goodreads | The Devil and the Dark Water

Title: The Devil and the Dark Water
Author: Stuart Turton
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 576
Date read: May, 2024

It's 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported from the Dutch East Indies to Amsterdam, where he is set to face trial for a crime that no one dares speak of.

But no sooner is the ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. Strange symbols appear on the sails. A figure stalks the decks. Livestock are slaughtered. Passengers are plagued with ominous threats, promising them three unholy miracles. First: an impossible pursuit. Second: an impossible theft.

Then: an impossible murder.

With Pipps imprisoned in the depths of the ship, can his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes solve the mystery before the ship descends into anarchy?

Yet another 4.5 star book by Stuart Turton! So far I've loved everything I've read by him and am really impressed at how effortlessly he switches between settings and atmospheres.

There are a LOT of details to keep straight, and a lot of random asides that suddenly become plot points 3 chapters later, so I'm glad I read it as quickly as I did, as it wouldn't have taken much to forget . As it was, I had to refer back to the passenger list quite frequently during the first half of the book, until I got everybody sorted in my head.

Fortunately, I like detective novels with a lot of details, as it keeps me thinking that I might be able to solve the mystery myself alongside the detective, so I enjoyed all the puzzles and the twists and turns the novel took along the way.