Ruby Falls - by Gin Phillips (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In 1928, a Chattanooga man disappears down a hole in the ground and discovers a 150-foot waterfall in the middle of a mountain that he names after his wife: Ruby Falls. Within months, visitors can buy tickets to see the falls for themselves. Ada Smith has been sneaking into the caves at night, entranced by the natural wonders around her and the freedom granted by this new underground world. But it's tough timing for a natural wonder. As the country flounders in the Great Depression, a shrewd public relations ploy seems like the only way to save Ruby Falls. A famous mind reader agrees to launch himself into the caverns where he will attempt to locate a hidden hatpin using only his psychic abilities. He'll be joined by five others: his manager, his wife, a guide, a Chattanooga businessman, and a reporter from the Chicago Times. But they're not alone in the caverns. Ada and another guide, Quinton, have been asked to follow the mind reader's party at a distance, staying out of sight. They are a safety net, in case of a broken leg or busted flashlights. One of them will be dead before the end of the day. Faced with a corpse and the stark reality that one of the people in her midst is a killer, Ada needs to get everyone--the murderer and the innocents--back aboveground before their light runs out."-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

One body. Five suspects. Total darkness.

A tense, claustrophobic historical mystery set almost entirely underground at the onset of the Great Depression about the discovery of a 150-foot waterfall in the middle of a mountain, the unthinkable crime that happens in its caves, and a woman who's never felt more alive.

In 1928, a Chattanooga man disappears down a hole in the ground and discovers a 150-foot waterfall in the middle of a mountain that he names after his wife: Ruby Falls. Within months, visitors can buy tickets to see the falls for themselves. Ada Smith has been sneaking into the caves at night, entranced by the natural wonders around her and the freedom granted by this new underground world.

But it's tough timing for a natural wonder. As the country flounders in the Great Depression, a shrewd public relations ploy seems like the only way to save Ruby Falls. A famous mind reader and mystic agrees to launch himself into the Ruby Falls caverns where he will attempt to locate a hidden hatpin using only his psychic abilities. He'll be joined by five others: his manager, his wife, a guide, a Chattanooga businessman, and a reporter from the Chicago Times. But they're not alone in the caverns. Ada and another guide, Quinton, have been asked to follow the mind reader's party at a distance, staying out of sight. They are a safety net, in case of a broken leg or busted flashlights.

One of them will be dead before the end of the day.

Faced with a corpse and the stark reality that one of the people in her midst is a killer, Ada needs to get everyone--the murderer and the innocents--back aboveground before their light runs out.

Ruby Falls is both a unique twist on the locked-room mystery and an exploration of loss and what it means to start over. It's a heart-racing story of survival and a testament to the threads that bind strangers together. Set against the true story of the discovery of Ruby Falls, the novel also draws on the memoirs of Katie Stabler, a female guide at Wind Caves in South Dakota.

Review Quotes

Praise for Ruby Falls:

"The group's nerve-wracking progress through narrow passages is wildly tense, and Phillips exhibits a keen eye for character. Fans of Ariel Lawhon's The Frozen River will adore this."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Woven from historical events like the discovery of Ruby Falls, documents like a 19th-century female caver's memoir, and the workings of brilliantly brooding imagination, this story of murder, lust, and survival is as disturbing as it is mesmerizing. A hyper-immersive novel that fearlessly explores the darkest, most primal corners of the human heart."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"It can't get much more excruciatingly suspenseful than a locked-room mystery set in a series of underground caverns . . . Phillips manages to work absolutely harrowing facts about living during the Depression into an electrifying, clock-is-ticking plot."--Connie Fletcher, Booklist (starred review)

"A perfect murder mystery arrangement: a small group of people contained in a dark and dangerous place, as tensions rise and secrets are revealed."--Library Journal

"Whether readers listen to Ruby Falls in the dark or read it with all the lights on, they'll want to carve out some time to explore this rewarding historical mystery."--Bookreporter

