Review: Ruby Falls by Gin Phillips

Ruby Falls by Gin Phillips

Blurb from Goodreads:

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 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.

My Review:

Who knew that this would be the second novel I've read entitled Ruby Falls and both referencing the same place in Tennessee?! Both novels are excellent and not at all alike except that both contain scenes at Ruby Falls.  They are both incredibly atmospheric and if you love a historic locked room mystery, you will love this one!!  It was a wild ride and I loved it.  Give this a try!

Ruby Falls comes out next week on March 3, 2026, and you can purchase HERE!  

Her annoyance with herself is almost as strong as her lust. She thought all that was finished. She thought, truly, that it never started. She remembers feeling curiosity about Gerald's body-wondering what she might lay her hands on one day—but this is not curiosity. This takes her back to whisperings with school friends, more unspoken than spoken. She'd had a sense in those days that climbing into bed with a man would unlock some great mystery, and it might be terrible or wonderful, but it would be significant.