Published by Flame Tree Press on May 30, 2019
Pages: 256
Goodreads
Also by this author: Creature
Deep in a Wyoming mine, hell awaits. Former cattle driver, Rough Rider and current New York City cop Nat Blackburn is given an offer he can't refuse by President Teddy Roosevelt. Tales of gold in the abandoned mining town of Hecla, in the Deep Rock Hills, abound. The only problem-those who go seeking their fortune never return. Roosevelt's own troops are among the missing, and the President wants to know their fate - and find the gold. Along with his constant companion, Teta, a hired gun with a thirst for adventure, Nat travels to a barren land where even animals dare not tread. Along the way, they are joined by a Selma, a fiery and beautiful woman in search of her brother who was swallowed up by Hecla years earlier. Hecla is an eerie ghost town, its cemetery filled with crooked tombstones, the dusty streets scored by tumbleweed, the windows of the abandoned houses like eyes, following their every move. Terrifying wraiths flit throughout the town at night. Settling into a vacant home, Nat, Teta and Selma are approached by strange, black eyed children who then disappear like twin vapors. A trip to the mine ends with them galloping for their lives, chased by immense, hairy wild men. No, Hecla is far from abandoned - it's teeming with the supernatural, strange beasts and phantoms both luring them deeper into the mystery and driving them away from the mine. Only when a strange preacher and his hulking mute assistant arrive (on a Godly mission after hearing the blaring horns of Revelation) do they realize they cannot leave the town's borders, an invisible wall refusing to let them go. There's only one thing to do - plumb the chilling depths of the ghost mine and find the source of Hecla's bizarre power. What they stumble upon is a hellish battle of underworld forces while being tortured by the ghosts of their checkered pasts. There's a mystery in Hecla thousands of years old. Solving it could spell the end of the world. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
✮ My Review ✮
Another book by Hunter and another book he has not let me down on! So a bit of history, bit of western, bit of gold mining, all check check check so far, black-eyed children, Dijinns, ghosts, demons, wild men and the DEVIL…..Wait what!! Yes, that is right, back with Hunter and another terrifying tale to introduce us too!!
I love the idea of the Wild West and the Cowboys and random shoot outs in the street, so combining this love of mine with the supernatural and the crazy seems perfect to me! Did it deliver….yes it did!
This was a page turner for sure, so much I thought I might get a paper cut, I wanted to know more about the black eyed children but I also wanted to run so turning the pages quickly I thought might help me…….
I was hooked from the opening pages, the creepiness of the town takes a life of its own. Leaving you gasping both for air and for more. So many twists to keep you enticed to turn the pages and enough horror to keep you peeking through your fingers. I mean the first chapter, made my stomach turn and hold the book tightly in my fingers… winning! Part of me really wants to go into Hecla mine….although I doubt I would ever come back!
Another fab book from Flame Tree Press, I am never bored with their offerings and this book is way up there for me!
Until next time xxx
So what has been said on tour so far?
The author ramps up the suspense page on page. As more characters are introduced the story takes on a more sinister twist. Like tumbleweed through a parched wasteland you are carried through the pages of the book. Finally coming to rest deep in the bowels of then hell the author has created. A page turning, suspenseful, chilling and satisfyingly great cowboy book. A book that will appeal to both lovers of horror and of the Wild West. It will keep you thoroughly entertained till the very end.
Rachel Read it says
It’s brilliantly atmospheric and reminiscent of an American James Herbert-Shea’s Nate reminds me of so many of Herbert’s ordinary men who find themselves thrust into circumstances that they could never have imagined, and places where they need to use their wits to escape from . This is high praise from me, Herbert was one of my most influential authors as a teen and I am currently reading ‘The Fog’ which is still as scary as it ever was! I am most definitely going to be on the lookout for further titles by Shea, I am HOOKED! This is great, classic horror with a great deal of work behind it into making it historically accurate, vivid and well rounded. Scaring people with your fiction is one of the hardest tasks you can undertake and ‘Ghost Mine’ piles shivers and thrills on the hapless reader without letting up!
The Twist and Turn Book Blog says
This novel was a fantastic fast-paced thriller, horror/horror style western based story with twists and turns aplenty!
From Belguim with Book Love says
….the guys don’t have a lot of time to ponder the allure of the female body: there’s black-eyed kids and monsters and Djinns and things that would give Cujo a run for his money. And the problem is, once you are in Hecla, it does not let you leave again, and it doesn’t seem very keen on letting you live either. All this creates a very claustrophobic little world that spooked me and creeped me out and, well, delighted me in equal measure.
FUOnly Knew says
Hunter can write some weird and scary stuff. I especially like his stories with cryptids. You haven’t read about any like the ones that come after these characters. And the atmosphere is tense. The unexpected can and does jump out at you, keeping the story fast and furious.
Check out an excerpt over at The Magic of Wor(l)ds
Until next time xxx
Thank you so much to Anne at Random Things Tours for the tour invite and the author and publisher for a copy of this book in return for my honest and unbiased review
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Kelly says
Thanks for the shout-out ? I tried turning the pages faster in lieu of running too, didn’t work did it ?
Zoé says
?? ah you are welcome lovely! ? no way it’s annoying lol
Shalini says
Exciting review… This seems like a different read. Will keep a watch for it when it comes
Zoé says
Yay! Hope you enjoy it!!! X
annecater says
Thanks so much Zoe x
Zoé says
Thank you for having me x