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The Madstone
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 hill country, 1868. As nineteen-year-old Benjamin Shreve tends to business in his workshop, he witnesses a stagecoach strand a passenger. When the man, a treasure hunter, persuades Benjamin to help track down the vanished coach—and a mysterious fortune left aboard—Benjamin is drawn into a drama whose scope he could never have imagined, for they discover on reaching the coach that its passengers include Nell, a pregnant young woman, and her four-year-old son, Tot, who are fleeing Nell’s brutal husband and his murderous brothers.
Having told the Freedmen’s Bureau the whereabouts of her husband’s gang—a sadistic group wanted for countless acts of harassment and violence against Black citizens—Nell is in grave danger. If her husband catches her, he will kill her and take their son. Learning of their plight, Benjamin offers to deliver Nell and Tot to a distant port on the Gulf of Mexico, where they can board a ship to safety. He is joined in this chivalrous act by two other companions: the treasure hunter whose stranding began this endeavor and a restless Black Seminole who is a veteran of wars on both sides of the Rio Grande and who has an escape plan of his own.
Fraught with jeopardy from the outset, the trek across Texas becomes still more dangerous as buried secrets, including a cursed necklace, emerge. And even as Benjamin falls in love with Nell and imagines a life as Tot’s father, vengeful pursuers are never far behind. With its vivid characters and expansive canvas, The Madstone calls to mind Lonesome Dove, yet Elizabeth Crook’s new novel is a singular achievement. Told in Benjamin’s resolute and unforgettable voice, it 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.
Texas hill country, 1868. As nineteen-year-old Benjamin Shreve tends to business in his workshop, he witnesses a stagecoach strand a passenger. When the man, a treasure hunter, persuades Benjamin to help track down the vanished coach—and a mysterious fortune left aboard—Benjamin is drawn into a drama whose scope he could never have imagined, for they discover on reaching the coach that its passengers include Nell, a pregnant young woman, and her four-year-old son, Tot, who are fleeing Nell’s brutal husband and his murderous brothers.
Having told the Freedmen’s Bureau the whereabouts of her husband’s gang—a sadistic group wanted for countless acts of harassment and violence against Black citizens—Nell is in grave danger. If her husband catches her, he will kill her and take their son. Learning of their plight, Benjamin offers to deliver Nell and Tot to a distant port on the Gulf of Mexico, where they can board a ship to safety. He is joined in this chivalrous act by two other companions: the treasure hunter whose stranding began this endeavor and a restless Black Seminole who is a veteran of wars on both sides of the Rio Grande and who has an escape plan of his own.
Fraught with jeopardy from the outset, the trek across Texas becomes still more dangerous as buried secrets, including a cursed necklace, emerge. And even as Benjamin falls in love with Nell and imagines a life as Tot’s father, vengeful pursuers are never far behind. With its vivid characters and expansive canvas, The Madstone calls to mind Lonesome Dove, yet Elizabeth Crook’s new novel is a singular achievement. Told in Benjamin’s resolute and unforgettable voice, it 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.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published November 7, 2023
294 people are currently reading
12892 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Crook
7 books399 followersI grew up mostly in San Marcos, Texas, (with a brief time away in Washington D.C and Australia) graduated from San Marcos High School, attended Baylor and Rice, moved for a while to New Braunfels, Texas, and now live in Austin. One of the great blessings of my childhood was having a mother who read to my brother and sister and me for hours every night, long after we could read for ourselves. Those nights of listening transported us to foreign places and other centuries and allowed us to connect with characters living lives in stark contrast to our own. This was a great gift my mother gave us.
I've written six novels, including The Night Journal, which received The Spur Award from Western Writers of America and the Willa Literary Award from Women Writing the West, Monday, Monday, which received the Jesse H. Jones Award from the Texas Institute of Letters and was named a Best Fiction Book of 2014 by Kirkus Reviews, and The Which Way Tree, which received The Willa Literary Award and is currently in development for film. The Madstone will be published in November of 2023.
I'm a slow, slow reader (one of those people you see in public places staring at pages and moving their lips,) and I'll be giving most books on Goodreads a rating of four or five stars, because that many hours spent together creates a certain loyalty. If a book doesn't capture me I usually set it aside; mostly what you'll see here are books I've loved.
