The embodiment of this novel is based on an island off the coast of Australia, that a famous shipwreck, the Batavia was the beginning of a haunting past that still has the recent inhabitants superstition. The two main characters are mayken, who was a young girl on the shipwreck, and her journey as a orphan through the turbulence of a mutinous ship in 1629 ending in a shipwreck and the survival and demise of her. The novel then flickers to Gil, a young boy recently orphaned who is sent to the same island in the 1980s to reside with his estranged grandfather. Gil has a troubled past and a dark secret that makes him feel even more isolated and misunderstood. Gil finds artefacts that relate to the shipwreck and his morbid fascination with the tales of hauntings. The chapters flick from one character to the other that keeps the two stories addictively interesting. I felt fractionally disappointed with the ending, as it felt a little rushed in regards to Gils outcome, but I did like the balance of the tragic end and horror or mayken vs the redemption storyline to Gil. It was definitely enjoyable and despite the loose connections, it gives the impression that there could be a sequel.