Reviews with content warning for Violence - Demon i mroczna toń

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Demon i mroczna toń by Stuart Turton

92 reviews

not_another_ana's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

"That's the problem with summoning demons, you see. Sooner or later somebody else raises them against you"

Batavia, 1634. Samuel Pipps, the greatest detective in the world, is on his way to his execution in Amsterdam. His crime? Unknown, even to him and his closest friend and companion Arent Hayes. As if that weren't enough, while boarding the ship the passengers and crew receive a warning from a leper and witness a horrifying death. Soon, while sailing on the Saardam, strange voices plague the ship and shocking events confuse and scare everyone on board. Could this be the work of a demon just like they were warned on shore? Or is something more human afoot? With Sammy Pipps out of comission, and trapped in a dark cell, only Arent might be able to save the ship, but is he up to the task or will the dark waters take them all?

This was such a ride. I started this book filled with optimism as I love a good mystery and this had all the initial makings of one. A closed room, well ship, murder with a may or may not be supernatural twist. Add to that an interesting subversion on the classic detective story, by taking out the genius investigator out of the equation, and I was sold. Good writing (if a bit too descriptive), short exciting chapters, well constructed characters, lot of questions, this was shaping up to be a 4 stars. Until the crime was solved in the most ludicrous, senseless way. After everything that I read the solution to the mystery was something out of an episode of Scooby-Doo

I am genuinely so disappointed and upset by this book, I feel quite cheated. When reading a crime novel I enjoy trying to solve the puzzle. I take notes, check the evidence, come up with theories, etc. This is why if I get to the end of a book and find out that there was no way to solve it because the author was lying or pulling stuff out of nowhere I feel quite tricked and deceived. The road might have been enjoyable but if the destination is a sham? That will make me flip my opinion immediately. And this book didn't even have the guts to just go for it, the conclusion committed the crime of not only being impossible to reach as a reader, but also being lame.

Rant incoming:

You want to know the big secret that made it all work? Money. That was it. Thanks to a diamond the crew behind "Old Tom" was able to [checks notes] bribe an entire crew of a Company ship into veering off course into a secret island and building a whole clearing of respectable shacks and offload provisions there. Said crew also kept their mouths shut for weeks and agreed to keep participating in this increasingly convoluted charade and were super loyal all because uh money. With that money they also got a carpenter and a bunch of other sailors to turn the Saardam into a giant Saw trap (in a matter of weeks), and they also kept their mouths shut until they were disposed of. Oh, and they bribed the ship's captain too. The thing is that this doesn't explain everything. How did the other ship know went to turn on the red light? Even if you plan it perfectly, things change and maybe the conditions aren't right. How were they communicating then? Timing wise, a lot of events made no sense, like Jan Haan's meeting with Sammy, they couldn't have known when he was going to show up to the cabin. And don't even get me started on the crew never even thinking of opening the viscountess' room 🙃

And who were the masterminds behind this? Well, Sammy and Creesjie, obviously 🙄 I think that making Sammy the criminal would have been so different and interesting, but you have to make it work. Their plans relayed too much on chance and very clearly went wrong. This solution left me with too many questions and the answers 1) don't exist or 2) are unconvincing. Plus the way this was revealed was all tell and zero show. Just pages and pages of dull and senseless explanations.

Oh and the reactions from the other characters!! Sara and Arent were both very upstanding and moral characters, even to the point of going against the expected beliefs of the time period. The murders on the ship and all the violence inflicted on the people really affected them and pushed them to find the guilty party. And yet they're cool with their besties being liars and murderers. Sammy and Creesjie's attitude to the whole debacle is dismissive and that it was ok because they just killed bad people, never mind everyone caught in the crossfire. Arent has been haunted the whole book by a mistake he made that almost sent an innocent man to his death only for Sammy to reveal that no, Arent was actually right all along. If that were my so called best friend who I defended with my life I would throw his lying ass out of that ship SO FAST. But it's fine cause they're all going to make it right somehow and be good? We'll never know cause this isn't a series 🤷🏼‍♀️

BOO TOMATO TOMATO 🍅🍅

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readingtotravel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Wow. A must read. Super fun and entertaining, keeps you on your toes.

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juriartt's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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voldycat's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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rkpaulson96's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious relaxing 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

5.0

Stuart Turton did it again! His second novel is a fun, puzzle-within-several-puzzles mystery thriller. The characters are just as complex as the supernatural-tinted conundrum facing the passengers and crew of the ship, Saardam, on whose decks a demon allegedly prowls.

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wild_rabbits's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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achubb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.75

The combination of historical fiction along with mystery thriller was not one I'd expect to enjoy this much. Turton does a great job of keeping the reader hooked and asking questions throughout. It did take a bit of time to get going but the characters presented have a nice depth to them.
I especially enjoyed the grey area of morality throughout. Each person viewed the situations in a unique way that helped bring the story to life.

The ending was not as satisfying as I hoped. It's wrapped up a little too nicely in the last few pages.

Arent viewed Sammy as the only person he knew without corrupt morals. To discover his friend is just as bad as his Uncle was a great twist but then suddenly everyone's happy and in agreement? I would have preferred it to be left with a bit of mystery to muse over. I dont buy the sudden agreement of everyone. How do they forgive that easily and not question it further?
I enjoyed the questions I was left with. How many cases did Sammy fake the culprit of? Was he the true murderer for some of his cases considering his history? I wish this was explored/hinted at more

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jerseynoonatic's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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sandysmith's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm gradually adding books I've read in 2021 to give a true reflection of the books I've read since keeping records. This was the first book I read in 2021, and is what kick started my reading journey having put reading on the back burner whilst bringing up the children, previously being an avid reader. Based in 1634 regarding a shops Voyage. A thriller of sorts, with devilish or supernatural symbols and a murder. Arent Hayes is a body guard to a great detective Samuel Pepys kept under guard. It was a good read until the disappointing ending and it seemed to loose its way. It was a long book anyway but the ending seemed a completely different pace to the rest of the book. That said I really liked it.

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cmbohn's review against another edition

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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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