Shirley Jackson meets Sherlock Holmes in this chilling thriller of supernatural horror, occult suspicion, and paranormal mystery on the high seas. Read 6861 reviews from the worlds largest community for readers. 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. And third an impossible murder.Ĭould a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?

Overall, The Devil and the Dark Water is a thrilling take of friendship, loyalty, betrayal, and just how far some people will go to protect the innocent. A richly atmospheric thriller with a plucky heroine. It would be helpful for the reader to know how he turned from the loving uncle Arent remembers into a cunning and vicious leader and husband. There is never a dull moment in this 480-page whodunit, but readers will be thankful not to be physically aboard for the grueling journey. Livestock dies in the night.Īnd then the passengers hear a terrible voice, whispering to them in the darkness, promising three unholy miracles, followed by a slaughter. It would be helpful for the reader to know how he turned from the loving uncle Arent remembers into a cunning and vicious leader and husband. The novel’s characters are deftly sketched and its suspense is nicely tightened, though the plot finally loses itself somewhat in a tangle of strained connections. The Devil and the Dark Water artfully combines intriguing characters, fascinating historical details and a seafaring labyrinth of twists and turnsnot to mention a demon named Old Tom. Among the other guests is Sara Wessel, a noblewoman with a secret.īut no sooner is their ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent.

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. 'Compulsively readable.'- New York Times Book Reviewįrom Stuart Turton, author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, comes an extraordinary new locked-room mystery.Ī murder on the high seas.

Devil and the dark water review