I've written six novels, including The Night Journal, which received The Spur Award from Western Writers of America and the Willa Literary Award from Women Writing the West, Monday, Monday, which received the Jesse H. Jones Award from the Texas Institute of Letters and was named a Best Fiction Book of 2014 by Kirkus Reviews, and The Which Way Tree, which received The Willa Literary Award and is currently in development for film. The Madstone will be published in November of 2023.
I'm a slow, slow reader (one of those people you see in public places staring at pages and moving their lips,) and I'll be giving most books on Goodreads a rating of four or five stars, because that many hours spent together creates a certain loyalty. If a book doesn't capture me I usually set it aside; mostly what you'll see here are books I've loved.
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June 20, 2025
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’s not too good to be true, just good enough for us to want him to be true. As one devoted character says, he’s a man with “a powerful conscience but maybe a stronger heart.” This month, Crook received the Texas Writer Award at the Texas Book Festival in Austin, and I can see why. With “The Madstone,” she’s written the perfect adventure to curl up with on some desolate winter night.
“My grammar is not perfect,” Benjamin begins humbly, “but I intend to be truthful and keep to the point and not go on about other things.” He’s a devoted if guileless student of Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, determined to live his simple life in accordance with the Founding Father’s advice about resolution, sincerity and hard work. He seems not to have caught any irony in that narrative, but it tracks.
The Texas sun has bleached away every molecule of sarcasm from this young man’s earnest voice, as Crook endows him with a sense of duty as flexible as a horseshoe. That may sound like a drag, but there’s something surprisingly satisfying about. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
“My grammar is not perfect,” Benjamin begins humbly, “but I intend to be truthful and keep to the point and not go on about other things.” He’s a devoted if guileless student of Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, determined to live his simple life in accordance with the Founding Father’s advice about resolution, sincerity and hard work. He seems not to have caught any irony in that narrative, but it tracks.
The Texas sun has bleached away every molecule of sarcasm from this young man’s earnest voice, as Crook endows him with a sense of duty as flexible as a horseshoe. That may sound like a drag, but there’s something surprisingly satisfying about. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
August 2, 2024
4.5⭐
The Madstone by Elizabeth Crook begins in Comfort, Texas in November 1868 where we meet nineteen-year-old Benjamin Shreve as he recounts his sixteen-day adventure across Texas in a letter to a child he befriended along the way.
When Benjamin agrees to help a stranded traveler catch up with the stagecoach caring for his belongings, little does he know that he will end up aiding pregnant Nell Banes and her young son Henry “Tot” to escape from the clutches of her cruel husband and his criminal family. With the help of Dickie, a treasure hunter in possession of a valuable item he hopes will change his fortunes and Horhay Elveraz a Black Seminole with a lifetime of experience and wisdom under his belt, both of whom he befriends in the course of his travels. The narrative follows the travelers as they brave hailstorms, coyotes, killers intent on exacting revenge, cursed treasures, and much more as they make their way through Texas, in an attempt to help Nell and her son safely reach their destination.
Masterful storytelling, an absorbing and consistently paced plot and a cast of well-thought-out and intriguing characters make for a riveting read, full of action and adventure and not a boring moment. Benjamin is a protagonist you would root for from the very first moment you meet him. The author exercises both sensitivity and maturity in depicting Benjamin’s concerned feelings for Nell and Tot, his camaraderie with Dickie and the deep respect he feels toward Horhay. I would have loved to read more about Benjamin's life beyond the events described in this novel. The author’s meticulous research is evident in the vividly described setting, the social landscape and the historical detail transporting the reader to Reconstruction-era Texas.
I should mention that I haven’t read the author’s The Which Way Tree which tells Benjamin’s and his sister’s backstory, though I do intend to pick it up in the near future. Despite not having read the preceding novel, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of courage, friendship, sacrifice, love and adventure.
Many thanks to Little, Brown and Company for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The Madstone was published on November 07, 2023.
