In Eden Mine, the award-winning author of Black River examines the aftershocks of an act of domestic terrorism rooted in a small Montana town on the brink of abandonment, as it tears apart a family, tests the faith of a pastor and the loyalty of a sister, and mines the deep rifts that come when the reach of the government clashes with individual freedom
Jo Faber is packing up the home she and her brother Samuel inherited. For generations, the Fabers have lived near Eden Mine, but Jo and Samuel will be the last. Their family home has been seized by the state through eminent domain.
At the moment she hears the news of the bombing on the radio, Jo knows nothing, but she also knows that something isn’t right. The arrival of their friend and unofficial guardian, Sheriff Hawkins, confirms her suspicions. Samuel said he was going to find work. But soon it’s clear that he’s not gone, but missing—last seen by a security camera near the district courthouse at Elk Fork. And a nine-year-old girl, the daughter of a pastor of a storefront church, is in critical condition.
This isn’t the first time Jo and Samuel have seen the ravages of violence visit their family. Last time, they lost their mother and Jo lost her ability to walk. Samuel took care of her, outfitting their barn with special rigging so she could keep riding their mule. But he was never the same, falling in with a separatist group, getting a tattoo he’d flaunt, then spending years hiding. She thought he had finished with all that. But now he’s missing, and she can’t talk to the one person she trusts.
A timely story of the anger and disaffection tearing apart many communities in this country, S.M. Hulse’s Eden Mine is also a beautiful novel of the West, of a deep love for the land, of faith in the face of evil, and of the terrible choices we make for the ones we love.
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“Hulse’s talent is evidenced by her nuanced portrayal of Jo and the way she sees the world. In her relationship with Asa, in particular—both are scarred, both trying to heal—Hulse perfectly captures not only the landscape of the American West but also what it feels like to survive in a town that is dying.”
— New York Times Book Review
“A welcome entry in the genre of terror-themed fiction…Hulse simply concedes that the motivations of a terrorist are unknowable; she wants to understand the blast radius, not the bomb.”
— Los Angeles Times“There is a toughness of spirit, a bleakness of light and circumstance, which twists thrillingly with every page…Hulse is a master storyteller—with every revelation she leads you further into the complex realization of how fanaticism and violence can erupt in a landscape as beautiful as Montana.”
— Amazon.com“[In] Hulse’s dense yet lucid narrative…the nail-biting denouement is violent yet restrained, an additional sign of this young writer’s mature artistic powers.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“A taut, poignant tale of a personal vendetta turned act of domestic terror…The dramatic conclusion kicks like a mule.”
— Publishers Weekly“Mourning, loss, and love illuminate the pages of Hulse’s ruminative novel. Especially fine is her rendering of a person of faith struggling with doubt and the nature of evil.”
— BooklistBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
S. M. Hulse is the author of Black River, her debut novel which was a PEN/Hemingway Award for First Fiction finalist, an Amazon Best Book of the Month, an ALA Notable Book, an ABA Indies Introduce title, an Indie Next pick, and winner of the Reading the West Book Award. She received her MFA from the University of Oregon and was a fiction fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. An avid horsewoman, she has lived throughout the American West.
Elise Arsenault is a classically trained actor, singer, and voice-over artist. She has worked throughout the country with various regional theaters, including Merrimack Rep, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Ivoryton Playhouse, Imagination Stage, and the Discovery Theater at the Smithsonian Institute. She holds a BA from George Mason University.
Andrew Eiden, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is an actor and voice artist. He has been acting since the age of four, working at regional theaters including La Mirada Theatre, the Glendale Center Theatre, and the Pasadena Playhouse. He has starred in dozens of national commercials, guest-spotted on numerous television shows, and has been a series regular on three programs: Discovery Channel’s Outward Bound, Disney Channel’s Movie Surfers, and most notably ABC’s Complete Savages