Straight from the book jacket of his fifth novel, Jeff Turner is a true dyed in the wool Connecticut Yankee.

After an academic career in which he taught at Mitchell College for over 40 years and wrote or co-wrote over 20 academic books, the Quaker Hill native has focused on novels. The first of his five is “The Way Back,” published in 2013, followed by “The Hero of Willow Creek” (2015), “Lost Boys of the River Camp” (2017) and “The Choices He Made” (2019).

Turner’s latest effort, “A Rescued Soul,” was published earlier this summer.

“A Rescued Soul” is set over 100 years ago, but has similarities to today’s world, with the Spanish flu arriving on American shores. Teenage runaway Henry Cameron finds refuge in Vermont as a stable boy for a retired and war-weary cavalry lieutenant. As horses bring ambition and purpose into their lives, the two kindred spirits discover how they’re more alike than not, and how their broken souls are mending as they forge a bond with each other.

The story weaves its way through New London, Niantic and Uncasville, with the towns adding to the tale’s southeastern Connecticut flavor.

The novel is available to readers at bookstores and online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple iTunes store or Google Play.