With all its characters, hidden identities, and backstories, this epic sometimes sags. But Turton, who brings a pointed social conscience to bear in his commentary on the ill treatment of women and the exploitation of the lower class, has something else in mind. With their congenial Holmes and Watson act, Sammy and Arent seem on track to emerge as the heroes of this perpetually revealing tale. Amid the evil doings, human decency is largely limited to Sammy's bodyguard, Arent Hayes, a physically imposing specimen with a kind soul and a 'poisoned' past, and healer Sara Wessel, abused wife of soulless Governor General Jan Haan, who happens to be Arent's uncle.

Ultimately, a monster storm upends the Saardam and destroys two other ships in the fleet. Soon enough at sea, on a vessel populated by 'murderers, cutpurses and malcontents,' throats are slit, bodies are stashed, and dark secrets are exposed. Only prisoner Sammy Pipps, an alleged British spy with uncanny powers of deduction, took the threat seriously. With Pipps imprisoned in the depths of the ship, can his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, solve the mystery before the ship descends into anarchy? From the author of the dazzling The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, winner of the Costa Best First Novel Award, comes an adventurous and wildly entertaining murder mystery.After an outbreak of ghastly events aboard the Saardam, a merchant vessel returning from the East Indies to Amsterdam in 1634, fear spreads that an evil spirit is responsible.īefore the ship's departure, a leper issued a stark warning about the 'merciless ruin' that awaited it-and then burst into flames. Passengers are plagued with ominous threats, promising them three unholy miracles. But no sooner is the ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. by way of Treasure Island' Guardian 'If you read one book this year, make sure it's this one' Daily Mail 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 villain 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 set to face trial for a crime that no one dares speak of.

No novel this year was more fun to read' Sunday Times 'A locked room murder mystery.

The devil and the dark water