Book Review: "The Copper Man" by Debra Castaneda

 

Some grudges never die.

“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? - from Booksirens.com

This eARC was provided to me from Booksirens.com in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is the third book I have been able to read by this author, and I have really enjoyed them all. Castaneda does a wonderful job telling a story based on local urban legends/lore, that are borderline horror stories. 

I am not sure where to go with this review. There is a slow story start as the author has to reveal our characters, their purpose, and what the actual "lore" that is going on. Within pages I am interested as things just start to happen almost immediately. I don't want to reveal too much.... There is an old flame that has 'come home' and our MC hooks up. Family issues come to head, and end up in a nice way by the end of the story. There are references to mining industrialization and procedures that I did not know/understand, but was able to figure out the good/bad based on content. I am guessing the author did a good job on the background of that information.

Overall I enjoyed the book immensely and am always looking forward to more of these types of stories from this author.

Book Review: "The Root Witch" by Debra Castaneda

 

A beautiful forest. A terrifying legend.

It’s 1986. Two strangers, hundreds of miles apart, grapple with disturbing incidents in a one-of-a-kind quaking aspen forest.

Knox is a new Forest Service ranger assigned to a vast, remote territory in Utah.

Sandy is a producer fighting for her place in a tough TV newsroom.

Both have heard about the shadowy figure believed to menace visitors to the forest. When a man disappears and reports of the Root Witch begin coming in, Knox and Sandy are plunged into a living nightmare.

Their lives converge on Halloween. Sandy sends a news crew to investigate the sightings. But when the team goes missing, and a shocking video surfaces revealing the ghastly truth, Knox and Sandy face the biggest decision of their lives.

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This novel is based on a short story, "The Root Witch: An Urban Legend Caught on Tape." - from Booksirens.com

I received this ARC from Booksirens.com at no cost and am providing an unbiased review.

This is a well thought out story, based off  of a short story , about an urban legend. Castaneda had written another book I had read, also based on the similar idea (which I also enjoyed very much). I am not sure if the actual urban legend is set in the area of the US that the author put it, but it sounded/read like it was feasible there. The characters were interesting and fairly well developed. Much of the story I felt you could mach pretty good guesses as to what was going to happen, but the story still moved along at a good pace, and did not just "dump it into your lap" then run off.

Overall, I really enojyed the book, and look for future ones from this author, possibly relating to other urban legends...? After all, it does say 'A Dark Earth Rising novel'.