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
The Madstone by Elizabeth Crook begins in Comfort, Texas in November 1868 where we meet nineteen-year-old Benjamin Shreve as he recounts his sixteen-day adventure across Texas in a letter to a child he befriended along the way.
When Benjamin agrees to help a stranded traveler catch up with the stagecoach caring for his belongings, little does he know that he will end up aiding pregnant Nell Banes and her young son Henry “Tot” to escape from the clutches of her cruel husband and his criminal family. With the help of Dickie, a treasure hunter in possession of a valuable item he hopes will change his fortunes and Horhay Elveraz a Black Seminole with a lifetime of experience and wisdom under his belt, both of whom he befriends in the course of his travels. The narrative follows the travelers as they brave hailstorms, coyotes, killers intent on exacting revenge, cursed treasures, and much more as they make their way through Texas, in an attempt to help Nell and her son safely reach their destination.
Masterful storytelling, an absorbing and consistently paced plot and a cast of well-thought-out and intriguing characters make for a riveting read, full of action and adventure and not a boring moment. Benjamin is a protagonist you would root for from the very first moment you meet him. The author exercises both sensitivity and maturity in depicting Benjamin’s concerned feelings for Nell and Tot, his camaraderie with Dickie and the deep respect he feels toward Horhay. I would have loved to read more about Benjamin's life beyond the events described in this novel. The author’s meticulous research is evident in the vividly described setting, the social landscape and the historical detail transporting the reader to Reconstruction-era Texas.
I should mention that I haven’t read the author’s The Which Way Tree which tells Benjamin’s and his sister’s backstory, though I do intend to pick it up in the near future. Despite not having read the preceding novel, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of courage, friendship, sacrifice, love and adventure.
Many thanks to Little, Brown and Company for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The Madstone was published on November 07, 2023.
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
September 25, 2023
Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown, and Company for access to this title. I am auto-approved with this publisher
Once again, I appear to be on an outlier island. I found this book really difficult to stay invested in because it was written in the first-person perspective as a letter. The characters never felt real to me. Days later, there isn't much I can recall about the book either.
A real miss for me.
Expected Publication 07/11/23
Goodreads Review Published 24/09/23
TheMadstone #NetGalley.
Once again, I appear to be on an outlier island. I found this book really difficult to stay invested in because it was written in the first-person perspective as a letter. The characters never felt real to me. Days later, there isn't much I can recall about the book either.
A real miss for me.
Expected Publication 07/11/23
Goodreads Review Published 24/09/23
TheMadstone #NetGalley.
June 9, 2023
The Madstone is a treasure: a brilliant, beautiful page-turner of a book. Elizabeth Crook has re-imagined the western, giving us a poignant love story and a riveting road novel. I devoured it — and you will, too.
May 29, 2025
Absolutely loved this! To get the full value of this novel, you should read The Which Way Tree first, as it gives you some background, but even more important, introduces you to Benjamin Shreve, a character that is one of the most unusual voices I've had pleasure to know in literature. This one continues his story after his exciting adventures in the first one with a crazy sister, a murderous panther, and an unusual cast of characters. The Madstone gives us a whole new cast, just as wonderful, when Benjamin undertakes to escort a pregnant woman and her 4 year old son across Texas to catch a boat to New Orleans. Chaos ensues, but mixed with friendship, love, a cursed necklace and another story laced with his unusual narrative voice and his sense of duty and self respect. The humor is incidental, but just as important.
If this author chooses to write another novel starring Benjamin Shreve, I'll be reading that one too.
If this author chooses to write another novel starring Benjamin Shreve, I'll be reading that one too.
January 29, 2024
[4+] A wild west Texas tale filled with hidden gems and galloping adventures begins the moment you open the book. Elizabeth Crook (a fellow Austinite!) wastes no time in taking the reader on a trailblazing ride of the Lone Star State. The landscape is stunning and the superb storytelling left me breathless. If you want setting, characters, plot, and pathos to meet your demands and leave you wanting more, you’ve come to the right pace. And place!
It’s Texas during Reconstruction, the times are changing but foul gangs will maim and murder you for their entertainment. Strong enough for a man but created by a woman, The Madstone is a literary epic of Texas, from the Hill Country to the Gulf Coast, and all manner of small and larger towns in-between. If you are a Texan or Texas-curious, or dig adventure and historical fiction mixed with well-researched facts, you’re in for a wild time, so saddle up and get ready for madcap violence mixed with mayhem and romance and a few killer kisses.
