Praise for The Madstone

“Crook has a gift for engaging details . . . The guiding spirit here is Dickens . . . An entertaining, well-paced yarn.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Elizabeth Crook's Western saga is dripping with danger, romance, and period detail. Set in 1860's Texas, The Madstone follows the path of 19-year-old carpenter Benjamin as he struggles to save the life of the pregnant Nell and her young son, Tot. When the three go on the run from Nell's abusive husband's ruthless brothers in Benjamin's covered wagon, they encounter a couple of colorful traveling companions and a nexklace that might just be cursed. Crook's tale takes the form of a letter written later by Benjamin, whose voice feels totally authentic, right down to his dialect and misspellings. Whether you're looking for suspense, a heartfelt love story, or a slice of old America, The Madstone has it all.”
—AppleBooks

“Nell is not your typical damsel in distress: She’s pregnant, traveling with her 4-year-old son Tot, and before Ben ever meets her properly, she’s gunned down an outlaw who may be her husband. Who can blame a country boy for falling in love? A wonderfully transporting tale of love in the Old West.”
—People, Marion Winik

“...a harrowing (and sometimes humorous) ride through 1868 Texas.”
—CrimeReads

“A terrifically entertaining novel . . . In this murky world of cowardly self-interest, we crave someone courageous and honest. We need Benjamin Shreve, the young narrator of Elizabeth Crook’s stirring new western, The Madstone. He is not too good to be true, just good enough for us to want him to be true . . . 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 . . . As sweet as the budding romance is between Benjamin and Nell, what is more touching is his devotion to her son. His determination to protect the boy and be the noble father figure that Tot never had is sweet enough to make even the most ornery rascal tear up.”
—Washington Post, Ron Charles

“Elizabeth Crook's sixth historical novel, The Madstone (Little, Brown and Company), picks up where her brilliant The Which Way Tree left off....and continues the coming-of-age story of Benjamin Shreve, introduced unforgettably in 2018 in The Which Way Tree. Both novels tell suspenseful, action-packed stories of duty, crime, violence, love and survival in late 19th-century Texas....For a few pages, I missed Sam from The Which Way Tree. How could I not? She is a once-in-a-lifetime character. Yet resourceful Benjamin, always trying to do the right thing but caught up with all sorts of flawed characters, grows more and more compelling. Especially as he bonds with a woman on the run from her in-laws, a sadistic East Texas crime family that has not accepted the end of the Civil War.... The suspense fanned by this chase across the state will make your heart race.”
—Austin American-Statesman, Michael Barnes

“The way [Benjamin's] voice leaps off the page in The Madstone, you would swear you’ve met him before. Writing in a lived-in, understated vernacular that recalls writers from Mark Twain to Charles Portis, Crook breathes life into Benjamin, his decency and desires and dreams. You grow fondly accustomed to his first-person narration, the way he says, 'could of' instead of 'could have;' or mentions his new friend, Horhay, a 'Seminoll,' as Benjamin puts it; or assesses an unfamiliar group of European immigrants: 'I think they was Checks.'...  The Madstone is tender, violent, funny, and, like just about everything Crook writes, drenched in Texas history—not the mythological kind, but a deeply researched dive into largely forgotten details and dark corners. Crook, 64, has spent a lifetime reading about and traveling through her state. She knows her flora, her fauna, her warfare and her people.”
—Chron., Chris Vognar

“This textured Western features exceptional prose in the form of its first-person, plain-spoken account, colored with just the right amount of period flourishes and colloquialisms, and teeming with Benjamin’s yearnings to both protect and be worthy of Nell and Tot. Dramatic, sometimes surprising, events come furiously as the chase spirals towards a “willy nilly” climax and the resolution of conflict.”
—Historical Novel Society, Brodie Curtis

“This beautifully crafted story set in 1868 Reconstruction-Era Texas is narrated by 19-year-old Benjamin Shreve to a young child, Tot, that he meets on the Texas frontier, recounting the journey the pair embark on with the child’s mom Nell across the state to a distant port. Nell and Tot are on the run from Nell’s husband, a dangerous man affiliated with a gang that harasses newly freed Black citizens. The trio, joined by a treasure hunter and a Black Seminole who is a veteran of several wars, make the dangerous journey across the Texas plains encountering all manner of hardships and peril. 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. This will be one of my favorite reads of the year. Have tissues handy when you read it.”
—the Houston Buzz Magazines, Cindy Burnett

“An ­eloquent and funny adventure novel that most any kind of reader would be drawn to. Like Charles Portis’ True Grit and Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, Crook’s book features a young woman (Nell, in this case) in desperate straits and the cast of characters who courageously help her find freedom. And like those two Western classics, The Madstone perfectly balances a wry sense of humor with a melancholy contemplation of loneliness and love. Told from the point of view of Benjamin, a young man who finds himself swept up in Nell’s story, Crook’s book is a worthy entry into the canon of modern Western novels.”
—World Magazine, David Kern

“Austin writer Elizabeth Crook’s new western, The Madstone (Little, Brown), takes place in 1868, five years after the events of her much-loved previous novel, The Which Way Tree. Benjamin Shreve, the orphaned protagonist of the earlier book, is now nineteen years old and working as a carpenter. By various machinations he finds himself, at first grudgingly, pulled into a domestic drama that carries him from the Hill Country to the Gulf Coast, with no shortage of violence along the way.... No doubt there will be many takers for a third and even fourth novel that detail the rest of his journey.”
—Texas Monthly, Jeff Salamon

“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 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

 “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 

“Elizabeth Crook is a magician of a novelist, bringing the past to life with a tale of epic proportions. 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