Mine Hunter ( Aria Hunt FBI Mystery 3/ Sam Wick Crossover) by Chase Austin-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 30, 2026

FBI Special Agent Aria Hunt went into Devil’s Backbone Mine looking for a dead body.

What she found down there was worse than a body.

But the killer’s pattern doesn’t stop at one victim.

Caitlyn was first. Luna was second. Sophia is next, and none of it happens until Aria is standing there to witness it.

Two hundred miles away, black ops operative Sam Wick hears a name from his past he never expected again. Aria Hunt. The one person who ever made him break protocol. And she’s just gone missing, underground, in a town that isn’t supposed to exist on any case file.

With a clock only the mine seems to control, Aria has to hold onto everything that makes her who she is before the dark takes the rest, and before whatever is coming for her gets there first.

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REVIEW MINE HUNTER is the third instalment in Chase Austin’s contemporary, adult ARIA HUNT FBI THRILLER psychological crime drama focusing on neuro-divergent FBI Agent Aria Hunt, an agent who sees everything in patterns. MINE HUNTER should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the events and cliff hanger of book two BLOOD HUNT and covers but a few hours in the life. If you have not read book two BLOOD HUNT, there may be spoilers in my review.

NOTE: MINE HUNTER is a cross over that includes characters from the author’s dark military operative SAM WICK series.

SOME BACKGROUND: The discovery of another body, ritually preserved and presented deep inside Devil’s Backbone Mine in Veil Canyon, Nevada has sparked another missing persons investigation. Local law enforcement searching the mine go missing, and when the FBI has been called in to investigate, one of their own goes missing as well.

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives including Aria Hunt and Sam Wick, MINE HUNTER follows in the wake of the disappearance of our story line heroine, and the numerous conspiracy theories, folklore and secrets that surround the Devil’s Backbone Mine. Not everyone presents whom they appear to be, and the locals struggle with the arrival of too many people , fearing the reveal of the truth.

The world building follows a copious number of intersecting pathways, a questionable cast of characters, many of whom may or may not be complicit in the secrets of the mine.

MINE HUNTER is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and madness, obsession and delusion, power and control. The slow building premise is detailed, complicated and dramatic; the characters are diverse and haunting..but…the crossover dynamic is negligible. Most of the story line focuses on the secondary characters as the author builds the suspense with more questions than answers. Aria Hunt ‘s role is limited: Sam Wick’s donation to the story focuses on an entirely different investigation cross country.

MINE HUNTER ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy