
The Madstone
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Will Collyer
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By:
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Elizabeth Crook
About this listen
With echoes of Lonesome Dove and News of the World, the riveting story of a pregnant young mother, her child, and the frontier tradesman who helps them flee across Texas from outlaws bent on revenge, even as an unlikely love blossoms.
Texas, 1868. As nineteen-year-old Benjamin Shreve tends to business in his workshop, he witnesses a stagecoach strand a passenger. When the man persuades Benjamin to help track down the vanished coach—and a mysterious fortune left aboard—he is drawn into a drama whose scope he could never have imagined.
The missing coach has a surprise in store: its other passengers include Nell, a pregnant young woman, and her four-year-old son, Tot, who are on the run from Nell’s brutal husband and his murderous brothers. After learning of their plight, Benjamin offers Nell and Tot passage to the distant Gulf of Mexico, where they can escape to safety. This chivalrous act will prove more dangerous than he could have expected, as buried secrets—including a cursed necklace—reveal themselves.
Even as Benjamin falls in love with Nell and imagines life as Tot’s father, vengeful pursuers are on their trail. With its vivid characters and expansive canvas, The Madstone calls to mind Larry McMurtry’s American epics. The novel is full of eccentric action, unrelenting peril, and droll humor—a thrilling and beautifully rendered story of three people sharing a hazardous and defining journey that will forever bind them together.
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Critic reviews
“The Madstone is a treasure: a brilliant, beautiful page-turner of a book. Elizabeth Crook has reimagined the Western, giving us a poignant love story and a riveting road novel. I devoured it—and you will, too.” (Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Double Bind and The Flight Attendant)
“Elizabeth Crook is a magician of a novelist, bringing the past to life with a tale of epic proportions that must be read to be believed. The voice of Benjamin Shreve stands alone in recent fiction, and all of Crook’s characters linger long after you’ve finished reading. The Madstone is a marvel.” (Nathan Harris, New York Times bestselling author of The Sweetness of Water)
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- By PJE on 03-15-23
By: Emma Donoghue
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The Cape Doctor
- By: E. J. Levy
- Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Beginning in Cork, Ireland, the novel recounts Perry’s journey from daughter to son in order to enter medical school and provide for family, but Perry soon embraced the newfound freedom of living life as a man. From brilliant medical student in Edinburgh and London to eligible bachelor and quick-tempered physician in Cape Town, Dr. Perry thrived.
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Absolutely adored this story - beautifully written
- By TJReads on 09-09-21
By: E. J. Levy
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Moonrise over New Jessup
- By: Jamila Minnicks
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s 1957, and after leaving the only home she has ever known, Alice Young steps off the bus into the all-Black town of New Jessup, Alabama, where residents have largely rejected integration as the means for Black social advancement. Instead, they seek to maintain, and fortify, the community they cherish on their “side of the woods.” In this place, Alice falls in love with Raymond Campbell, whose clandestine organizing activities challenge New Jessup’s longstanding status quo and could lead to the young couple’s expulsion—or worse—from the home they both hold dear.
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Wonderful!
- By Blee on 03-21-23
By: Jamila Minnicks
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The Light Pirate
- By: Lily Brooks-Dalton
- Narrated by: Rosemary Benson
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Florida is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels wreak gradual havoc on the state’s infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker, his pregnant wife, Frida, and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds in search of his children. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm.
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Listed under "action adventure"????
- By NMwritergal on 12-14-22
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The Crimson Thread
- By: Kate Forsyth
- Narrated by: Aaron Tsindos, Zoe Carides, Socratis Otto
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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May 1941. German paratroopers launch a blitzkrieg from the air against Crete. They are met with fierce defiance, the Greeks fighting back with daggers, pitchforks, and kitchen knives. During the bloody eleven-day battle, Alenka, a young Greek woman, saves the lives of two Australian soldiers. Jack and Teddy are childhood friends who joined up together to see the world. Both men fall in love with Alenka. They are forced to retreat with the tattered remains of the Allied forces over the towering White Mountains.
