Ariel

Oct 31, 2024

is now available to be read. Set in the fictional village of Dunstrand, Ghost Tide by Jim Cockin follows Charlie, a 14-year-old schoolboy from London, who is packed off to the wilds of the East Anglian coast to stay with an uncle he barely knows and his cousin, Ariel. The week looks set to be dull and miserable – but when Charlie finds an ancient brass box buried on the beach, he unleashes a chilling sequence of events. With the help of his grumpy cousin Ariel, the pair battle to solve the mystery of the ‘box of souls’ and re-capture the violent ghostly presence wreaking havoc around the town. Ghost Tide is set in the fictional town of Dunstrand. (Image: Jim Cockin) Mr Cockin said the idea for this story has been with him since childhood. “When I was on holiday when I was about 10, I was on holiday in Wales and we saw a real shipwreck,” he explained. "A boat called the Prince Ivan which had left Swansea harbour hit some rocks off the beach in Port Island. “For a wet Welsh holiday in the 1980s, this was unheard of excitement! “What really struck me was the idea that if we were to go back in the coming summers, we might find passenger lists or life jackets or bits of the deck washed up on the beach. “The idea of things going into the sea and re-emerging years later is something that stuck with me.” Author Jim Cockin decided that Suffolk was the perfect setting for his debut novel. (Image: Jim Cockin) The story takes place in the fictional town of Dunstrand, shown below in this map drawn by the novel's illustrator Martha Vine. (Image: Jim Cockin / Martha Vine) Mr Cockin spent the early part of his career in our county working as a journalist at ITV, the BBC and Sky Sports, covering everything from the Suffolk Show to the latest news from Ipswich Town. So, for this, his debut novel, he decided that Suffolk was the perfect, eerie setting. The EADT even makes a special appearance, with a character pointing out a headline from our newspaper during the tale. Although the story is aimed at children aged eight to 12, Mr Cockin said that he has received glowing reviews from older readers, too. “I’m a big believer that the best children’s books work for adults as well,” he said. Ghost Tide can be bought online or locally from Eye Books. Visit: www.eye-books.com/books/ghost-tide