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"Soaring with Vultures" by Dan Kelly

In post-Civil War Missouri, killing was the way of life.

With the echoes of Rebel gunshots only recently silenced in Kentucky and his near-fatal chest wound still healing, Union Colonel William A. Warner moved his wife and children to a new land in hopes of finding peace and prosperity. Instead, he discovered that violence remained rampant in Lafayette County, Missouri, where his dreams of a new life turned into a family nightmare.

"Soaring with Vultures" presents a fictional account of a real 1868 killing that nearly tore the Warner family asunder. It captures an era rent by lynchings, bushwhackers, and political strife--remnants of the Civil War--and shows how the ubiquitous violence ensnared even the most upstanding of families.

It is told through the eyes of Colonel Warner's son, Leslie, whose openness and youthful idealism are repeatedly put to the test. He has a front-row seat for the family drama involving his sister, Sallie, who marries Missourian Sam Nutter, only to find he's a drunk, a thief, and a liar. After she files for divorce, Sam launches a campaign of terror against the Warners that culminates in a fatal shooting and a first-degree murder trial.

Author recommendations

"A contentious divorce, a thirst for revenge, and suspenseful courtroom drama--all tantalizing elements in Dan Kelly's debut novel, set against the backdrop of tumultuous post-Civil War Missouri. Kelly has skillfully blended fact and fiction in a story filled with colorful characters, absorbing history, and riveting action that will keep you turning pages from first to last."

Andrea Warren, author of "The Boy Who Became Buffalo Bill: Growing Up Billy Cody in Bleeding Kansas"

"Kelly captures the turmoil and chaos of post-Civil War Missouri--told through the eyes of a young idealist who discovers that betrayal and violence have come to torture his own family. Fans of historical fiction are going to like this one."

Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of "The Lost Order"