I really enjoyed the way the author had Hayes as the one trying to solve the mystery. The mysteries had me guessing about what was happening on the ship and as more and more of the suspects died I had to continuously revise my guesses. Is it a supernatural demon on board or is a mortal demon? And with Pipps locked away in his cell, it’s up to Hayes and Sara to solve the mystery of Old Tom. This is revealed to be the mark of Old Tom, a demon from Europe that witch hunters have been searching for for over twenty years.Īs more and more mysterious things happen aboard the ship the passengers begin to fear that the ship really is cursed. When the mainsail is unfurled to begin the voyage, it is revealed to have a symbol that looks like an eye with a tail on it. When Hayes and Sara examine the leper’s body they discover that the leper’s tongue had been cut out and it would have been impossible for him to speak. To make the situation even more complicated, Hayes and Haan have a connection that pre-dates that of Hayes and Pipps.īefore the ship even leaves port in Batavia, a mysterious leper curses the ship and all of its passengers before dramatically lighting himself on fire. Haan refuses to tell anyone what the charges against Pipps are and so Hayes books passage on the ship to accompany Pipps back to Amsterdam. When the detectives return the Folly to Haan, Pipps is arrested and is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed. Or at least no one will admit to knowing what it is. Pipps and Hayes were called all the way to Batavia to find the Folly, a mysterious heavy chest.

Pipps is the world’s greatest detective and Hayes is his bodyguard and sometimes biographer. But the most interesting passengers on board are Samuel Pipps and Lieutenant Arent Hayes. Haan is leaving Batavia for a prestigious new position with the East India Company after his successful and profitable stewardship of Batavia. On board are Governor General Jan Haan, his wife Sara and daughter Lia. This journey will take eight months from beginning to end and not everyone who boards the ship will survive the trip. It’s 1634 and a merchant ship is preparing to sail the dangerous path from Batavia to Amsterdam.

Devil and the dark water review