Outlaws, renegades, a naïve young man and a very pregnant lady (Nell) with her young son (Tot) are now all running from or to something that’s teeming with danger. A cursed necklace stalks the heroes and villains and, oh, do you know what a madstone is? It’s a deer-belly organ of minerals and hairball, and, as legend has it, will prevent rabies if you’re bitten. Soak the madstone in milk and apply.
Carpenter Benjamin Shreve is the 19- year-old steadfast, honest narrator, an earnest young man who has no idea that he is a first-class storyteller, too, but readers, you’ll see that in his heart-to-heart recounting, he captivates us with a story as tasty and juicy as a Fredericksburg peach!
Ben doesn’t know, when he sees a treasure hunter squatting next to a privy, that his life is about to turn sideways. He witnesses a runaway stagecoach and, soon after, an unsparing shooting and white-knuckle getaway; our protagonist is in the wrong place at the right/wrong time. Ben is subsequently about to fall on his knees in love and dare to stand up to armed villains. This unexpected road trip opens next to the shit shack, where this Dickie dude unloaded his guts because the town sheriff here in Comfort, Texas was using the desired privy for similar purpose. The sheriff initially takes no pity when he arrests Dickie for public defecation. But Ben comes to the rescue and has his first heroic turn by saving Dickie from jail.
After witnessing the shooting, and saving Dickie, and falling instantly in love with Nell, and compelled to protect Tot, Ben and Nell and Tot and Dickie are soon running from an East Texas gang called The Swamp Fox Gang. They are after Nell and Tot, and now Ben and Dickie. I was an excited passenger, following one fleeing event after another and hotly turning pages in this cat and mouse suspense. The Swamp Fox Gang doesn’t abide by the post-slavery laws of the land; instead, they prey on and torture freed souls. Nell is being hunted down by the blood of her blood for making a hard choice against the gang. The Swamp Fox gang includes her in-laws who are now outlaws, and other facts as yet to be revealed, so I will let the pages and Ben do the talking.
I’m enthralled by the number of books that Crook devoured in order to tell Madstone authentically. I fear the future of phony research and lazy groundwork—writers using Chat GPT and AI instead of deep diving into the necessary historical background. But, readers, I am confident that we will instinctively know when writers are taking shortcuts instead of putting out the effort. Those books will be soulless and trifling. After reading a treasure like The Madstone, I feel hopeful again that truthful fiction will maintain a stronghold and the flim-flam writers will be exposed. The Madstone isn’t a perfect book—it could have been tightened up and a few pages shorter, but it was evident that Crook’s heart and soul went into every page, and the research she did made it that much stronger. She is a classy writer that earned and deserved the prestigious Texas Writer Award for this year.
Thank you to Little Brown and Company for sending me an ARC for review.
It’s Texas during Reconstruction, the times are changing but foul gangs will maim and murder you for their entertainment. Strong enough for a man but created by a woman, The Madstone is a literary epic of Texas, from the Hill Country to the Gulf Coast, and all manner of small and larger towns in-between. If you are a Texan or Texas-curious, or dig adventure and historical fiction mixed with well-researched facts, you’re in for a wild time, so saddle up and get ready for madcap violence mixed with mayhem and romance and a few killer kisses.
Outlaws, renegades, a naïve young man and a very pregnant lady (Nell) with her young son (Tot) are now all running from or to something that’s teeming with danger. A cursed necklace stalks the heroes and villains and, oh, do you know what a madstone is? It’s a deer-belly organ of minerals and hairball, and, as legend has it, will prevent rabies if you’re bitten. Soak the madstone in milk and apply.
Carpenter Benjamin Shreve is the 19- year-old steadfast, honest narrator, an earnest young man who has no idea that he is a first-class storyteller, too, but readers, you’ll see that in his heart-to-heart recounting, he captivates us with a story as tasty and juicy as a Fredericksburg peach!
