Overall Take:
This is a creepy book that will transport you to the Arctic, I’d borrow a copy.
Star Rating:
4 Stars
Genre:
Historical Fiction, Gothic
Synopsis:
1901: Nicky is attacked and brought aboard the whaling ship the Ormen. With land weeks way, Nicky is forced to do things she never thought imaginable.
Current time: The Ormen has washed up on the remote coast of Iceland, and it’s set to be demolished soon. Dominique feels a pull to document the ship’s final days even though those who have ventured onto the wreck before have met untimely ends.
Onboard the boat, Dominique will uncover a dark past riddled with lies, cruelty, and murder. It’s not long before she realizes she’s not alone. Something else is onboard, and it seems to be craving revenge.
Thoughts:
This book was really interesting, and I loved the execution. There were two main points of view told from centuries apart, with one point of view from the middle sort of occasionally popping up. I really enjoyed both the 1901 timeline and the 2023 equally as much and I loved how they came together in the end.
In the 1973 timeline the Ormen, the ship, has been drifting since the 1800’s and its crew are long vanished. It’s since been turned into a research vessel and the body of one of the researchers is found onboard. The body has been brutally mutilated and locked in the cabin.
This timeline was interesting because I kept wanting to know how the body got trapped inside, and when the storyline was switched back and forth, I was kept in suspense! It was so hard waiting, but I loved the 2023 timeline as well.
In 2023 Dom is an urban explorer and sets out on a trip to visit the Ormen before it was sunk for good. She’s going to film her journey and share it with her followers. She ends up meeting three other people there who are on a similar mission.
Dom’s story was so interesting. I was kept in suspense by this story as well. It was such a suspenseful book to read because all the timelines kept me waiting and wanting to find out what was going to happen next. It was almost as if it were two complementary books running side by side and I enjoyed it a lot.
I do think this one is more of a dark thriller than horror, but that’s probably just splitting hairs at that point. There are some pretty dark topics discussed in the later part of the book. This is most definitely a dark gothic tale and it will thoroughly creep you out. It was actually pretty brutal, but the story did end up being worth it in the end.
I did struggle a little with all the different characters, but by the end I had a good understanding of who was who. When everything was coming together at the end, I was scratching my head wondering how everything was going to play out. I loved how it all worked out, and it was wonderful.
If you are looking for a dark and twisty book that has a lot of history, then check this one out.
Thanks for my copy to:
Thank you to the publisher Berkley Publishing, @berkleypub, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Publication Date:
February 27, 2024
Author:
C.J. Cooke
Page Length:
352 pages
Publisher:
Berkley Publishing
Link to buy
Affiliate link https://amzn.to/4aiOt7e
