Killing Belle Starr is a historical fiction novel that blends a modern-day mystery with a past-life journey into the American Old West. The story follows Aaron Childress, an oil painter who becomes obsessed with the unsolved 1889 murder of the infamous "Bandit Queen," Belle Starr. Guided by the spirit of his deceased wife, Aaron travels to Oklahoma and experiences an altered state of mind, leading him to believe he is uncovering authentic, channeled recollections of his own past life in the Indian Territory.
The narrative weaves together historical research and psychic phenomena to explore the life of Myra Maybelle Shirley (Belle Starr) a woman driven from her Missouri home by the Civil War and thrust into a life of association with ex-Confederates and outlaws like Jesse James and the Younger brothers. The book attempts to vindicate Belle Starr, portraying her not just as an outlaw, but as a resilient pioneer woman navigating the violent decades leading up to Oklahoma statehood.