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An excellent WWII resistance novel
- By Ellen on 08-10-22
By: Kate Forsyth
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Peach Blossom Spring
- A Novel
- By: Melissa Fu
- Narrated by: Eugenia Low
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1938 in China and, as a young wife, Meilin’s future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge. Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood.
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I Cried Every Listen
- By Anonymous User on 04-14-22
By: Melissa Fu
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If We Survive
- By: Andrew Klavan
- Narrated by: Jeremy Johnson
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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High schooler Will Peterson and three friends journeyed to Central America to help rebuild a school. In a poor, secluded mountain village, they won the hearts of the local people with their energy and kindness. But in one sudden moment, everything went horribly wrong. A revolution swept the country. Now, guns and terror are everywhere—and Americans are being targeted as the first to die. Will and his friends have got to get out fast. But streets full of killers . . .hills patrolled by armies . . . and a jungle rife with danger stand between them and the border.
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Engaging
- By melinda neill on 06-20-23
By: Andrew Klavan
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Wreckage
- By: J.D. Pratt, Andrew Wolfendon
- Narrated by: M. P. MacDougall
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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I’m a second-rate artist living a solitary existence in my late parents’ rundown house. So why would a team of killers want to murder me and frame it as a suicide? Seems a fact worth knowing. I survive the ordeal only to discover my would-be executioners left behind a suicide note written in words that sound uncannily like mine. But that’s not the most disturbing part. The note reveals a secret from my past nobody could possibly know about—one that’s been haunting my life for eighteen years.
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Good story,
- By May H. Buchanan on 04-10-25
By: J.D. Pratt, and others
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The Enlightenment of Bees
- By: Rachel Linden
- Narrated by: Madison Lawrence
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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At 26, apprentice baker Mia West has her entire life planned out: a Craftsman cottage in Seattle, a job baking at the Butter Emporium, and her first love - her boyfriend, Ethan - by her side. But when Ethan declares he “needs some space”, Mia’s carefully planned future crumbles. Feeling adrift, Mia joins her vivacious housemate Rosie on a humanitarian trip around the world funded by a reclusive billionaire.
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Very cheesy
- By Annon on 10-07-19
By: Rachel Linden
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Water from My Heart
- A Novel
- By: Charles Martin
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Charlie Finn had to grow up fast, living alone by age 16. Highly intelligent, he earned a life-changing scholarship to Harvard, where he learned how to survive and thrive on the outskirts of privileged society. That skill served him well in the cutthroat business world, as it does in more lucrative but dangerous ventures he now operates off the coast of Miami. Charlie tries to separate relationships from work.
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How I disliked this book, let me count the ways!!!
- By baboo234 on 09-24-19
By: Charles Martin
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Seeing Red
- By: Sandra Brown
- Narrated by: Victor Slezak
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Kerra Bailey is a television journalist on the rise, and she's hot on the trail of a story guaranteed to skyrocket her career to even greater heights: an interview with the legendary Major Trapper. Twenty-five years ago, the major emerged a hero from the bombing of the Pegasus Hotel in downtown Dallas when he was photographed leading a handful of survivors out of the collapsing building. The iconic picture transformed him into a beloved national icon, in constant demand for speeches and interviews - until he suddenly dropped out of the public eye.
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I'm no prude but...
- By Pat on 09-08-17
By: Sandra Brown
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Dragonfly
- By: Leila Meacham
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin, Jefferson Mays, Karissa Vacker, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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At the height of WWII, five idealistic young Americans receive a mysterious letter from the OSS, asking them if they are willing to fight for their country. The men and women from very different backgrounds - a Texan athlete with German roots, an upper-crust son of a French mother and a wealthy businessman, a dirt-poor Midwestern fly fisherman, an orphaned fashion designer, and a ravishingly beautiful female fencer - all answer the call of duty, but each for a secret reason of his or her own. They bond immediately, in a group code-named Dragonfly.
