The Devil and the Dark Water: from the bestselling author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Last Murder at the End of the World

Stuart Turton

Oct 2020 · Bloomsbury Publishing

About this ebook

**STU TURTON'S NEXT NOVEL, THE LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD IS AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW**


'If you read one book this year, make sure it's this one' Daily Mail

CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY MAIL, FINANCIAL TIMES, DAILY EXPRESS AND i PAPER
WINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD FOR FICTION
SELECTED FOR THE BBC TWO BOOK CLUB BETWEEN THE COVERS AND THE RADIO 2 JO WHILEY BOOK CLUB


An impossible murder
A remarkable detective duo
A demon who may or may not exist

It's 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported from the Dutch East Indies to Amsterdam, where he is facing trial and execution 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, while also on board are Sara Wessel, a noble woman with a secret, and her husband, the governor general of Batavia.

But no sooner is their ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A strange symbol appears on the sail. A dead leper stalks the decks. Livestock are slaughtered in the night. And then the passengers hear a terrible voice whispering to them in the darkness, promising them three unholy miracles. First: an impossible pursuit. Second: an impossible theft. Third: an impossible murder. Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?

With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent and Sara can solve a mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board...


'A glorious mash-up of William Golding and Arthur Conan Doyle' Val McDermid
'A superb historical mystery: inventive, twisty, addictive and utterly beguiling ... A TRIUMPH' Will Dean

From the author of the dazzling The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, winner of the Costa Best First Novel Award, comes another audacious and original high concept murder mystery

Ratings and reviews

I enjoyed Stuart Turton's shipboard odyssey, the only thing that irritated me was Julian Rhind-Tutt's persistent mispronunciations which grated...I found myself muttering FOLKSEL NOT FORECASTLE and VICOUNTESS NOT VISCONTESS! I know that seems petty but it is annoying, narrators need to check words which are unfamiliar prior to recording! The story is a whodunit with occult overtones and is certainly enthralling. I did find many of the characters deeply loathsome, but that was intentional on the part of the author. I am not going into the plot as I don't want to risk giving anything away, suffice to say that there are a lot of characters on a ship and some very strange goings on. The denouement is unexpected and highly inventive, another winner for Mr Turton.

An interesting setup and decent pacing, but it's marred by poor dialogue and a terrible ending.

slow and drawn out plot with a weak ending

About the author

Stuart Turton's debut novel, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, won the Costa First Novel Award and the Books Are My Bag Readers Award for Best Novel, and was shortlisted for the Specsavers National Book Awards and the British Book Awards Debut of the Year. A Sunday Times bestseller for three weeks, it has been translated into over thirty languages and has also been a bestseller in Italy, Russia and Poland. Stuart lives near London with his wife and daughter.
@Stu_Turton