Caffeinated Reviewer

A Haunting in the Arctic by C. J. Cooke delivered an atmospheric tale about a deserted shipwreck off the coast of Iceland. Cooke skillfully shares its past and present as a modern daily explorer Dominique, feels the need to document the ship before it is destroyed. A chilling tale perfect for a chilly winter’s night.

A deserted shipwreck off the coast of Iceland holds terrors and dark secrets in this chilling horror novel from the author of The Lighthouse Witches.

The year is 1901, and Nicky is attacked, then wakes on board the Ormen, a whaling ship embarked on what could be its last voyage. With land still weeks away, it’s just her, the freezing ocean, and the crew – and they’re all owed something only she can give them...

Now, over one hundred years later, the wreck of the Ormen has washed up on the forbidding, remote coast of Iceland. It’s scheduled to be destroyed, but explorer Dominique feels an inexplicable pull to document its last days, even though those who have ventured onto the wreck before her have met uncanny ends.

Onboard the boat, Dominique will uncover a dark past riddled with lies, cruelty, and murder—and her discovery will change everything. Because she’ll soon realize she’s not alone. Something has walked the floors of the Ormen for almost a century. Something that craves revenge.

I’ve read this author before and like the clever way she unfolds her stories, filling with them with supernatural elements. In A Haunting in the Arctic, we travel with Dominique to the remote coast of Iceland where the Ormen washed up on shore over hundred years ago; the crew gone without a trace.

Dominique plans to document the details before a crew comes to destroy it. We learn that others have attempted to and strangely disappeared. A strange woman on the beach, an abandoned village, wild horses and strangers arriving to film, all add to the atmospheric vibe of the tale.

As the story unfolds, we learn about the Ormen’s history. In 1901, it was a whaling ship. As it embarks on its last journey, Nicky, the whaling companies’s daughter, awakens to find herself captive on the Ormen. We learn Nicky’s story in alternating chapters. In the 1800s it was a refitted as a researcher ship. When it washed up, only Dr. Diego Almeyda’s remains were found, including his shattered feet. The other occupants of the ship vanished.

The tale was brilliantly paced with moments of fear and suspense. It’s pure gothic horror, and I lost myself in the telling. I devoured this in a few days. Cooke did a superb job of moving between the three timelines, painting a tapestry of fear, comprehension, and twists. The ending blew me away and caught me a little by surprise, but it all clicked. I closed the book completely satisfied.

If you are looking for a dark, unputdownable story with supernatural elements and a gothic horror vibe, you’ll want to grab A Haunting in the Arctic.

Amazon | Audible

About C.J. Cooke

C. J. Cooke is an award-winning poet and novelist published in twenty-three languages. She teaches creative writing at the University of Glasgow, where she also researches the impact of motherhood on women's writing and creative writing interventions for mental health.

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About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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