The Devil and the Dark Water

I was excited to discover Stuart Turton's second book had come out, so much so that I bought the hardback and read it in a few days. The setting is vividly drawn, the characters are expertly portrayed, and there are plenty of mysteries (both big and small) to keep the reader's interest. It's a murder mystery set on a ship in 1634, and I liked the fact that the potential involvement of a devil is kept a possibility throughout. I liked Arent and Sara as investigators and light romance, I loved Lia's intelligence and the tragedy of her having to hide it from people. All the inter-relationships between passengers, soldiers and crew were masterfully woven together to create a hotbed of intrigue, hostility and fear.

But the thirty pages of exposition at the end wasn't quite enough for me. Everything got explained, but I didn't have an 'aha' moment of satisfaction, and I was left somehow wanting more.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I can't deny it's very well written. But it didn't quite do it for me, especially given the expectations set by Turton's first book (and I do feel rather mean saying that).