The devil and the dark water

CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY MAIL, FINANCIAL TIMES, DAILY EXPRESS AND i PAPER

'A superb historical mystery inventive, twisty, addictive and utterly beguiling... A TRIUMPH' Will Dean

'If you read one book this year, make sure it's this one' Daily Mail

Three impossible crimes
Two unlikely detectives
One deadly voyage

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.

But no sooner is the ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. Strange symbols appear on the sails. A figure stalks the decks. Livestock are slaughtered. Passengers are plagued with ominous threats, promising them three unholy miracles. First an impossible pursuit. Second an impossible theft.

Then an impossible murder.

With Pipps imprisoned in the depths of the ship, can his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes solve the mystery before the ship descends into anarchy?

A beguiling historical mystery from the award-winning author of the dazzling The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

'Wildly inventive, Turton's tale defies definition as either historical fiction or crime novel, but provides all the pleasures of both genres and more. No novel this year was more fun to read' Sunday Times

'A glorious mash-up of William Golding and Arthur Conan Doyle' Val McDermid

'A locked room murder mystery... by way of Treasure Island' Guardian

SELECTED FOR THE BBC TWO BOOK CLUB BETWEEN THE COVERS AND THE RADIO 2 JO WHILEY BOOK CLUB

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER AWARD