Search This Blog
April Reviews Link-Up
May Reviews Link-Up
June Reviews Link-Up
July Reviews Link-Up
August Reviews Link-Up
September Reviews Link-Up
October Reviews Link-Up
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (1)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia (1)
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (5)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Scotland (1)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Friday, August 13, 2021
Supernatural (or Not?) Thriller An Entertaining High Seas Yarn
4:05 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
"That's the problem with summoning devils, you see. Sooner or later, somebody else raises them against you" (340).
It's tough to describe The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton because it's so many things at one time: a historical novel (that doesn't concern itself overly much with accurate period details), a mystery, a swashbuckling pirate adventure (that's actually kind of slow), and a monster-y campfire tale. There are also hints of romance, philosophy, and just plain ole drama. The book's back cover copy describes it best: "Shirley Jackson meets Sherlock Holmes in this chilling thriller of supernatural horror, occult suspicion, and paranormal mystery on the high seas." That about covers it.
The story takes place in the year 1634 on a vessel called the Saardam, which is on an 8-month sea voyage from Batavia to Amsterdam. On board is Sammy Pipps, the world's greatest detective, who is being held in the ship's brig for a crime he may or may not have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard Arent Hayes. When strange, otherworldly things start happening aboard the ship, spooking the passengers and crew, they look to Pipps for answers. Since he's not readily available, it's up to Arent and Sara Wessel—a noblewoman healer—to figure out what's going on. When people on board start falling victim to an unseen killer, Arent and Sara find themselves hunting down a murderer. Between them and Pipps, they've got more than enough smarts to catch the culprit, but what if it's not exactly of this world? Could a demon really be responsible for all the horrible happenings on the Saardam? Or is a more human evil to blame?
At 480 pages, The Devil and the Dark Water isn't a swift read. It's slow in places, but overall, I found it both engaging and exciting. I enjoyed the main characters, who are a likable bunch even if one of them has motives that are not exactly pure. The story's supernatural (or not?) element kept me on my toes, making me question what exactly our heroes were hunting. What I most appreciated about this novel, though, is its examination of the devils in all of us. If you're the kind of hist-fic reader who must have all the details exactly right, you might want to give this one a miss. Turton admits he didn't worry much about those himself, hoping the reader would let go of the fuss and just enjoy the yarn. You know what? I did exactly that.
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and blood/gore
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
Top 5 Tuesday ~ Green Books54 minutes ago
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday3 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR | 20246 hours ago
-
TTT – Books On My Spring 2024 TBR6 hours ago
-
-
Daily Prompt 18 March monday11 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
Books from the Backlog #81 day ago
-
-
Don’t Foget Me by Rea Frey1 day ago
-
-
-
Sunday Post3 days ago
-
-
Timeline by Michael Crichton3 days ago
-
33. Ferris4 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Witch Hat Atelier: Kitchen, Volume 11 week ago
-
Catching up1 week ago
-
Review: Dating Dr. Dil1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?5 months ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra8 months ago
-
-
-
Sundays with Sam – The Sunday Post11 months ago
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ▼ 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)