The Devil and the Dark Water cover art

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

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

The Devil and the Dark Water

By: Stuart Turton
Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £15.44

Buy Now for £15.44

Bloomsbury presents The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton, read by Julian Rhind-Tutt.

STUART TURTON'S INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER THE LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD NOW IS OUT 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 an audacious and original new high concept murder mystery.©2020 Stuart Turton (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Amateur Sleuths Crime Crime Fiction Historical Murder Mystery Private Investigators Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Scary Detective
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

It’s a tad Holmes and Watson, a touch Treasure Island, but there’s so much else, too; the lives of women at the time, the contemporary obsession with witchcraft and most of all the authentic stink, creak, superstition and slop of life on board an Indiaman, roaring sailors and all. If you read one book this year, make sure it’s this one (Wendy Holden)
Brilliant... intoxicating... There are some great villains and terrific heroes, especially the gentle (and gory) giant Hayes…The Devil and the Dark Water overflows with wonderful descriptions, neat similes, and enough horror, mystery, and crime to keep anyone enthralled
Think of a Holmes and Watson-style duo operating in a Pirates Of The Caribbean-style universe, complete with a demon with a love for Faustian pacts, a secret invention called The Folly and a leper who has seemingly survived being consumed by flames … A rollicking adventure yarn
The Devil and the Dark Water is all about narrative pleasure … The locked room murder meets a Michael Bay movie, by way of Treasure Island; you can’t know what’s going on, if only because the author won’t let you know until he’s delivered the final surprise – and another one after that. The effect is irresistible. Turton has got his world up and running inside the first two pages; thereafter, deceptions and diversions multiply until the ultimate, outrageous reveal, at which point the dark water turns out to be rather darker than you imagined (M John Harrison)
[Turton’s] second book is an even more exuberant demonstration of his storytelling skills … Wildly inventive, Turton’s tale defies definition as either historical fiction or crime novel, but provides all the pleasures of both genres and more
A rollicking tale of devils, lepers and witchfinders
An imaginative tour de force
Turton’s prose is jaunty and vivid. And unlike most whodunits I wouldn’t recommend it for pre-lights-out reading – not just because of the spooky bits, but because such a lovingly complex construct needs readers who are fully awake
A genre sampling epic that sets outrageous traps for the reader and builds an atmosphere of dread up to an operatic final twist
A glorious mash-up of William Golding and Arthur Conan Doyle (Val McDermid)
Stunningly good. A page-turning mystery on an epic scale, intricately plotted and expertly landed (Simon Lelic)
No novel this year was more fun to read than this baroque tale of adventure (Books of the Year)
A superb historical mystery: inventive, twisty, addictive and utterly beguiling. I fell for this book (and its characters) in a big way. Beautifully crafted escapism for fans of Sherlock and Master & Commander. A TRIUMPH (Will Dean)
All stars
Most relevant
Julian Rhind-Tutt gives perfect narration to this story. It's hard to believe at times that the same man is bringing life to the cast of different characters, he provides a unique voice and nuanced performance for each. On top of that he has such a wonderful voice, listening to him is a pleasure.

I cannot give the same unequivocal praise to the story itself. While there were some moments of masterful story telling, it was let down by a number of issues.

Firstly, there was some really poor grammar throughout the story. Frequently ending sentences with prepositions was the most jarring. This is so annoying and so easy to fix. It felt as though the story had been written in a rush and lacked polish.

It also contained some genuinely bad writing. I am not sure to what extent this story was meant to be historically accurate. There are times when it appears to be well researched (nautical elements, etc) and constrained by historical accuracy. At other times this is thrown out of the window for a tale that could have tumbled from a fantasy novel. This is particularly evident in the behaviour of the female characters; during the big reveal and in the choice of language. For example, 17th century characters saying "OK" is really jarring.

Careless mistakes litter the writing. A character spits out rancid food but in the next sentence is washing it down with wine. There are silly, clumsy moments. At one point a character is discussing sailors' charms and it's framed as though the whole crew has been listening to the narrator because as the character turns around, the whole crew is stood there bandishing a charm.

Turton clearly has talent but this story felt careless and rushed, especially when contrasted against the nuanced and evocative prose that shone through at other moments. At one point there is an amazing description of how a character had become possessed by the power of the ocean that genuinely gave me shivers. The morally ambiguous characterisation of the sailors and then realistic depiction of their horrific lives is far more interesting than the unambiguous goodness of our stock character leads.

The characterisation is poor at times. I was so bored and irritated by the constant harping on about the incredible talents of Sammy Pips - which we rarely saw in practice. What happened to show, don't tell? Our lead characters fawn over him, singing his praises relentlessly, to the point that it becomes nauseating. He is a cookie cutter Sherlock Holmes with an unlikely (perhaps even umbelievale) Dr Watson penning his tales and fanning their fame.

Sara is another irritating clichè. A strong willed, red headed woman, a self professed healer, perfect mother and abused wife. She would choose freedom and love over wealth and security. She possesses a shining compassion and humanity that is utterly devoid in those around her. It's too much. She is too perfect, like a male fantasy. Her husband and chief antagonist, the Governor General, is equally clichèd. The dark mirror to Sara, he is brutal and selfish, he lives only for self promotion and to cause pain and suffering to those around him.

Arant provides another stock character: the perfect hero. Big, handsome, morally upright with a soldier's past that he regrets. He stands up for the weak and helpless. He turns his back on wealth to seek a higher purpose. It's boring and predictable.

The problem is that these characters do not develop, there is no arc. They only discover mysteries. None of them really change. Admittedly they do go on a journey - but things happen to them. They have an idea of who and where they want to be and they either get there or they don't.

I had spotted the culprit very early into the story and solved half of the mystery long before the big denouement arrived. The other half of the reveal was something of a surprise - but it left a bad taste in the mouth. A feeling of having been cheated, a rule of crime fiction was almost broken - but not quite. It was lazy, cheap and most of all rushed. The final details are somewhat confusing and very unconvincing. This story is not half as clever as Turton wants us to believe.

Frustratingly jarring

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved it. Its like Sherlock Holmes type story, with great depth of characters and story. Some people say it was difficult initially, but this creates amazing depth for the story and makes it so much more interesting.

Paired with excellent narration, this is one top book.

Fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved this. The narration was excellent too.

Maybe started the mystery too quickly and a bit of a Hollywood ending but my favourite audio book by far

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this book. It kept me enthralled all the way through. I love the depth of all the characters. The feel of the age they lived in and the clostephobia of the ship was fantastic.

A great novel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s a good book, well researched, a bit slow to get going but quite gripping once underway. I bought it on the back of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle which was awe inspiring in its complexity of plot. This one is very different. I think this author may suffer from having all future books compared to his first. But then, I compare other authors’ work against The Seven Deaths and they don’t compare either.

Good book, well researched

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews