Diddle Dee

Some places remember what the world has forgotten.

When a former Royal Navy petty officer returns to a remote island in the South Atlantic with his teenage daughter, he is forced to confront a secret he has carried for thirty years. What begins as a long-deferred journey of nostalgia soon reawakens memories of an isolated shore, strange children, and an unspoken tragedy buried beneath stone and peat.

In Diddle Dee, Michael Rothery weaves a haunting supernatural tale where landscape and memory intertwine. Set against the stark beauty of the Falkland Islands, the story moves between 1982 and 2012, blending military realism, natural history, and quiet horror. As past and present begin to overlap, the island reveals that it is not merely a place-but a witness.

At once unsettling and deeply human, Diddle Dee explores grief, legacy, and the enduring echoes of childhood loss. With its slow-burn tension, vivid wildlife, and emotionally resonant conclusion, this novel will appeal to readers who love atmospheric ghost stories, psychological suspense, and literary speculative fiction rooted in real history.

Perfect for fans of:
- subtle, literary supernatural fiction
- isolated settings and folk-horror atmospheres
- emotionally driven mystery with historical depth

Some truths do not stay buried.
Some voices are never entirely silenced.

'"Write about what you know and write truly" was the rule Ernest Hemingway (my 15th cousin, according to ancestry.com) lived by. He believed in utilizing personal experiences and true emotions to make a story believable. And that's what informs my own writing. You don't need to know the sea to be swept away by it. My thrillers are not written for sailors alone. They are written for anyone who loves suspense, danger, strong characters, and stories that pull you irresistibly onward. Because it's what I know, the maritime world provides the setting, but it is never a barrier: the language is clear, the stakes are human, and the drama is universal. You won't need a chart, a glossary, or any nautical experience to follow the story-only a taste for tension, intrigue, and adventure. '

Michael Rothery

Michael Rothery is a lifelong writer whose fiction is shaped by decades at sea. He began writing poems and letters long before turning to full-length fiction in 2012. He served twenty-five years in the Royal Navy, gaining extensive operational and maritime experience that now underpins the realism of his novels.

Alongside his writing career, he qualified as a yachtmaster and worked for a time on yacht deliveries. In 2015, he bought a sailing yacht in Greece and sailed solo to the Caribbean via the Atlantic Islands. He went on to cruise the Lesser Antilles for several years before crossing to the Azores. In 2024, he sold his boat and came ashore, bringing with him a lifetime of naval service, blue-water sailing, and firsthand maritime knowledge that informs every aspect of his writing.