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sophie74's review against another edition
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
4.5
goblin_w_ksiazkach's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
meghan_plethoraofpages's review against another edition
4.0
The Devil and the Dark Water - Stuart Turton: Book review
“A murder on the high seas. A remarkable detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.”
It’s 1634; a ship carrying a fascinating cast of nobles, sailors, musketeers, a predikant, and an imprisoned detective and his bodyguard are leaving for Amsterdam. This is the illustrious backdrop for a complex mystery filled with politics, superstition and and possibly the supernatural.
I really enjoyed this book! The characters were all lively, interesting, and initially require some thought in keeping the count of who’s who. The setting is spectacular and I loved the multilevel puzzles to unravel. While the story is nothing like The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, the layering of the crimes and the enclosed space setting is somewhat reminiscent and equally as masterful. The way the mystery was unravelled sort of reminded me of his previous work - a sort of tell all at the end with surprising twists.
While I really enjoyed this, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to everyone. It was quite lengthy, and while fascinating, it didn’t have an urgent thriller-esque vibe to it. The story moves from action to action, but the quality felt more spooky and slower than super fast paced. I was surprised by the ending; I definitely did not guess the main reveals at all. At the same time, the way the ending was wrapped up left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed... such big reveals but the way it read was almost too many reveals at once?
Overall, I definitely recommend if you like mysteries with an interesting setting, historical fiction, and/or something unique. It’s a good one to pick up for the long dark days of winter ahead!
“A murder on the high seas. A remarkable detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.”
It’s 1634; a ship carrying a fascinating cast of nobles, sailors, musketeers, a predikant, and an imprisoned detective and his bodyguard are leaving for Amsterdam. This is the illustrious backdrop for a complex mystery filled with politics, superstition and and possibly the supernatural.
I really enjoyed this book! The characters were all lively, interesting, and initially require some thought in keeping the count of who’s who. The setting is spectacular and I loved the multilevel puzzles to unravel. While the story is nothing like The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, the layering of the crimes and the enclosed space setting is somewhat reminiscent and equally as masterful. The way the mystery was unravelled sort of reminded me of his previous work - a sort of tell all at the end with surprising twists.
While I really enjoyed this, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to everyone. It was quite lengthy, and while fascinating, it didn’t have an urgent thriller-esque vibe to it. The story moves from action to action, but the quality felt more spooky and slower than super fast paced. I was surprised by the ending; I definitely did not guess the main reveals at all. At the same time, the way the ending was wrapped up left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed... such big reveals but the way it read was almost too many reveals at once?
Overall, I definitely recommend if you like mysteries with an interesting setting, historical fiction, and/or something unique. It’s a good one to pick up for the long dark days of winter ahead!
brendankailukaitis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sjburton127's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Vomit and Animal death
saphirre's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
biolexicon's review against another edition
1.0
Sensitive content note: rape
Welp, not a strong start to my 2021 reading year. I DNF'ed this with about 20 pages left. I was doing OK with it until it introduced rape as part of the plot. Then the book lost me. I am supposed to buy that rapists would abide by a pact to not rape married or promised women because it wouldn't be Christian? What a noble horde of *rapists*
And then weird judgement started coming in for those women passengers who acquiesced to the power held by the men who would rape them? It couldn't possibly be they've been conditioned their whole life that they don't hold power and their only option is to submit, as resistance brings more punishment. No, let's flatten this issue to be more black-and-white and judge *the female passengers* and not put all judgement where it belongs. With, I don't know, the RAPISTS.
I know, one of the female passengers wasn't acquiescing at all - only pretending she was. Judgement lifted, that makes it so much better, right?!?!? We were totally OK judging her, her pretense was the problem, not us!
I just... can't. This is some strong 2020 dumpster fire energy, gonna go burn some sage, and hope 2020 stays where it belongs (I started this at the end of 2020). I’m ready to move onto the next book.
Welp, not a strong start to my 2021 reading year. I DNF'ed this with about 20 pages left. I was doing OK with it until it introduced rape as part of the plot. Then the book lost me. I am supposed to buy that rapists would abide by a pact to not rape married or promised women because it wouldn't be Christian? What a noble horde of *rapists*
And then weird judgement started coming in for those women passengers who acquiesced to the power held by the men who would rape them? It couldn't possibly be they've been conditioned their whole life that they don't hold power and their only option is to submit, as resistance brings more punishment. No, let's flatten this issue to be more black-and-white and judge *the female passengers* and not put all judgement where it belongs. With, I don't know, the RAPISTS.
I know, one of the female passengers wasn't acquiescing at all - only pretending she was. Judgement lifted, that makes it so much better, right?!?!? We were totally OK judging her, her pretense was the problem, not us!
I just... can't. This is some strong 2020 dumpster fire energy, gonna go burn some sage, and hope 2020 stays where it belongs (I started this at the end of 2020). I’m ready to move onto the next book.
lilliankeys's review against another edition
2.0
The plot of this book was almost okay, but way too long.
mjreutman's review against another edition
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? No
5.0
My mind is just absolutely blown. I LOVED THIS. I’ve never read a novel that balanced the horror/mystery elements as well as this one. The twists are turns…just WOW!!!!! READ THIS ASAP.