Ruff Tides

by Laura Churchill Duke

In the 1840s, young Benjamin and his family live on an isolated Nova Scotia island. There is no church, no school, no store, no community; just them.



But Benjamin has a vivid imagination that fills his life with adventure. He sees pirates and sea monsters; devilish black dogs, schooners laden with treasure bound for his island.

And he sees a man with an axe in his hand.

342 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 30, 2026

About the author

Laura is the author of Two Crows Sorrow: Love and Death on the North Mountain. This is a creative non-fiction story about the true murder of Theresa McAuley Robinson in Nova Scotia in 1904.
Two Crows Sorrow won the 2020 bronze award for creative non-fiction by the Miramichi Reader.

When not writing, Laura is a communication specialist and journalist in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada. She also teaches communication in the Kinesiology Department at Acadia University.

Laura is a freelance journalist for Saltwire Network, writing stories for newspapers across Atlantic Canada. She can also be heard as the Kentville community contact on CBC Radio, Information Morning.

When not writing, Laura works as a professional home organizer with Your Last Resort and loves to travel and hike, and is always up for an adventure!

For more information, visit https://laurachurchillduke.ca

Reviews

[James Fisher · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

It's as difficult to rate this book as it was for the author to write it, as she mentions at the end of the book. It certainly is not as good as her previous true historical crime books, but that has more to do with the paucity of facts regarding the murder of John Rudd (if he was indeed murdered). If you've read her other books, I think you should still read this one, just be prepared to be disappointed, but it's not for the lack of effort on the author's part.