Galata

‘Seven days. Seven deaths. Seven brides for seven rivers…’

It is New Year’s Day. The city of Galata, with its ancient river-streets, is slowly sinking into the sea. But for one week its citizens want to forget this, and celebrate the city’s thousand-year anniversary.

For Joseph, a jaded ex-detective, the day brings a glimmer of hope. Last night he met and kissed Celice, a free-spirited artist. Tonight he is meeting her again. But Celice never turns up. Then her body is pulled out of the canal. There are papers on her; charred at the edges, with mysterious writing on them. As Joseph teams up with his former police colleague J. D, they discover this may be just the first in a series of eerily similar crimes that took place on exactly the same week, 100 years ago.

Is history about to repeat itself? And can they stop it happening again?

Cover: Photos by Andrea Piacquadio; Background by Lise-Noor Lemmens

Author Biography

Ben Gribbin first fell in love with the sea when he was born in Brighton in 1976. Fascinated by fantasy and still in love with the sea, he uses these as major themes in his writing, particularly his poetry. He took his love for the sea with him when he studied at Trinity College, Dublin, for an MPhil in Creative Writing and Publishing, and spent any time not writing, or drinking Guinness, gazing wistfully at the beautiful Eastern Irish Coast. Whilst living in London and pursuing a career in helping other people to publish their writing at a major publishing house, Ben wrote the first draft of his novel Thomas Silent. Several rewrites, 4 house moves, one wedding and 3 children later, Ben was excited to see Thomas Silent published by Elsewhen Press in 2015. He also had The Sad Happy Tale of Aberystwyth the Bat, a novella for children, published in 2015. Ben has had poetry published in Magma, and The Irish Poetry Review. He continues to love writing and the sea, working in his small box room in rural East Sussex, where he lives with his wife and children.