“Some songs weren’t mere songs. They were memories curled tight and set alight.”
Samuel Pipps and Arent Hayes are the dynamic duo responsible for stopping the most notorious crimes across the world.
However, this last one might just be too much for even the Great Pipps.
It centers on one, terrible boat…the very boat leading Pipps to his execution.
Pipps is currently locked in the bellows of the ship, leaving his bodyguard (Arent) to deal with the mystery.
And what a mystery it is – a twice-dead leper on the sea, symbols being written into the wood, whispering through the walls and a possible-demon to boot.
Aren’t isn’t the great detective…but when people are marked for death, he decides that he will have to be.
“Questions are swords and answers are shields…”
Whew!
After reading 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle…I am prepared to be just blown away by Turton’s second book…and the verdict is….it was good.
It wasn’t MIND-BLOWING like his first one but I was also entertained throughout.
I like the way the mystery was structured and the setting chosen – it had Sherlock-and-Watson vibes, but with enough twists to make it unique.
I thought it was fun to see “Watson” (Arent) handle the mystery, and I was cheering him on with each new reveal.
I adored Sara, the much-grieved wife, who assists Arent with his mystery.
And I loved the way she found ways to work around the patriarchy that governed every moment of her life.
And the grand reveal – it definitely wasn’t what I expected but it fit so well with the story! So happy with the way it turned out!
HUGE thank you to Cristina from Sourcebooks for sending this one my way!
Miranda Reads 