Never Touch Down
“A crime story, full of dangerous dealings, untrustworthy people, smugglers and drugs.”
It’s a story about aviation, Hollywood, Mexico, the turbulent 1970s, filled with the animosity of anti-war protests and buffered by the music of Fleetwood Mac and Buffalo Springfield. Amend that. While all that is true, this is a story about families, friendships, loyalties and love, the things that matter, both in the beginning and in the end.
Cole Hooper is a struggling movie stunt pilot and actor, fresh from a stint in the Army that luckily landed him in Europe training the Belgique army in hand-to-hand combat, rather than Vietnam. Still, his first love has always been flying, and when an old friend shows up with an opportunity to not only fly but make a lot of money, he takes it.
The McConnell family – Matt, his wife Kate and brother Finn, all attend Arizona State University. An aeronautics student, restless Finn is always looking for opportunity, sometimes in all the wrong places. Their two worlds become entwined together and when tragedy strikes, the web that connects them all weaves a new fate none could have predicted.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and eBook!
Never Touch Down delivers an action-packed narrative that extends beyond the high-stakes realm of drug crime and aviation.
“Morris populates this intense but humane crime novel and its dark, dirty, and dangerous side of these illicit affairs with likable characters, each navigating a delicate balance between morality and the cutthroat reality they face. While Morris is attentive to character and milieu, Never Touch Down delivers an action-packed narrative that extends beyond the high-stakes realm of drug crime and aviation. She ensures the page-turning events expand beyond rote thriller suspense and violence and that the readers are invested in these people: their frustrations, family dramas, shattered dreams, alliances forged and betrayed and unexpected trust amidst harm."
Never Touch Down is tender, heartwarming, and heartbreaking.
Never Touch Down is a story of courage, grief, love, and brilliance. It’s a story of crime, dangerous people, family loyalties, and unbreakable ties. Cole Hooper, a struggling stunt pilot for movies, starts an aviation restoration business to raise his young son, Bobby. When an old friend shows up with an offer he can’t refuse, Cole and Bobby’s lives are irreversibly changed. Kate McConnell is deeply in love with her husband Matt, and happily at home with him, their daughter, Anna, and Matt’s brother, Finn. Tragedy strikes and tosses the families together and at each other’s mercy. Dangerous secrets and drug smuggling follow. Together, and despite it all, Kate and Cole are determined to keep their children safe, and to give them good lives. Kathleen Morris has written an epic 70’s saga based on true events. Morris creates vivid characters in precise, moving language. She writes with a strong intuition and a true storyteller’s genius. Never Touch Down is tender, heartwarming, and heartbreaking. It’ll pull you through from the beginning to the end, always rooting for the family to find their bootstraps and pull hard to stand tall again.
Another brave woman of the Old West
What I enjoyed most about the book is that it's NOT a book about Doc Holliday. Though I am very much a fan of the Doc Holliday story, this book has a different tale to tell. The story is scattered with non facts and reality but overall it's well told and well written. But most important it told by a woman of the Old West about life in the Old West. I recently visited the grave of "Big Nose" Kate in Prescott, AZ so I really felt a connection with her. Her grave is simple but people are always leaving flowers, trinkets, and other tidbits.
A very well written historical novel by Kathleen Morris.
This is a wonderfully written book that could appeal to both women and men. I don’t typically read Westerns, but this book had so many great elements, that it kept my interest throughout the book. It is a great story of perseverance, through extreme difficulty.
A great read from cover to cover.
Beautifully written, telling the story of a young girl, and her growing into a woman of the "wild west". If you love stories of triumph over tragedy, placed in an historical setting with an accuracy and a telling, that will keep you turning each page to learn more...you will love this book.
A Spirited Book of a True Woman of the West
You don't have to love reading westerns to thoroughly enjoy this book. From the beginning to the end, Kathleen Morris' superbly written work of fact entwined with fiction portrays the life and tragedies of Mary Katherine (Kate) Haroney, Big Nose Kate. It is a book I could not put down. From the moment Kate's parents fled the Mexican court of Emperor Maximilian to her days filled with saloons, gambling, entrepreneurship, betrayed friendships, tragic courtships and death, Kate was a true survivor in a man's world amongst the unforgiving and lawless west.
Enjoyable and hard-to-put-down book!
Loved how the historical characters came alive. I especially enjoyed reading about Kate’s life and how she lived, loved, and survived as a woman in the wild west. Lots of page turning intrigue as well as interesting historical background. I can’t wait for Kathleen Morris to publish her next book!
