Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

15 reviews

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

informative mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Misogyny, War, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Blood, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Torture, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Classism, Death of parent, Confinement, Death, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Physical abuse and Alcohol

delienn's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The book was a treat to read, and I thought Stuart Turton even improved since his first book, which I had already loved! Great pace, lovable characters, and an interesting resolution. I enjoyed every moment reading it!
As a side note, I would recomend this book even for people who are sensitive to some trigger warnings, because in my opinion, the story mentions or shows dark things, but is never gruesome and chooses an appropriate level of detail.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy, Rape, Vomit, War, and Torture

nuthatch428's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Colonisation, Blood, Gore, Murder, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal death, Infidelity, Rape, and Grief

Minor: Child death, Addiction, Torture, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Kirjan luettuani minulle jäi hieman kaksijakoiset fiilikset, vaikka kokemus jäi selvästi plussan puolelle. Kirjan genreä on hieman vaikea kuvailla: kirjan tapahtumat sijoittuvat 1600-luvulle, ja siinä on murhamysteerin ja jopa kauhun elementtejä. Kirjassa seuraamme enimmäkseen Arent-nimistä miestä, joka astuu laivaan suojellakseen ystäväänsä, jota ollaan kuljettamassa Amsterdamiin tuomittavaksi. Toinen päähenkilöistä on kenraalikuvernöörin vaimo Sara. Henkilöhahmoja on paljon, mutta heillä on mielenkiintoiset persoonallisuudet ja motiivit. 

Kirjassa seurataan seitsemän laivan saattuetta, joka lähtee Bataviasta kohti Amsterdamia mukanaan maustelasti. Pian alkaa tapahtua pelottavia asioita, ja herää epäilys siitä seilaako paholainen heidän mukanaan? 

Kirja piti hyvin otteessaan alusta loppuun saakka. Pidin kirjoitustyylistä, ja lyhyet luvut koukuttivat lukemaan aina seuraavan. Myös henkilöhahmot olivat mielenkiintoisia, ja heistä paljastui koko ajan lisää. Kirja oli jännittävä, eikä loppuratkaisua ole helppo arvata. 

Spoilereita! 
Loppuratkaisusta puheen ollen, Drechtin miesten suunnitelmat kirjan lopussa olivat vastenmielisiä, ja mietin olisiko ollut parempi jättää se kohta lukijan mielikuvituksen varaan. Koska kirjassa on leikitelty yliluonnollisen mahdollisuudella, loppuratkaisu tuntuu lässähtää hieman. Lisäksi syyllisen paljastuttua hahmojen tulevaisuudensuunnitelmat tuntuvat ehkä hieman liiankin näppärältä.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Blood

Minor: Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Rape, Confinement, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Murder, Child death, Cursing, and Death of parent

thedinosaurkid's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A good book!
It has all the good mystery traits of his previous book (7 ½ deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle) but with more paranormal-esque things.
Not my cup of tea, but still  excellent!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Genocide, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: Slavery, Infidelity, Alcohol, Excrement, and War

esme_may's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was so much better than I was expecting! I wouldn’t have picked this up if I hadn’t got a copy for free but I might read Turton’s other book now. I’d recommend reading this when you have a bit of time on your hands because of the slow pacing: I took it on holiday and it was great for that!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Torture, Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Ableism, Alcohol, Murder, and Medical content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit

christinereads1823's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Love love love Turton's writing ability and style. Really immersive and wonderfully intricate! 

I was able to guess half of the ending before the reveal but the rest was a surprise.  Overall excellent read and highly recommend for anyone who loves the tangle of a well-plotted mystery!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, Violence, Blood, Animal death, and Gore

Minor: Alcoholism, Vomit, Alcohol, Excrement, Cursing, and Grief

kimberlyswalters's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

I know how unlikely it is, but I'd willingly read stories of Sammy & Arent's previous mysterious in a heartbeat. They sound so thrilling and wonderful, which is just a testament to how amazing this book is. The few times their past cases are mentioned is more than enough to convince me of their greatness. I would also read a sequel

about how they manage and pull off their plans afterwards and spin Old Tom into a warning for horrible noble people to fear

. The afterward/apology at the end was also a delight to read. I think I just really love Stuart Turton's writing. It makes me giddy. I feel excitement like I imagine Sara and Lia probably did reading stories of Sammy & Arent's cases.  I can't wait for his next book (although I'm well aware it will have nothing to do with this story, and that's fine. My wants are just praise for his world-building.). All of this is just me trying to say that if you're reading my review, you should read this book. I love it.

Addressing the afterward;
P.S. I imagine Arent as John Cena, but gruffer. Not necessarily sexy, but not not sexy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Torture, War, and Pregnancy

selenatothemax's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Classism, Vomit, Torture, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexism, Confinement, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Colonisation, and Sexual violence

Minor: Vomit, War, and Excrement

laurataylor's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Rape, Violence, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, and Death