A Haunting in the Arctic

C.J. Cooke’s latest chilling tale, a Radio 2 Book Club Pick, The Book of Witching, is available to buy now!

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Something has walked the floors of the Ormen for over a century.

Something that craves revenge…

*Longlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize*

1901. On board the Ormen, a whaling ship battling through the unforgiving North Sea, a woman 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.

Decades later, the Ormen is found drifting across the ocean, deserted. Just one body is left on board, his face and feet mutilated, his cabin locked from the inside. Everyone else has vanished.

Now. Urban explorer Dominique travels into the near-permanent darkness of the northernmost tip of Iceland. She's searching for the final resting place of the Ormen’s wreck, and she’s determined to uncover its secrets.

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

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‘Rich, chilling and gorgeously gothic. A Haunting in the Arctic is the kind of enchanting, terrifying mystery I just adore’ Chris Whitaker

‘Cooke delivers yet another spine-chilling treat in this lushly imagined, terrifying novel’ Emilia Hart, bestselling author of Weyward

‘Mesmerising and terrifying, this is a powerful story lovingly told … Highly recommended’ Lisa Ballantyne

Reviews

‘An unnerving tale full of ghosts, selkies and plenty of mystery, which Cooke deploys not only to craft the novel’s frights but also to probe ideas of grief and retribution. The result is a story that is as haunting as the Ormen itself’ New York Times

'[A] frosty spine-tingler' Publisher's Weekly

‘Eerie and atmospheric’ Good Housekeeping

‘A gothic tale rich in chilling folklore … an engrossing read’ Best

‘A Haunting in the Arctic is a story of a woman haunted in every way. An eerie, atmospheric novel that is full of tension and suspense, this is a beautiful gothic chiller of a book’ Elizabeth Lee

‘Evocative and chilling, an addictive piece of polar gothic’ Anna Bailey

‘This beguiling, shocking feminist gothic mystery is perfect for dark-nights reading’ Heat

‘Gloriously gothic and hauntingly beautiful … guaranteed to send a shiver up your spine this October. Miss it at your peril’ Scots Magazine

‘This claustrophobic, cloying read with Gothic undertones was so eerie I wanted to sleep with the light on’ Prima

‘Right from the start, I was hooked on this eerie, cryptic novel’ Samantha Downing

About the author

C.J. Cooke is an acclaimed, award-winning poet, novelist and academic with numerous other publications as Carolyn Jess-Cooke. Her work has been published in twenty-three languages to date. Born in Belfast, C.J. has a PhD in Literature from Queen’s University, Belfast, and is currently Reader in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, where she researches creative writing interventions for mental health. C.J. Cooke lives in Glasgow with her husband and four children.