Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

64 reviews

cmbohn's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Murder, and Sexual content

Minor: War, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

thebookkeepers's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

A closed door mystery aboard a ship traveling from Batavia to Amsterdam, this story will have you questioning who’s behind murders or if something paranormal is afoot. While I wasn’t overly endeared to any of the characters, I did enjoy seeing the multiple POVs and how intricate the character dynamics were. I did not guess any of the twists & was satisfied with the conclusion of our mystery. The format in which the unveiling of the secrets was a miss for me though. It felt like a recap of here’s how XYZ happened and was a little to “wrapped up” for me. My son (15) LOVED this though and I can see this being more Men-Lit (is that a thing? Haha opposite of chick lit). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Animal death

aklovekorn's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Violence, Animal death, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Classism, Grief, Misogyny, and Murder

rochelleisreading's review

informative mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Misogyny, War, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Blood, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Torture, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Classism, Death of parent, Confinement, Death, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Physical abuse and Alcohol

delienn's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The book was a treat to read, and I thought Stuart Turton even improved since his first book, which I had already loved! Great pace, lovable characters, and an interesting resolution. I enjoyed every moment reading it!
As a side note, I would recomend this book even for people who are sensitive to some trigger warnings, because in my opinion, the story mentions or shows dark things, but is never gruesome and chooses an appropriate level of detail.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy, Rape, Vomit, War, and Torture

disguisedposer's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Rape

nuthatch428's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Colonisation, Blood, Gore, Murder, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal death, Infidelity, Rape, and Grief

Minor: Child death, Addiction, Torture, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

thequeenofsheba3's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Kirjan luettuani minulle jäi hieman kaksijakoiset fiilikset, vaikka kokemus jäi selvästi plussan puolelle. Kirjan genreä on hieman vaikea kuvailla: kirjan tapahtumat sijoittuvat 1600-luvulle, ja siinä on murhamysteerin ja jopa kauhun elementtejä. Kirjassa seuraamme enimmäkseen Arent-nimistä miestä, joka astuu laivaan suojellakseen ystäväänsä, jota ollaan kuljettamassa Amsterdamiin tuomittavaksi. Toinen päähenkilöistä on kenraalikuvernöörin vaimo Sara. Henkilöhahmoja on paljon, mutta heillä on mielenkiintoiset persoonallisuudet ja motiivit. 

Kirjassa seurataan seitsemän laivan saattuetta, joka lähtee Bataviasta kohti Amsterdamia mukanaan maustelasti. Pian alkaa tapahtua pelottavia asioita, ja herää epäilys siitä seilaako paholainen heidän mukanaan? 

Kirja piti hyvin otteessaan alusta loppuun saakka. Pidin kirjoitustyylistä, ja lyhyet luvut koukuttivat lukemaan aina seuraavan. Myös henkilöhahmot olivat mielenkiintoisia, ja heistä paljastui koko ajan lisää. Kirja oli jännittävä, eikä loppuratkaisua ole helppo arvata. 

Spoilereita! 
Loppuratkaisusta puheen ollen, Drechtin miesten suunnitelmat kirjan lopussa olivat vastenmielisiä, ja mietin olisiko ollut parempi jättää se kohta lukijan mielikuvituksen varaan. Koska kirjassa on leikitelty yliluonnollisen mahdollisuudella, loppuratkaisu tuntuu lässähtää hieman. Lisäksi syyllisen paljastuttua hahmojen tulevaisuudensuunnitelmat tuntuvat ehkä hieman liiankin näppärältä.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Blood

Minor: Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Rape, Confinement, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Murder, Child death, Cursing, and Death of parent

tillie__'s review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse