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Cave Mountain: A Disappearance and a Reckoning in the Ozarks
Not yet published
Expected 3 Mar 26With the immediacy and extraordinary feeling for people and place of Under the Banner of Heaven and Say Nothing, a compelling true crime story about two young girls who went missing in the same Arkansas woods twenty five years apart and the strange circumstances connecting them.
This story begins in 2001 on top of Cave Mountain in the Arkansas Ozarks. A six-year-old girl named Haley—Benjamin Hale’s cousin—got lost on a mountain trail, prompting what was at the time the largest search and rescue mission in the state’s history. Her disappearance—and a ghostly vision she reported once she was found—would eventually connect her disappearance to another almost forgotten story from twenty years a dark and bizarre story of brainwashing and murder and the apocalyptic visions of a teenage prophet
Enriched by Benjamin Hale’s own family lore and connections to the culture of the Arkansas Ozarks, Cave Mountain is a gripping story about nature and survival, police and corruption, and religion and skepticism. At its center are two young girls, years apart, both trapped in the verdant, suffocating grip of the Arkansas wilds.
This story begins in 2001 on top of Cave Mountain in the Arkansas Ozarks. A six-year-old girl named Haley—Benjamin Hale’s cousin—got lost on a mountain trail, prompting what was at the time the largest search and rescue mission in the state’s history. Her disappearance—and a ghostly vision she reported once she was found—would eventually connect her disappearance to another almost forgotten story from twenty years a dark and bizarre story of brainwashing and murder and the apocalyptic visions of a teenage prophet
Enriched by Benjamin Hale’s own family lore and connections to the culture of the Arkansas Ozarks, Cave Mountain is a gripping story about nature and survival, police and corruption, and religion and skepticism. At its center are two young girls, years apart, both trapped in the verdant, suffocating grip of the Arkansas wilds.
304 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 3, 2026
1 person is currently reading
4582 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Hale
42 books100 followersBenjamin Hale is a recent graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop. He is the recipient of an Iowa Provost’s Fellowship and a Michener-Copernicus Award. He grew up in Colorado and now lives in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 5, 2025
Haunting and fascinating. I was impressed by the way the author explained the connections between both missing person cases and the setting was so detailed I felt like I was standing in the wilderness watching everything unfold. The lore of the Arkansas Ozarks made this book very interesting and the way the cases and the cult are explained made it easy to follow. Definitely an unforgettable book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
*This review is for an uncorrected proof obtained via a Goodreads Giveaway.
This was an interesting read, packed with information. Part true crime, part family history/memoir, part philosophy of religion, part history, and part personal essays, there was a lot of content in this book. Although it did follow a timeline, it jumped around a lot to accommodate multiple perspectives from different people and the author's asides with additional information and important context. I think the amount of information is necessary for understanding how everything came to be and how it all fits together, but it may be jarring and seem disjointed if you go in expecting a single, smooth throughline.
Things all come together, break apart, and wander a bit along the way. Given the nature of the topics discussed and the people and timelines involved in them, I think some of this is unavoidable and is necessary for the accuracy of the events. If the rise of religious cults in the United States, how search and rescue operations can be, and these particular cases are of interest, then you certainly won't be disappointed by a lack of information.
This was an interesting read, packed with information. Part true crime, part family history/memoir, part philosophy of religion, part history, and part personal essays, there was a lot of content in this book. Although it did follow a timeline, it jumped around a lot to accommodate multiple perspectives from different people and the author's asides with additional information and important context. I think the amount of information is necessary for understanding how everything came to be and how it all fits together, but it may be jarring and seem disjointed if you go in expecting a single, smooth throughline.
Things all come together, break apart, and wander a bit along the way. Given the nature of the topics discussed and the people and timelines involved in them, I think some of this is unavoidable and is necessary for the accuracy of the events. If the rise of religious cults in the United States, how search and rescue operations can be, and these particular cases are of interest, then you certainly won't be disappointed by a lack of information.
December 31, 2025
BOOK: Cave Mountain: A Disappearance and a Reckoning in the Ozarks
AUTHOR: Benjamin Hale
PUB DATE: March 3, 2026, by @harperbooks
PAGES: 304 pages
RATING: 3.5
GENRE: True Crime
THANK YOU to @harperbooks & NetGalley for gifting me an advanced copy of this! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
QUICK SYNOPSIS: Cave Mountain is a gripping work of nonfiction that blends true crime, memoir, & cultural history. The book centers on two mysterious disappearances of young girls in the Arkansas Ozarks, decades apart. The story opens in 2001 when six-year-old Haley, the author’s cousin, vanished while hiking on Cave Mountain with family, triggering the largest search-and-rescue operation in the state’s history. Her eventual account of an “imaginary friend” encountered in the woods leads the author to explore deeper & older events in the same wilderness, including a bizarre earlier case involving a cult, brainwashing, murder, and a teenage prophet’s apocalyptic visions. Through rich descriptions of place & personal connections to both the land & local lore, the book examines nature & survival, religion & skepticism, and the compelling mysteries that can bind completely separate events together.
QUICK & SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: This is a thoughtfully researched work of true crime that clearly reflects the author’s commitment to uncovering the truth behind these haunting events. As someone who considers myself a true crime addict, I genuinely appreciated the depth of investigation, the personal connection to the story& the care taken in presenting the history, the land, and the people involved. The sense of place in the Ozarks is vivid and adds an eerie, reflective tone that sets this book apart from more straightforward crime narratives. That said, the pacing was challenging at times. While the extensive background & contextual details show impressive diligence, certain sections felt drawn out, which made the book a very slow read for me.
AUTHOR: Benjamin Hale
PUB DATE: March 3, 2026, by @harperbooks
PAGES: 304 pages
RATING: 3.5
GENRE: True Crime
THANK YOU to @harperbooks & NetGalley for gifting me an advanced copy of this! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
QUICK SYNOPSIS: Cave Mountain is a gripping work of nonfiction that blends true crime, memoir, & cultural history. The book centers on two mysterious disappearances of young girls in the Arkansas Ozarks, decades apart. The story opens in 2001 when six-year-old Haley, the author’s cousin, vanished while hiking on Cave Mountain with family, triggering the largest search-and-rescue operation in the state’s history. Her eventual account of an “imaginary friend” encountered in the woods leads the author to explore deeper & older events in the same wilderness, including a bizarre earlier case involving a cult, brainwashing, murder, and a teenage prophet’s apocalyptic visions. Through rich descriptions of place & personal connections to both the land & local lore, the book examines nature & survival, religion & skepticism, and the compelling mysteries that can bind completely separate events together.
QUICK & SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: This is a thoughtfully researched work of true crime that clearly reflects the author’s commitment to uncovering the truth behind these haunting events. As someone who considers myself a true crime addict, I genuinely appreciated the depth of investigation, the personal connection to the story& the care taken in presenting the history, the land, and the people involved. The sense of place in the Ozarks is vivid and adds an eerie, reflective tone that sets this book apart from more straightforward crime narratives. That said, the pacing was challenging at times. While the extensive background & contextual details show impressive diligence, certain sections felt drawn out, which made the book a very slow read for me.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews