Matt McCarty’s sole purpose in travelling 5,000 miles to Newfoundland is to lay to rest the ghosts of his past, as well as his estranged, recently deceased alcoholic father. Instead, he’ll be dragged into peril and a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, unwittingly carrying on the mystery man’s unfinished, clandestine wartime mission from 1942. U-boats had already destroyed ships within sight of Bell Island’s shore, but now, seventy-five years later, something awful left behind by the enemy threatens a cataclysm that threatens everyone in Conception Bay’s quiet existence.
The present will meet with the past as Matt discovers both beautiful and terrible mysteries above and deep below in the long abandoned iron ore mines of Bell Island as their stories weave back and forth in time.
About the Author: Mike Phelon
Mike Phelan moved to Bell Island, Newfoundland at the age of five with his family, where his father worked for the Dosco mine company as an electrical engineer during the last great decade of iron ore mining that ended in 1966. The closure affected thousands and precipitated a workforce exodus to many other parts of Canada, the USA and beyond. In the late 1960’s, after experiencing the exciting music and freedom of the times he answered the call of the West. A career in the music industry followed and he eventually found the theatre, his true love, where he still works as a stagehand and proud union member of the IATSE.
After a fifty-year absence he returned to visit his island-strong memories, exploring the old mine workings and wandering the high crumbling cliffs from the Lighthouse to Lance Cove where the inspiration was born for this thrilling adventure novel spanning seven decades with its rich cast of characters.
The Secret of Bell Island is available at Barnes and Noble
