09/18/2023
Crook (The Which Way Tree ) sets her underwhelming epistolary novel in 1868 Texas, where a young man gets in over his head after lending help to a group of strangers. The ordinary life of Benjamin Shreve, a Texas woodworker, is upended after he encounters a pregnant woman named Nell and her four-year-old son, Tot, on the run from her missing husband’s brothers, a rageful bunch known as the Swamp Fox gang. (They claim Nell murdered her husband, while she maintains he abandoned her in poverty after the Civil War.) Crook’s narrative is framed as a letter from Benjamin to Tot, recounting the treacherous journey Benjamin takes to escort mother and son to safety along with their fellow stagecoach passenger, Dickie. As the unlikely comrades attempt to reach the Louisiana border, Dickie claims to have unearthed a cursed necklace that may carry misfortune to whoever possesses it, and Benjamin falls in love with Nell. While this has the exciting and fast-paced plot of a serviceable western, there’s nothing special in Benjamin’s voice. “Reckoning offers more peace to the heart, as it has an end,” he claims in his letter, but his curious lack of intimacy and distance from the story’s tense events leave little evidence of such a reckoning on the page. Readers will have a tough time seeing this one through to the end. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary. (Nov.)
"Crook has written the perfect adventure to curl up with on some desolate winter night . . . There is something satisfying about being in the presence of such a conscientious protagonist . . . Crook is a master at rustling up competing forces to create cinematic calamities . . . This story gallops madly along from one imperiled moment to another . . . Terrifically entertaining."—Washington Post “A wonderfully transporting tale of the Old West.”—People Magazine “As thrilling as its predecessor . . . a compelling read on its own terms.”—Texas Monthly "The Madstone is tender, violent, funny, and, like just about everything Crook writes, drenched in Texas history."—Houston Chronicle "An epic journey across the Lone Star State."—Dallas Morning News "A beautifully crafted story . . . Benjamin’s smart, heartfelt and witty narration makes the story as well as the manner in which Crook brings 1860s Texas vividly to life. Her writing and sense of place are stunning . . . Have tissues handy when you read it.”—Buzz Magazine “Crook has a gift for engaging details . . . The guiding spirit here is Dickens . . . An entertaining, well-paced yarn.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred) "This epistolary novel will appeal to western and historical fiction readers alike (particularly Lone Star aficionados)."—Booklist “Elizabeth Crook is already a household name in Texas, but The Madstone should establish her as a national figure, evoking the works of Charles Portis and Larry McMurtry as we go on a harrowing (and sometimes humorous) ride through 1868 Texas.”—CrimeReads "A fresh take on the Western novel which should be much admired."—Historical Novel Society "An eloquent and funny adventure novel . . . The Madstone perfectly balances a wry sense of humor with a melancholy contemplation of loneliness and love . . . Crook’s book is a worthy entry into the canon of modern Western novels."—WORLD magazine “This is a wonder of a novel. The Madstone took me by the hand and didn’t let go until the last page. The flow of the singular and captivating narrative voice, the heart-rending love story, and the page-turning suspense are all one of a kind. I will not forget this road trip quest and its endearing characters.”—Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea “The Madstone is a wonderful book. The tale that Elizabeth Crook conjures out of the most basic materials—a man goes on a trip, things happen, and the trip becomes a quest—should take its place alongside the very best novels of the American West, a top rank that includes Lonesome Dove, Little Big Man, News of the World , and Blood Meridian . Yes, it’s that good; I didn't want it to end. Benjamin Shreve and his compatriots affected me as few characters have in recent years, and I think of them still.”—Ben Fountain, National Book Critics Circle Award winner, National Book Award finalist, and New York Times bestselling author of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk “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 “It would be unfair to call Elizabeth Crook the true heir to Paulette Jiles, Charles Portis, and Larry McMurtry, because Crook’s style is emphatically her own, but I want to anyway because she’s just so damn good. The Madstone , one long riveting epistle that reads like music, has a fully formed voice in its young narrator, pitch-perfect dialogue, and wit as dry as a mesquite tree. I would read, and will continue to read, anything Crook writes.”—Nathaniel Ian Miller, author of #1 Indie Next selection The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven Praise for The Which Way Tree: "A multilayered tale . . . Benjamin Shreve, the teenage narrator of The Which Way Tree, unspools his tale of Civil War-era Texas in a voice that is utterly convincing, consistent, and believable. Crook never slips out of that voice for a moment. This is no small feat given that the tale involves Benjamin's demented half sister, the infamous massacre of Union-sympathizing German immigrants by local Confederates, and a giant panther. Any first-person voice involving a young Southern boy invites comparisons to Huck Finn. But dialects have complexities and Crook appears to be a master of them. Benjamin's voice swings between the rhythms of the Southern hills and the lofty, elevated tone encountered in Twain and contemporary Westerns . . . His speech can switch from hyperbole to understatement in the same sentenceand it is a wonderfully deadpan understatement . . . The language is arresting . . . The Which Way Tree is a commendable and very readable addition to the tale-spinning tradition and its beautiful use of language."—Paulette Jiles, New York Times Book Review
Elizabeth Crook is a magician of a novelist, bringing the past to life with an epic tale 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.”
