The Devil and the Dark Water: The mind-blowing new murder mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling author (High/Low)

I had been looking forward to read this book ever since Turton announced it, given how delightful his first book, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, was! While The Devil and the Deep Water is not as complex and jaw-dropping as his first book, it’s still a surprising story, is a page turner from the first page to the last and ends satisfyingly!The story is set on a ship, The Sardaam, which is transporting cargo from Batavia to Amsterdam for the United East India Company. Governor General Jan Haan is the senior-most official on board and is carrying some personal secret consignments. He is accompanied by his wife, Sara Wessels, his daughter, Lia, and his mistress Creesjie Jens – all of them accomplished women but forced to hide behind a veil of mediocrity in keeping with the times. A famous investigator, Samuel Pipps, is a prisoner on board and his journey from being a hero a short while ago to a prisoner is shrouded in mystery. Arent Hayes is his bodyguard and sidekick and in the absence of Pipps’ freedom, takes on a more central role in the proceedings.The mysteries begin from the end of the first chapter itself. And as the story moves forward, tales of fear, greed, betrayal and revenge emerge, framed in the backdrop of a devil called Old Tom, as various characters get killed off. The “dark water” of the title could refer to the sea around the ship or could refer to the evil in the souls of men. Besides the mysteries of the various protagonists, there is a strong supernatural element through the book and after the experience with Turton’s first book, it is impossible to decide whether this element is imaginary or not.Like all good mystery novels, this one is a page turner right until the end. And has a big surprise towards the end. And ties up all the loose ends and the questions raised through the book, neatly. There are several references to the period in which the story is based but as Turton pens in an “apology” at the end, he has sacrificed some of the historical realism to befit the narrative.The absolute ending is perhaps a trifle glib and convenient. And this book is nowhere as jaw-dropping as his first book. But that does not take away from the fact that this is an extremely enjoyable book. I now can’t wait for his third book!Pros: Page-turner, satisfying and surprising denouement, well-writtenCons: A trifle convenient ending perhaps

manjitbanerjeeBook #3 of 2020 -Stuart Turton's second, 'The Devil and The Dark Water', is boarding the ship and all about enjoying the journey rather than worrying about the destination. You sail along with murder, jewels, harp, sailors, governor, mercenaries, captain, Musketeers, lepers, fist fight, barrels of spices, exquisite dress, immaculate mannerism, love, hate, history, grudges, fortunes, bankruptcies, gun rooms, healers, witches, devil, mark/symbols, rolling from the mainmast to the mitten-mast hitting the aft and the hull at times, galloping from one deck to the other, gaping at the opulence of grand cabins in one instant and tearing at the misery of passengers on hem hammock in another; fascinating read, enjoy the sail; and yes, keep looking for lanterns!

Superb storytelling. I was worried whether he will be able scale the peaks of "Seven Deaths...", but he has, and how! Looking forward to Stu's next.

Good mystery but plot is ok. Plot is almost overwritten. But good book and nice writing. It kept me clinged to the book till end.

Book feels little bit old, also seems like used by someone before

YOU WILL NOT SEE IT COMING. STUART TURTON IS GOING TO BLOW YOUR MINDS OFF. I DID NOT EXPECT THIS, SOMEBODY SEDATE ME.I suggest the reading age for this book- 18+ but if you are alright with mentions of rape and domestic violence then it's alright for 13+My rating- SHINING 5/5"A vintage detective adventure"REVIEW- Ships will never be the same for me and for anyone who reads this tale that surpass's time and crime in the world of booksThe devil and the dark water, a mystery book, rises above common detective identities.The BEST AND MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE PART ABOUT THE BOOK IS THAT all the characters dialogues are so well proportionately written, we don't get to see too much of anyone.Yes, Samuel Pipps is the main detective but we see the assistant/protector (arent is the name) act throughout. What makes Samuel Pipps extremely interesting is that his appearances in the Story are timely but not frequent, it left me craving more and more.Until something happening at the end which I cannot tell you.Stuart Turton's writing style is such that it will make you stop, think, think then read. In simpler words, the occasional metaphorical phrases were an absolute treat to readThe plot development is perfectly paced, we get to know about everything, it will calm our reader hearts OR COMPLETELY DESTROY IT. It will be different for every reader.There are so many things happening on a one way trip to a better place for the passengers, there is murder, deception, lying,black magic and so much more for you to discover. What makes this a perfect mystery/thriller read is that that this is book is like a huge satisfying mealWe have strong yet emotionally troubled female characters too! I'll only mention Sara here. Sara is doing her best to find herself into safety and also solving the mystery with arent in a ship full of men, there are short mentions of self worth as female which are on point 💯 as the book is written in the time of the 1600's.The crewmates, the secrets, the multiple big bang booms in the plot, I can keep going on and on about The devil and the water. But now to conclude, this plot will give everything that your heart desires.It gave me everything I wanted as a mystery obessesed reader.More about books on Instagram- bookstacks_literatureDon't forget to click that "helpful" button.

