Dark Angel: An Historical Fiction

Finally! A novel about Mormons, by a Mormon, but not only for Mormons!SYNOPSIS: This is the exciting coming-of-age story of Rose Lee Merrell, an 11 year old girl in the years soon after the Civil War. She is the colorfully outspoken daughter of a Mormon Bishop in 1869 Utah Territory. Everything around her cannot escape her critical eye or mouth. She is a typical child, girl or boy, at the brink of adulthood. She's all tomboy and wonder -- wonder about becoming a woman, as her older sister is already; wonder about God and his part in her life; wonder about the Stranger who is suddenly thrust into her path on a lonely road through a fervent, frightened girl's prayer. Rose's life is changed forever by this man no one seems to know, except by the names of 'Red Legs', 'Stuart's Wolf', 'Ghost Smiler', and 'Hash Face'. He is the Dark Angel that was foreseen by the Rose's now dead brother. "I closed my eyes again and increased both the urgency and tempo of my prayer, knowing full well that it wasn't going to work. Except it did. A piercing whistle froze everyone. I opened my eyes and looked. Instead of a golden angel hanging in the air above us, I saw a devil man standing at the side of the road. The devil man seemed to have come from nowhere, as if a harried Satan had cracked open Hell and kicked out someone he couldn't manage. Dust drifted from his shirt like sulphur smoke in the warm breeze. A brace of pistols hung from a wide leather belt around his hips, one low on the right side and the other strapped across the front of him. The wide brim of a hat wrapped a shadow around his face while a ragged blue scarf covered his mouth and neck like the mask of a highwayman. But it was the eyes that riveted my attention and put a piercing weakness deep in the pit of my stomach. The devil man's eyes were flat gray dead things in the shadow of the hat, like the lifeless button eyes of the dolls Ma made for me." This novel is rough and fast, harrowing and funny, dramatic and romantic, as only Robert Kirby can write it. This is a book about Mormons, by a Mormon, but not exclusively for Mormons. If it was a movie it would be rated PG or a soft PG-13 due to some language and a situation or two. A great read! 15 out of 17 Amazon readers agree! You will too!