Hunter Shea

"Shea layers on the ever mounting sense of dread with a master craftsman's skill, with some excellent tension building scenes..." - Ginger Nuts of Horror 1st time with full trade distribution in all formats. Previously titled Hell Hole. Deep in a Wyoming mine, hell awaits. Nat Blackburn is given an offer he can't refuse by President Teddy Roosevelt. Tales of gold in the abandoned mining town of Hecla abound. The only problem - those who go seeking their fortune never return. 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. Black-eyed children, strange lights and ferocious wild men venture from the deep, dark ghost mine...as well as a sinister force hungry for fresh souls. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Ghost Mine

Becca Futrell

Thank you to Flame Tree Press for sending me an ARC of Ghost Mine by Hunter Shea in exchange for an honest review! Any quotes used in this review was from the advanced copy & may not match up with the final copy.

Content warnings: racial slurs, suicide, animal death. 

I couldn’t let you stay here in good conscience. There’s something wrong with this place. Something… evil. I don’t know how to explain it. I just know that it’s no place fit for men.

It’s wild to me how many times I was asked for my opinion on Ghost Mine while reading it & upon finishing it — & I felt so bad, because I.. just.. didn’t.. know.. how.. I felt. & honestly, I still don’t; this review is going to be Hell to write (which is actually very fitting when it comes to this book’s setting).

One of the coolest aspects of Ghost Mine is just how unique it is — at least for me. Ghost Mine is not only a horror story, but a historical fiction & a Western. Ghouls, I’m starting to figure out that I really love historical fiction. Another thing that made this read interesting is that it’s not just about demons, djinns & all those spooky goods, but there’s a tale of friendship & romance sprinkled in.

I absolutely adored the characters. Nat, our main character & who’s perspective this story is in, is a New York City cop who takes on an assignment from his old friend (& president) Theodore Roosevelt. Nico Delacruz, known as Teta, is Nat’s best friend & partner in this assignment. He’s also my absolute favorite character in Ghost Mine. & Selma, the love interest of Nat who warns them from the dangers in Hecla. My only complaint on the characters is how Selma is looked at as a damsel that needs protecting — however, that complaint is instantly voided as this is a historical fiction & unfortunately fits with this time period.

Now, if Matthias was right, I’d rode right into hell on a rented horse and damned some good people in the process.

Ghost Mine is packed with action & supernatural beings. We have black-eyed creepy children, djinn & other spirits that roam the mines. What more could you possibly want? There are plot twists galore. It felt as if there was something always happening & that’s probably what kept me turning the pages. Yet, somehow, this story never really clicked with me which is the only reason it’s not getting a five or four-star rating. It has all of the components to be an amazing book & I hope it lands in the hands of people that absolutely adore it.

Ghost Mine

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