The Devil and the Dark Water

paperback, 448 pages

Published July 6, 2021 by Sourcebooks Landmark.

ISBN:
978-1-7282-3429-8
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3 stars (22 reviews)

5 editions

Review of 'Devil and the Dark Water' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Just an incredibly entertaining book that delivers on its premise in exactly the ways I'd hoped and more. If the idea of edgy Sherlock Holmes on an East Indian Company boat being threatened by a supernatural entity as part of an extremely convoluted mystery that's full of convenient coincidences and backstabbing plots sounds appealing in the least, you oughta grab this, and that's just what's in the blurb. It's well written, moves at a good pace, is never dull and has some good surprises up its sleeve.

Review of 'Devil and the Dark Water' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

"So this is how men go to the devil. Cap in hand and short of hope, all their prayers gone unanswered."

A literal ship-in-a-bottle murder mystery, set in the 1600s, with supernatural elements. Not something I knew I needed or wanted until now, yet here we are. I will be upfront at the beginning here -- there are some problematic elements to this that made it hard for me to rate this book. I'm fully honest here that I probably was generous with the rating because I enjoyed the ride so much.

The Saardam, bound to Amsterdam from Batavia, is taking on passengers. A detective, Samuel Pipps, and his friend/bodyguard Arent Hayes are aboard, the former as a prisoner being transported and the latter as his escort and support on the way to trial. Also aboard is the Governor General, Jan Haan, his wife, his daughter, and his consort, …

Review of 'Devil and the Dark Water' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I kept expecting some twist as in Evelyn Hardcastle and had to remind me that this is an individual book and has nothing to do with prior books of the same author. That goes to show how impressed I was with the other book. However, really take this as something separate, you will enjoy it much more that way.

I loved the story and the characters, the mystery and the reveal.
I didn't like the implications for the responsible party, but not because it wasn't well written, but because it holds a very uncomfortable truth: If you have enough (money/power/people behind you), you can get away with anything.

Review of 'Devil and the Dark Water' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Author Stuart Turton has written another clever and creative novel with engaging characters and mystifying happenings. The only thing I'll give away is the fact that the reader does not have all the information needed to solve this mystery ahead of the denouement. So, surprise!

I do recommend this one. Enjoy!

Review of 'Devil and the Dark Water' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I read Turton’s debut novel, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, a short while before this book came out. So when a friend told me this was coming out, I knew I had to read it at some point. While Evelyn was a brilliant debut novel, I feel that Turton has really honed his skills in The Devil and the Dark Water. While not without its flaws, Devil really pushed me along its storyline—every time I ventured a guess, Turton was of course a step ahead. I even made notes on paper! I was very invested—sorry, term papers, I swear I’ll get to you and stop procrastinating this weekend.

The characters are well-developed and fleshed out, and I found myself suspecting all of them at one point or another. Such is the state of mind Turton puts you in. I don’t find myself reading mystery often, and Turton …

Review of 'Devil and the Dark Water' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Michelle Obama voice: Stuart you have done it again, constantly raising the bar for us all, and doing it flawlessly.

I shouldn't be surprised that this was my first 2021 5 star read, but I'm just so blown away! I say it all the time, but I'm not big on murder mysteries, but this one really had everything, I don't know where to begin. The setting was so vivid and well developed. The atmosphere and culture of the world and setting was conveyed very naturally without blocks of exposition. The characters we were supposed to like were charming, and the characters we were supposed to hate were loathsome, but neither in a heavy handed way. I did find some of the dialogue to be a bit rushed and unnatural, but it was easy to look beyond. There were a few underlying themes around sexism and class disparity that were touched …

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