The Copper Man by Debra Castaneda

Rating: ★★★★ 

Genre: Suspense

Format: eBook/ARC

Pages: 245

Read: 02/21/23

Synopsis:

“The horrible figure from the Prestwich Tunnel hovered there. Not a ghost. Something between a badly disfigured man and a monster. There was a limit to what the human mind could comprehend, and the ghastly thing standing before her was beyond that limit.”

In 1985, the Copper Man killed Leah Shaw’s twin brother, Liam, in the mining town of Tribulation Gulch. Three decades later, Leah is an environmental reporter back in her Wyoming hometown, covering the reopening of the copper mine.

But when people literally drop dead around her, Leah can’t believe it’s the work of the Copper Man. After all, he’s dead…right?

Except Leah can’t stop seeing shadows, and creepy copper nuggets are showing up everywhere. Workers say the mine is haunted, and the words “I CURSE THIS PLACE” are appearing all over the mine—the very words the Copper Man scrawled on a bridge before jumping to his death.

Has the Copper Man come back for Leah, aiming to finish what he started 35 years ago? Is Leah’s young daughter in danger? And what other secrets are waiting for her among the dusty hills of Tribulation Gulch?

A gripping tale of revenge with a compelling cast of characters. From the author of The Root Witch and The Devil’s Shallows comes the latest Dark Earth Rising novel.

Review:

"What he did not feel was guilt. What he had done, he would do again."

"I CURSE THIS PLACE"

The year is 1985 when "The Copper Man" experienced a tragic event. His pain and anger caused him to exact revenge on the small mining town of Tribulation Gulch, Wyoming.

35 years later the copper mine is reopening. The redevelopment of the mine has awoken something sinister and the peoples lives are now in danger. It lurks in the shadows, it visits where it wishes, it follows, and until it gets what it wants there is no hiding from it.

There are so many things that occur, building the suspense as the story unfolds. The beginning starts out with an anxiety laden occurence adding excitement to what lies ahead. Families and friends are reuinited with rekindled relationships, new friendships are built, and buried secrets are revealed. The imagery described throughout adds to the feel of claustrophobia including narrow tunnels, deep underground within the copper mines, poisoned waters, and polluted air quality. Horrible accidents happen and disturbing messages show up leading up to the appearance of "The Copper Man". There is an intense feeling, waiting in anticipation of what may occur next and how bad it will be.

This may be scary to some readers and not so much to others. What I enjoyed about it was the whole dynamics. The characters, the setting, and the suspense.

I have read the other two books in the "Dark Earth Rising" novels and I have enjoyed all of them. Castaneda is a great writer and I love these books based on urban legends.

Goodreads Author Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Link:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Debra-Castaneda/author/

Author Website Link:

http://www.debracastaneda.com/

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/

https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/

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