Stuart Turton demonstrated his skill with multiple POVs in The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastleand handles the cast of players in The Devil and the Dark Water with similar, if not increased expertise. A mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board. With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent can solve a mystery that connects every passenger onboard. Livestock is slaughtered.Īnd then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel.Ĭould a demon be responsible for their misfortunes? Travelling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent.īut no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. 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. Note there are no spoilers in this book review.

Demons, shadowy trading companies and cutthroats stalk the narrative and the clever twists kept me bound to the pages. Set on a cursed merchant ship sailing from Indonesia to Amsterdam, the story tacks and jibes without losing any its sinister appeal. Although the plot isn’t as complicated as in Evelyn Hardcastle, the characters are more fully-realised, particularly the female lead, Sara Wessel. Having loved The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I opened the pages a mixture of excitement and trepidation, but immediately knew that Turton was going to work his sorcery again. The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton combines the macabre with the mind-bending in this intricate historical detective novel.

The devil in dark water