.

I’m still just a bittt caught up on the mystery plot though… There was a few things that sort of didn’t seem to come together as nicely as I wanted them to?—but it’s also very possible that with a second reading I might feel differently about this—because it’s quite probable that I just missed a lot, because there *was* a LOT. I just… I wanted to be SHOCKED. And I wasn’t. Maybe I shouldn’t have read an Agatha Christie novel right before. 😂 Ruined my expectations! 😂😂

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