A Haunting in the Arctic

Author/Guide: C J Cooke

Why a Booktrail?

1901/1973: Something has walked the floors of the Ormen for over a century. Something that craves revenge…

ISBN: 978-0008515959
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What you need to know before your trail

1901. On board the Ormen, a whaling ship battling through the unforgiving North Sea, Nicky Duthie awakes. Attacked and dragged there against her will, it’s just her and the crew – and they’re all owed something only she can give them.

1973. Decades later, when the ship is found still drifting across the ocean, it’s deserted. Just one body is left on board, his face and feet mutilated, his cabin locked from the inside. Everyone else has vanished.

Now, as urban explorer Dominique travels into the near-permanent darkness of the northernmost tip of Iceland, to the final resting place of the Ormen’s wreck, she’s determined to uncover the ship’s secrets.

But she’s not alone. Something is here with her. And it’s seeking revenge…

Locations

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Travel Guide

Arctic and Iceland

What a landscape and setting for a novel! Creepy and chilling in equal measure. The idea for the novel came from a chance encounter on twitter. The author says that she saw a story about a polar bear that escaped from a whaling ship in 1883 and that it was found wandering around Dundee. They say truth is often stranger than fiction!

The setting of the story is the Dundee whaling industry in the 19th century and the arctic. This gave the author the chance to go to Reykjavik and found Reynisfara which became the inspiration for the fictional setting in the book.

She visited the wreck of a real whaling ship grounded at Patreksfjordur.

Booktrailer Review

A book set in the Arctic about a selkie is always going to go down well with me. This is really atmospheric and wonderful. Quite brutal and raw in many places but magical throughout.

The location and setting is just wonderful. So cinematic and strong. I felt enveloped in the atmosphere of the whole novel from the start and could feel the shadows and chills all around me.

The Icelandic town I visited in the novel was spooky and dark and thrilling! Glad I wasn’t there in real life, but reading this on a dark autumn night just made it for me. I felt claustrophobic and trapped, but also excited by what was to come.

I just loved the blend of fiction and folklore in this novel. It’s everything I love about the Arctic and Nordic parts of the world. A kind of Narnia in a way. Magical although dark and scary too.

The novel itself is very clever. With all this scene setting, there are three very distinct parts of this tale. Each of them tying up with each other to form a wonderful realisation as to what you have just witnessed being born.

All in all, it’s a sad and cautionary tale, one that lingers in your mind for a long time. The Selkie wife – I shall never forget her story. The Ghost ship, the explorer trying to find out the truth – also captivating.

Such a rich story coming from a rich imagination. Can’t wait to see what CJ Cooke comes up with next.