Trail Angel: A Frontier Epic of Love & Redemption

(Paperback, Large Print Edition)

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Description

From award-winning journalist and first-time novelist Derek Catron comes a historical Western and love story set on the bloody Bozeman, the trail that sparked the only Indian war that ended with the army s defeat.
In the spring of 1866, Annabelle sets out with her extended family to the goldfields of Montana. Guiding the wagon train is Josey Angel, a cavalryman said to have killed more men than any soldier in the Union army. His reputation frightened Annabelle. His almost boyish appearance and manner intrigued her.
The journey through landscapes so beautiful and vast that anything seems possible will test and strengthen Annabelle, a Southern widow who lost everything in the war. Josey discovers new purpose in seeing to the safety of the settlers. Haunted by memories of the war and what he did to survive it, he sees in Annabelle a reason to think beyond living one day to the next, if he can only find redemption for his sins.
As they begin to turn to each other, Annabelle and Josey discover even greater perils. A mysterious gang of bandits stalks their trail, and the Sioux will do anything to drive away the interlopers. Josey, Annabelle and all of those they care for are unwittingly headed into the path of a new and savage war.
With richly drawn characters and an action-packed plot, Trail Angel takes readers on a fast-paced ride from a new and distinctive voice in the genre
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Reviews

Drink in this opening sentence: From the banks of the flat, broad river, Annabelle Rutledge Holcombe looked east toward everything she had known. Who is Annabelle She s a Civil War widow who s staking everything her life, her family s lives on a dangerous journey to Montana and the slim prospect of finding prosperity in the gold fields. She s guided on her trek by Josey Angel, an ex-cavalryman whose past is littered with dead bodies and caked in blood. Each sees in the other a way to start looking forward and to stop dwelling on the past. Catron uses a real historical event as his backdrop (the story is set during the run-up to the violent war between the U.S. and the Sioux), and he throws in some immediate danger in the form of some nasties who are following Annabelle s wagon train. Beyond that, though, this is a story of two lost people who find each other and a way to keep on living. A finely constructed, well-told western.
David Pitt (Booklist)
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Author Bio

Derek Catron was born in Alexandria, Virginia, and divided his childhood among Detroit, Cincinnati and Orlando. He s backpacked throughout the West and spent part of one summer camping along the emigrant trail to Montana. An award-winning investigative reporter and feature writer, Derek lives in Florida with his wife and daughter. Trail Angel is his first novel.