A murder on the high seas.
A remarkable 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. Travelling 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.
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.
I picked this up back in November and didn't enjoy the first few pages I read. I was in a slump and the time so I put it down to that and came back to it in January. I enjoyed it slightly more that time, but I was still left a bit disappointed. I was looking for a good fantasy/Historical fiction thriller, and it didn't really meet up to it.
What I did like:
I liked the multiple POV's. There was a good balance of differing minded characters that you get to know, but can't fully trust their motives or if they're really who they are
I love the setting - I'm a sucker for Historical fiction so this was a perfect setting. I liked how it was mostly on a boat - the descriptions gave me a clear visual image of the boat
The first quarter of the book I was quite interested - the plotline was great because there was an intriguing mystery and all the characters were introduced in clever ways - and I loved the scene with the leper. I also loved any scene the leper was in - it was so intense in terms of build up and tension. I also loved the box maze scene for the same reasons.
I did like that it was an easy read even though it was nearly 600 pages.
What I didn't like:
The blurb is a bit misleading because we don't really see much of Pipps or his great detective skills, and Arent is not the only one trying to figure out where Old Tom is. I also found myself losing interest quite quickly after chapter 5 or 6 because there is little actions and a lot of talking between the passengers. I did like the odd scene but there wasn't enough of it for a mystery. There also wasn't many murders. I want a bit of gore (excluding the slaughtering of animals) in a demon mystery and I just didn't get it.
There was a lot of repetition in the middle of the book. Sara and Arent essentially repeat the same actions and talk to the same people in their chapters and it fell flat; there was no new information gained. I also didn't like how Sara was constantly reminding herself she isn't allowed to do certain things because she's a noble-women - and I get that in the 1600s this was true but EVERY chapter we don't need to be reminded of it.
There was many cliche's and stereotypical characters and sayings. The 'shocks' weren't shocks at all and the ending was very predictable.
Overall, I did enjoy it for the reasons I've mentioned but there were also many flaws. I would recommend if you want an easyish read as I did get through it quickly. I would not recommend if you are looking for a good demon mystery. Or if you're just looking for something different
Rating: 3 Stars
Would I recommend: Not really
Will I read anything else by him? Probably not.
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