In comparison, this was a joy to read. It was fast-paced and engaging without sacrificing the quality of writing. There are times where I would stop on a line (sorry I don't have any tabs so I couldn't mark any specific instances) and just think about it. Honestly, I wish that I had captured some of the lines. Luckily, I'm confident that I will be rereading this so I might add some my next time around! Reading this book was an overall enjoyable experience and I'm now on the hunt for Turton's other book, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.
A murder on the high seas. A detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.It's 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent.But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered.And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel.Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent can solve a mystery that connects every passenger onboard. A mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board.
The book reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, but one that focuses on Watson instead of Sherlock. Although I haven't read a great deal of Arthur Conan Doyle, I have watched the BBC series and it is safe to say that I prefer Arent (the books version of Watson) far more than the real Watson. Arent has a degree of complexity that I never found in Watson. His story tackles elitism, the horrors of war and what to do when you realise a loved one might be a monster.
The other main character is Sara. In my years on the internet, I have come across the idea that bravery is not the absence of fear. It is the presence of fear and choosing to proceed despite it. Sara demonstrates this brilliantly. Despite all of the horror that life has thrown at her, she continues to persevere and (hopefully) will thrive. Her story tackles domestic abuse, the role of women in the 1600s and the price of freedom.
I will say that the ending disappointed me. In the end, it took about 3 pages for me to hate some of the characters. This wasn't a "wow they got me good" kind of hatred but rather a "this needs an explanation that I wasn't given and now the story's over" kind of anger. The mystery itself was explained well.
Without giving too much away, I feel like the majority of the book spends a good amount of time building up the characters and their motivations - whereas the end completely ignores all of those things. It was a disservice that I think could be fixed by a sequel. The ending is why I'm giving this book 4 stars, instead of 5.
Below is an exploration of why I think the ending was so bad: warning for spoilers.
Arent's entire character is based on a drive for equality. He rages when Sammy kills the Governor-General, not because his uncle has been killed, but because so many innocent "unimportant" people were killed just to get at one man. That is why he is angry at Sammy and it even says so in the book.
Sammy believed that slaughtering innocents was a fair price to pay for killing a powerful man. He was no different from the kings Arent had fought for.
With this recognition, it makes no sense that his anger dissipates when Sara suggests Sammy goes on to kill more powerful people with his skills. If this instance is any indication, even more innocent people will be slaughtered in this campaign. Turton goes on and on about how clever Arent actually is, so the character should realise this. That he merrily agrees, all betrayal forgiven, does a disservice to his character as he is throwing his values out of the window.