Ben doesn’t know, when he sees a treasure hunter squatting next to a privy, that his life is about to turn sideways. He witnesses a runaway stagecoach and, soon after, an unsparing shooting and white-knuckle getaway; our protagonist is in the wrong place at the right/wrong time. Ben is subsequently about to fall on his knees in love and dare to stand up to armed villains. This unexpected road trip opens next to the shit shack, where this Dickie dude unloaded his guts because the town sheriff here in Comfort, Texas was using the desired privy for similar purpose. The sheriff initially takes no pity when he arrests Dickie for public defecation. But Ben comes to the rescue and has his first heroic turn by saving Dickie from jail.
After witnessing the shooting, and saving Dickie, and falling instantly in love with Nell, and compelled to protect Tot, Ben and Nell and Tot and Dickie are soon running from an East Texas gang called The Swamp Fox Gang. They are after Nell and Tot, and now Ben and Dickie. I was an excited passenger, following one fleeing event after another and hotly turning pages in this cat and mouse suspense. The Swamp Fox Gang doesn’t abide by the post-slavery laws of the land; instead, they prey on and torture freed souls. Nell is being hunted down by the blood of her blood for making a hard choice against the gang. The Swamp Fox gang includes her in-laws who are now outlaws, and other facts as yet to be revealed, so I will let the pages and Ben do the talking.
I’m enthralled by the number of books that Crook devoured in order to tell Madstone authentically. I fear the future of phony research and lazy groundwork—writers using Chat GPT and AI instead of deep diving into the necessary historical background. But, readers, I am confident that we will instinctively know when writers are taking shortcuts instead of putting out the effort. Those books will be soulless and trifling. After reading a treasure like The Madstone, I feel hopeful again that truthful fiction will maintain a stronghold and the flim-flam writers will be exposed. The Madstone isn’t a perfect book—it could have been tightened up and a few pages shorter, but it was evident that Crook’s heart and soul went into every page, and the research she did made it that much stronger. She is a classy writer that earned and deserved the prestigious Texas Writer Award for this year.
Thank you to Little Brown and Company for sending me an ARC for review.
October 17, 2023
Definitely one of the best books I've read this year. An absolute page turner reminiscent of Lief Enger's Peace Like a River, and the writings of William Kent Krueger. The story has such a pull with characters that don't let go. If I were still working at my public library job I'd be hand selling this book at every given chance. Stunning, heart tugging, action packed, utterly engaging - a story as big and wide as the wild, wild West.
March 8, 2024
This wonderful tale, set in post-Civil War Texas, fully engaged me. The main character and narrator is 19 year old Benjamin, and the novel consists of his retelling of certain events to Tot, a child at the time of the events being retold. The story begins when Benjamin decides to help a stranger (Dickie) pursue his bags, which were lost on a stagecoach (which went ahead when Dickie was arrested over an altercation involving a privy). From there we get to know a wonderful cast of characters, including Dickie who obsessively guards a stolen necklace; a brutal, despicable clan of racists who tormented recently freed blacks; and a Seminole/Black man (originally from Florida) who is a war veteran and has experienced a rough, racist world. But most importantly, we meet Nell and her son, Tot, who are escaping the racist clan of which her husband was a member. Benjamin has a huge heart. He interacts with, and supports, all these characters and, of course, falls in love with Nell. The storyline was fast moving and excellent. However, two other things made the novel extremely special for me. One was the voice of Benjamin – so solid, pure and strong amidst all the chaos and danger. In his uneducated, 1870’s way, he expressed many wonderful “philosophy of life” points, which are just as applicable today as they were then. The other special aspect of the novel was the incredible knowledge and understanding the author had of this period of history. As a result, the detail she provided in each scene was outstanding – from the then current political/social environment to how a team of mules works (or doesn’t work!) together. The reader could see and feel all aspects of the time period in wonderful accuracy and detail. This novel, which told of a journey, was a very entertaining and meaningful journey for me.
July 27, 2023
3.5-4 stars.
