What Happens in the Cariboo, Stays in the Cariboo—Until Now! Local teacher, former coroner, and first time-author, Lisa Pearl Pugh’s new novel promises to reveal some of the Cariboo’s sordid past! Hotel From Hell: The 108 Mile Murders is a work of historical fiction that brings to life the well-known Cariboo legend of Gold Rush serial killers, Agnes and Jim McVee. The couple, with the help of their son-in-law, Al Riley, supposedly ran the 108 Mile Hotel for owner William Walker from 1875 to 1885. The McVees abducted girls heading to Barkerville, and then sold them to miners, madams, and gamblers. After the transactions took place, the McVees would shoot the buyers, keep the girls, and dump their victims’ bodies in the small lakes around the hotel. Agnes and Jim stashed their gold in caches around the property and sold their victims’ horses in the Kamloops area. Although their story of murder, greed, abductions, and white slavery cannot be fully validated, many facts remain. One of the most compelling facts is that buried gold has been found along the old Cariboo Wagon Road very near the property. In 1924, a local rancher found a cache worth $2,500, one mile from the original roadhouse foundations. Then in the 1960’s, Block Brothers Realty developed the 108 Mile as a residential community, and unearthed $6,000 in nuggets while constructing the 108 Mile airstrip. Estimates have put the McVees’ caches at between $100,000 to $150,000 dollars, equating to around $1,000,000 dollars today, but only a fraction of this ill-gotten treasure has ever been unearthed. Pugh weaves the real-life story of the McVees with her two main fictitious characters, a morally conscious, Victorian-era schoolteacher and a rough and ready Barkerville miner. Each chapter flips back and forth between the two characters to tell the plot from their dual viewpoints. This is a travelling story, and delivers cameos of famous BC historical figures, as well as, tidbits of real BC history. The reader is taken along for the ride with prim schoolmarm, Constance Neat, and her adventurous companion, Liam MacDonald as they try to uncover the whereabouts of their missing siblings who were last seen near the 108 Mile Hotel. Hotel From Hell aims to teach about the past in a thrilling way. The story also intends to look at the racism and sexism of that Victorian period through the eyes of the main female character who is sensitive to the plight of women, the Metis, and First Nations people who were impacted by the Gold Rush. The main character’s inner struggle centers on the dictates of European Victorian propriety and why she shouldn’t keep those Victorian values in the face of new freedoms and world-views exposed to her through the Gold Rush. Pugh’s version sticks closely to the original legend and Hotel From Hell: The 108 Mile Murders holds an appeal for those who are interested in BC Gold Rush history, Cariboo history, Barkerville, and the events that led to the creation of our province. The story will also appeal to lovers of true crime and murder mysteries. Website: www.lisapearlpugh.com Facebook: “Lisa Pearl Pugh”