Angel Unfolding

"Gentle as a butterfly, I took the rifle off his belly, fell into the tattered glider beside the bed, and wept. No sobs, just a flow of tears hard on my cheeks, the taste of salt on my lips. That was real lucky, I thought. Maybe he’ll sleep this off and the three-day festival of wife-beating will come to an end."

But luck isn’t with Angel McQuinn. In a moment she only half regrets, Angel ends the torment once and for all, killing Mack with his granddaddy’s Winchester. Her case enflames the passions of women’s rights groups and conservatives alike, attracting national media and giving Billings reporter Murphy Gardiner the scoop of a lifetime. We meet Angel in prison, serving a stiff 35-year sentence and lamenting only that she has left her sweet son, Ethan, to a beleaguered foster care system. With protesters at the Yellowstone County Courthouse steps, retiring Judge Ukiah Steele just wishes all the hoopla would disappear so he can go fishing and reconnect with his estranged daughter. But Angel’s saga is just beginning. Walking the prison yard, she sees a billboard with the forlorn face of a minister promoting MORN, Montana’s Organ Retrieval Network. Reverend Reuben Albright’s need for a heart inspires Angel to concoct a scheme so bizarre that it creates an avalanche of unexpected consequences and an unstoppable band of allies.

ANGEL UNFOLDING is a page-turner that will leave your heart warm and full. Replete with political intrigue and the complexities of social justice, Angel takes you on a journey from heartache to hope, from failure to redemption – not just for Angel but for the people whose lives she touches.

The recurring character of Murphy Gardiner is also featured in BURYING MY DEAD.