Angel Train

Gilbert Morris

B&H Books (B&H Publishing Group)

softcover, 336 pages, $14.99

978-0-805-44729-3

Angel Train tells the story of Charity Morgan, who lives with her father and sisters in a small Pennsylvania coal-mining town in the mid-1800s. Here, she and her family are part of a religious group called the Pilgrim Way, a very simplistic and Puritan-type people who are very committed to God and to one another.

Charity’s father has raised the family on his trade of coal mining but then his world is shaken when the coal mines shut down, leaving a townspeople in search of a new beginning. With the family torn in their thoughts toward the closing of the coal-mining industry; some fearful and others hopeful for new adventures, they each seek God for His will for the family and for the town.

As is like God to bring upon the unexpected, Charity is led to her uncle who is a prison warden offering a strange and unthinkable proposition—allowing a band of prisoners to guide this godly group from Pennsylvania to Oregon, opening new possibilities for all. And so begins the harrowing journey where, along the way, gypsies, drunks and Indians are encountered, death claims some while others experience new life and love.

Angel Train is a well-rounded, very enjoyable novel and a great pick for anyone who enjoys a little romance and a lot of adventure.

—Heidi L. Ippolito