New York Times bestselling author of The Sweetness Nathan Harris
A multilayered tale . . . Benjamin Shreve, the teenage narrator of The Which Way Tree, unspools his tale of Civil War-era Texas in a voice that is utterly convincing, consistent, and believable. Crook never slips out of that voice for a moment. This is no small feat given that the tale involves Benjamin's demented half sister, the infamous massacre of Union-sympathizing German immigrants by local Confederates, and a giant panther. Any first-person voice involving a young Southern boy invites comparisons to Huck Finn. But dialects have complexities and Crook appears to be a master of them. Benjamin's voice swings between the rhythms of the Southern hills and the lofty, elevated tone encountered in Twain and contemporary Westerns . . . His speech can switch from hyperbole to understatement in the same sentenceand it is a wonderfully deadpan understatement . . . The language is arresting . . . The Which Way Tree is a commendable and very readable addition to the tale-spinning tradition and its beautiful use of language.
New York Times Book Review Paulette Jiles
The Madstone is a wonderful book. The tale that Elizabeth Crook conjures out of the most basic materials—a man goes on a trip, things happen, and the trip becomes a quest—should take its place alongside the very best novels of the American West, a top rank that includes Lonesome Dove, Little Big Man, News of the World , and Blood Meridian . Yes, it’s that good; I didn't want it to end. Benjamin Shreve and his compatriots affected me as few characters have in recent years, and I think of them still.
It would be unfair to call Elizabeth Crook the true heir to Paulette Jiles, Charles Portis, and Larry McMurtry, because Crook’s style is emphatically her own, but I want to anyway because she’s just so damn good. The Madstone , one long riveting epistle that reads like music, has a fully formed voice in its young narrator, pitch-perfect dialogue, and wit as dry as a mesquite tree. I would read, and will continue to read, anything Crook writes.
author of #1 Indie Next selection The Memoirs of S Nathaniel Ian Miller
Will Collyer narrates this tale set in 1868 in Texas. Nineteen-year-old Benjamin Shreve writes a letter to a boy named Tot, describing how he met Tot and his mother and the short time they spent traveling together. Collyer infuses Shreve with a heart of gold and a spine of steel. Listeners will feel the slow tug when Shreve first sees and then falls in love with fully pregnant Nell and young Tot--and then steps forward into danger to protect them. Along the way, there are a murderous husband and his outlaw brothers, who are portrayed with perfect villainy; a double stagecoach robbery; and a cursed necklace, all complicating a budding love affair and harrowing escape. Collyer's characterizations of both heroes and villains enliven this spellbinding story. L.M.G. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
DECEMBER 2023 - AudioFile
★ 2023-08-12 A spirited tale of the Old West, with outlaws, jewels, and a few good guys.
Crook brings back the likable narrator of her last novel, The Which Way Tree (2018). It’s two years later, around 1868, and 19-year-old Ben Shreve is working as a carpenter in Comfort, Texas, north of San Antonio. He’s still wondering about his half sister, Sam, who took off in the previous book to hunt down the panther that scarred her and killed her mother. Through an outhouse misunderstanding, Ben winds up sharing his wagon with a treasure hunter named Dickie Bell who has found some unusual jewelry and needs a lift to the gulf town of Indianola. They pick up a man whose horse was stolen by highway robbers, “imposter Indians...dressed up like chiefs,” and who refuses to tell them his name. Down the road a piece, the stranger is shot to death by a young pregnant woman whose stagecoach was being attacked by the same imposters who hijacked the unnamed man, who were then interrupted by a different group of bandits. Nell and her 4-year-old son, Tot, continue with Ben and Dickie. Why she shot the man has to do with marital discord and a vicious outlaw taken from Texas history named Cullen Baker, a.k.a. the Swamp Fox, some of whose men are pursuing Tot. Other perils include a rabid coyote and a rattlesnake. Certain threats may lose their sting because some survivors are obvious, given that the story is told in the form of a long letter from Ben to Tot. As in the last novel, Crook notes Ben’s knowledge of Moby-Dick , but the guiding spirit here feels more like Dickens than Melville. Crook has a gift for engaging details, such as the simple comfort, to a young carpenter raised poor, of a room with a bed and chair and “a nicely carved chest of drawers, with a washbowl atop it, and a small rug alongside the bed.”
An entertaining, well-paced yarn, and a sequel that suggests another installment.