I knew this book was going to fall short of expectations within the first 30 pages, when the author misunderstood the concept of a dowry as something a rich man pays a poor father to marry their beautiful daughter. If that doesn’t bother you then you may enjoy this book. If it does, then be warned this also reads like a young adult novel, with painfully predictable characters (the children are prodigies, the noblemen arrogant and inadequate, etc) and absurd deus ex machina solutions to every puzzle. The dialogue is exasperating to read, the characters hackneyed, their behaviour ridiculous within the historical context. Thoroughly disappointing, as the promise of a literary detective novel on a 17th century Dutch East Indiaman sounded wonderful.

Outstanding books are rare, but even more rare are books this breathtakingly poor. I hate to trash any author - so let's say this is not a trashing of the author but of his editor and publisher. How the hell could they allow a manuscript to be published in this state?Forget completely the clanging historical inaccuracies (who cares, it's fiction), and just focus on the pathetically clunky storytelling, the risible characters (especially the women, who are described almost exclusively by their hair - blonde rivers, cascading curls, blah blah Jesus Christ this is beyond belief blah) and the bafflingly bad and and often nonsensical writing - eg a character (woman, natch) pulls a brush through her hair like "a carp swimming up a river" - ????One of the big clue reveals in the "mystery" is, wait for it... an ANAGRAM. The sheer stupidity of the whole plot rendered me speechless. I read through to the end in a desperate attempt to see if the book could redeem itself at all, offer even the tiniest particle of believability or surprise. But: no. Suffice it to say that the denouement hinges on **SPOILER ALERT** smuggling a dwarf in a barrel (seriously), people pretending to be drugged (cue lots of "staggering"), the two people who look uncannily alike turning out to be related, the woman who never comes out of her room, refuses ever to be seen and bangs and saws things in the middle of the night turning out to be the culprit, and the mysterious cargo smuggled onto the boat under a shroud of secrecy being... TREASURE. Yes, treasure. Oh, and the criminal was able to climb up and down the hull of the boat because, guess what?, there had been a ladder built in.There's a serious moral point though, as it turns out that burning people as witches is bad. Who'd have thought it. You heard it here, peeps: the 17th century witch hunts totally like sucked.You think of all the talented authors who have revealed the difficulty they've had in getting their work published - this book is an insult to all of them, and to Bloomsbury's readers, really.

Awful drivel, I hated it, a week of my life I'll never get back. Started off ok but went rapidly downhill. Awful,stupid characters, not even a hint of reality in the shipboard scenes eg the deck being called the ground, the sailors "staying indoors" not below decks. Got through to the ending at last and it was just nonsense, didn't really understand the big reveal. Finally, so many character names left me reeling. No more please.

I realise that giving this book only two stars will put me in a tiny minority as am sure it will get the same approbation that The Seven Deaths did. That too was a book I found very clever and intriguing but this one? Certainly clever but full of deeply unpleasant characters - apart from Arent - and a story that was convoluted and an ending that beggared belief. I did read it through as wanted to see how it would turn out in spite of beginning to dislike it which does indicate the skill of the writer but doubt if I will want to read another. Shame really as his notes suggest someone with humour and warmth - a pity the books don't reflect this!

I was a huge fan of Stuart Turton’s debut novel, The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, so I couldn’t wait to see what he would come up with next. As I was reading his latest book, The Devil and the Dark Water, it put me in my mind of both, Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles and Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s quite a long book, but don’t let that put you off, I thought the writing was highly addictive, and I flew through it. I finished it much quicker than I thought I would.A ship named the Saardam is about to set sail on an arduous seven-month voyage for Amsterdam from Batavia. For some of the passengers, they are put up in luxury cabins, but the majority are staying in cramped and horrific conditions. But even before the voyage begins, there are rumours of a demon, known as ‘Old Tom.’ It is believed that this demon is already on board the ship. There are some who are desperate to make sure that this ship doesn’t sail. Right from the beginning, Stuart Turton creates a real sense of mystery and atmosphere. Is there really such a thing as ‘Old Tom?’ Or is this just the minds of some of the passengers going into overdrive? But it is clear to some that this ship will never reach its destination and danger awaits everyone on board. Soon mysterious things begin to happen, strange symbols start to appear, animals are slaughtered, and then a body is found. That makes everyone on this ship a suspect, and it also means that everyone else is in danger until they are caught.Throughout the book, the pace never lets up. Stuart Turton has created a cast of characters who pull you into the story. They are all very different, and you get a real sense of palpable fear among them on board the ship. This is particularly when rumours about ‘Old Tom’ begin to swirl. It makes for some gripping reading. I began to wonder just how the passengers were going to react as the tension between them begins to grow. This is especially when they all begin to suspect each other of harbouring ‘Old Tom,’ and there are calls for executions. It appears to be the only way of making sure that ‘Old Tom,’ is vanquished once and for all.Also onboard the ship is the world’s most famous detective, Samuel Pipps. However, he is incarcerated in chains when he first boards the ship. So when the strange happenings begin to occur on the Saardam, it is his assistant, Arent Hayes who has to do the investigating. This is what reminded me of the friendship between Watson and Sherlock Holmes as I was reading.This book will definitely take you on a wild ride. I really enjoyed it. If you are looking for something original and totally unique, then this is the book for you. It is a read that you can purely escape in to. Stuart Turton is a master storyteller and plotter, and I can’t wait to see what he writes next.