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Perfection
- By Panache on 08-14-19
By: Leila Meacham
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Texas Rising
- The Epic History of the Lone Star Republic and the Rise of the Texas Rangers, 1836-1846
- By: Stephen L. Moore
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The official nonfiction companion to the History Channel dramatic series Texas Rising (produced by the same team that made the record-breaking Hatfields and McCoys): a thrilling new narrative history of the Texas Revolution and the rise of the legendary Texas Rangers who patrolled the violent western frontier.
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Who chooses these bad narrators?
- By Amazon Customer on 02-07-18
By: Stephen L. Moore
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Rare Objects
- A Novel
- By: Kathleen Tessaro
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Maeve Fanning is a first-generation Irish immigrant born and raised among the poor, industrious Italian families of Boston's North End by her widowed mother. Clever, capable, and as headstrong as her red hair suggests, she's determined to better herself despite the overwhelming hardships of the Great Depression. However, Maeve also has a dangerous fondness for strange men and bootleg gin - a rebellious appetite that soon finds her spiraling downward, leading a double life.
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I loved this book!!
- By Traci J on 08-19-17
By: Kathleen Tessaro
What listeners say about The Madstone
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- Anonymous User
- 03-09-24
Highly enjoyable tale of a young man's Journey in post Civil War Texas
Great story telling about a young cabinet-maker who decides to help a pregnant woman and her young son travel by horse drawn wagon through Texas to the Gulf of Mexico to escape murderous pursuers of the Swamp Fox. A realistic, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking book of hardships and the human spirit.
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- J C
- 12-11-23
An entertaining western yarn and a coming of age and first love story
It was well written and the narrator did a great job as well. I enjoyed it.
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- Judy in Salt Lake
- 12-17-23
A thoroughly engrossing book based in historical record of post Civil War times in Texas 
Beautifully drawn characters, a thoroughly engaging and exciting plot, and historical fiction. I felt like I glimpsed what life might have been like at this time, and in this place, It’s amazing anyone survived it. I really did not want this book to end. Loved the personality of the main character, Excellent narration. Extremely well written, and researched.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-04-24
The characters. But the reader was also excellent and gave The Madstone a « good voice ».
love the language/vernacular used, which seemed in keeping with Benjamin’s time and learning. I also liked its format as a written missive to Tot from Benjamin. Readers should first read The Which Way Tree for an even fuller enjoyment of the main character and his rambunctious earlier adventures.
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- CarenK
- 12-26-23
Best Audiobook Reading Ever
Everything about this book is extraordinary - the story, the well-defined characters, the locations all deserve praise. What stands out, though, is the performance by Will Collyer. I have never before been so consistently moved, engaged, and enthralled as I was by the way he inhabits the characters in this novel. An amazing winning combo - an excellent novel, read perfectly, with heart and emotion.
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- Scott B. Delaney
- 08-17-24
Texas History Brought to Life
Great storytelling with broken English throughout. Authentic feel and easy to follow. Worth the read!
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- Sampson
- 01-18-24
Outstanding
A wonderfully researched and written tale. The reader is drawn in immediately and becomes complete vested in the characters. Can’t wait for the author’s next book!
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- Welsh Texan
- 12-30-23
A solid Texas hillcountry western
Some perspective-My favorite books in this genre are Lonesome Dove, The Son, and Cold Mountain (I know it's not geographically a western). I really enjoyed The Madstone.
It is not full of larger-than-life characters. It features regular people experiencing difficult circumstances in a historical context. The character development is thorough and very well done.
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- Myra Holloway
- 01-12-24
Entertaining and informative
Great narrator, interesting story, keep my attention at every turn. The author’s command of the language and grammar of the time period was remarkable. One of the best books I’ve read lately.
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- BK
- 02-02-24
Great fun
In the tradition of "Lonesome Dove," "True Grit," and "News of the World." It's a fun story that's perfect for listening to. Definitely takes you away from the world.
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