"Ruby Falls depicts a fascinating journey taking place simultaneously through the dark and twisting passages of a wild cave system and the even more torturous caverns of the human psyche, as lies and secrets slowly come to light."--Tina Chambers, Chapter 16

"Phillips gives readers two stories here--the sensational hatpin search amidst the danger and grandeur of Ruby Falls, and Ada's grieving for a life never lived, not knowing about the one that lies before her. A historical mystery in a unique setting, adding 'locked cave' to the genre vernacular."--Dodie Ownes, firstCLUE

"Clever, compelling, and utterly claustrophobic . . . Ruby Falls is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie who are looking for a fresh take on the locked room mystery."--J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of Last Seen

"Ada Smith--ethical, conflicted, bold--anchors a cast of layered characters whose agendas can only be brought to light in the black depths underground. As an intense and thrilling page-turner, Ruby Falls delivers, but it is Phillips's clear-eyed empathy for the frail, flawed humans trapped together in the dark that will make me put this on my keeper shelf and return to it again and again. This is Gin Phillips at her best, and I loved every word of it."--Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist

"This novel is so vivid and skillfully textured that I felt I'd opened a portal and dropped into the caves of Ruby Falls, accompanying Phillips's compelling heroine, Ada Smith, as she races against the clock to solve an underground murder mystery. Phillips's lovely prose made me want to savor each sentence (even as her gripping plot compelled me to keep turning pages) and I thought about Ada long after I finished her story. At times sexy and joyful, at times melancholy and moving, Ruby Falls is a tribute to how the world around us--and below us--is astonishing."-- Abbott Kahler, New York Times bestselling author of Eden Undone

"A gorgeous and total-immersion twist on the locked-room mystery, exploring the depths of longing and the power of desire. Ada Smith is an unforgettable character, and Ruby Falls is exquisitely written and evocatively claustrophobic, layered and transportingly authentic--as chilling as it is tender, and as mysterious as the human soul."--Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today Bestselling author

Praise for Gin Phillips:

"Expertly made thriller . . . clever and irresistible."--The New York Times, on Fierce Kingdom

"A shot of pure adrenaline. But it's not just the action that will keep you turning pages: Fierce Kingdom is a moving story too." --Entertainment Weekly, on Fierce Kingdom

"Phillips manages to combine beautiful imagery with heart-pounding, nerve-fraying intensity . . . Fans of literary page-turners, like Sunil Yapa's Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist, won't want to miss this."--Booklist (starred review), on Fierce Kingdom

"Phillips' characters are exquisitely rendered . . . her prose is artful and evocative. Poignant and profound, this adrenaline- fueled thriller will shatter readers like a bullet through bone."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review), on Fierce Kingdom

"A terrifying book, but more importantly, a beautiful one."--NPR, on Fierce Kingdom

"A powerhouse of a read that balances empathy and fear as it poses complex questions about human nature."--Washington Independent Review of Books, on Fierce Kingdom

"In language as spare and evocative as New Mexico's landscape, author Gin Phillips shapes a love story that lingers in the imagination."--USA Today, on Come in and Cover Me

"Gin Phillips writes with astounding clarity, abundant grace, and scything, clear-eyed love; this book is simply exceptional . . . The reading felt like revelation. Family Law is both raw and perfectly controlled. It is emotionally resonant and wholly absorbing. I loved it, and you will, too."--Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling novelist, on Family Law

"Gin Phillips has a remarkable ear for dialogue and a tenderhearted eye for detail... A whisper runs through the novel--the ghost of places and people and luscious peach pies."--Los Angeles Times on The Well and the Mine

About the Author

Gin Phillips is the author of seven novels, and her work has been sold in 29 countries. Her debut novel, The Well and the Mine, won the 2009 Barnes & Noble Discover Award. Her novel Fierce Kingdom was named one of the best books of 2017 by Publishers Weekly, NPR, Amazon, and Kirkus Reviews. She's a Tall Poppy Writer, and she currently lives in Birmingham, AL, with her family.