The Book Wagon Review: With a Kiss I Die

With a Kiss I Die by Rod Miller, Copyright 2022, Five Star Publishing

JOHN BAKER AND ALEX Fancher lead trains of emigrants from Arkansas to a new life in California. The safest route leads them through a Mormon territory in turmoil. Baker’s ward, Polly Alden, falls in love with Mormon teen, Tom Langford, but circumstances, a series of bad decisions, and the worst of human nature set them, the emigrants, and the Mormon militia on a collision course culminating with the September 11, 1857, Mountain Meadow Massacre.

“The inspiration for With a Kiss I Die goes back ca Convention in Helena, Montana, the already legendary Western author, Dusty Richards, approached me, a writer of comparably little experiselves at Mountain Meadows on the fateful day of the massacre where, as Dusty put it, we would ry, and I would write the Mormon perspective, Well, Dusty always had more ideas than he When we lost him to a car accident in 2018, I toyed with the idea of writing both sides of the book myself. After much thought and considerable research, the story more or less told itself. With a Kiss I Die is the result."

Miller displays both the better and darker natures of people, often manifested within the same characters. Weaving the lives of well-crafted fictional characters through the narrative of historical events, the author creates a cautionary tale of the risk of dehumanizing others—using perceived misdeeds as justification for our own bad acts.

History’s constraints often make the endings of historical novels difficult. This book was no different. The story itself was well-written and engaging, however, I found what could have been a gut-wrenching ending instead felt lacking.

Rating: 3 Nuggets (out of 5)