A very effective book, for the most part. The dates are a little off - the book is meant to take place in 1868, but the way the author describes events from the characters' past, for example, the age of the young boy in the book and what has happened to characters during and since the Civil War - but I'll give that a pass. I was immediately engaged by the main character, Ben, as well as all the whole cast of characters, and my experience was very cinematic, in the sense that this would translate very well into a movie. The ending was a bit bittersweet, but I think it actually added to my appreciation of the story. Very much recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
A very effective book, for the most part. The dates are a little off - the book is meant to take place in 1868, but the way the author describes events from the characters' past, for example, the age of the young boy in the book and what has happened to characters during and since the Civil War - but I'll give that a pass. I was immediately engaged by the main character, Ben, as well as all the whole cast of characters, and my experience was very cinematic, in the sense that this would translate very well into a movie. The ending was a bit bittersweet, but I think it actually added to my appreciation of the story. Very much recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
June 8, 2025
”Dear Small Tot . . . Another point made by Benjamin Franklin was how the best method to live your life over again, if a person might want to, is to put down tracks to recall it even whilst it takes place. He advised noting events on paper . . . It is not the best paper and my grammar is not perfect but I intend to be truthful and keep to the point and not go on about other things. To get to it, here is how I come to be mixed up in the matter of your life."
~ Benjamin Shreve, November 1868, Comfort, Texas
So begins another letter written by one of the most honest and endearing voices of all the literary characters I’ve ever met, Benjamin Shreve from The Which Way Tree, writing this time to four-year-old Tot Banes to be read when he is "nineteen years or greater, not sooner, there being sundry adult matters involved in it." This new tale opens with a young pregnant woman named Nell Banes fleeing a violent, criminal family with her four-year-old son, Tot. The stagecoach they are traveling in on their way to safety in New Orleans makes an emergency stop in the small town of Comfort, Texas due to fellow passenger and treasure hunter Dickie Bell’s urgent intestinal distress, known in these parts as “the trots.” Benjamin now lives in Comfort, working as a successful furniture and coffin maker, and witnesses the comical outhouse scene between Dickie and the town sheriff. He eventually agrees to help Dickie catch up with the departed stagecoach which holds a bag of Dickie’s valuables. The story is then off and running with buffoon desperados, murder, a rabid coyote, buzzards terrorizing the living, demon brothers, a rattlesnake, first love, a cursed necklace, a loyal mare, and a gentle giant named Horhay.
And in case you are wondering what a madstone is (as I certainly was), Elizabeth Crook explains in her author notes that “madstones are essentially gallstones made of concretions of mineral salts mixed with hairs and fibers that accumulate in the bellies of cattle, horses, deer, and other animals. Those found in albino deer were thought to have the most curative powers.” These healing stones were passed down through generations. Hmmm . . . As one of my buddy readers commented: “Wive’s tale or medical science?” You be the judge.
“It’s the oddest thing in the world, Tot, the friends you make in a lifetime. The first I’d seen Dickie he was a stranger shatting alongside the Ficklin privy in Comfort and hollering at the sheriff within. And now here he was, waiting for me in Victoria when there was plenty of things more beneficial to him that he could be doing.”
I hope this author gives us another Benjamin story. I’m not ready to say goodbye.
~ Benjamin Shreve, November 1868, Comfort, Texas
So begins another letter written by one of the most honest and endearing voices of all the literary characters I’ve ever met, Benjamin Shreve from The Which Way Tree, writing this time to four-year-old Tot Banes to be read when he is "nineteen years or greater, not sooner, there being sundry adult matters involved in it." This new tale opens with a young pregnant woman named Nell Banes fleeing a violent, criminal family with her four-year-old son, Tot. The stagecoach they are traveling in on their way to safety in New Orleans makes an emergency stop in the small town of Comfort, Texas due to fellow passenger and treasure hunter Dickie Bell’s urgent intestinal distress, known in these parts as “the trots.” Benjamin now lives in Comfort, working as a successful furniture and coffin maker, and witnesses the comical outhouse scene between Dickie and the town sheriff. He eventually agrees to help Dickie catch up with the departed stagecoach which holds a bag of Dickie’s valuables. The story is then off and running with buffoon desperados, murder, a rabid coyote, buzzards terrorizing the living, demon brothers, a rattlesnake, first love, a cursed necklace, a loyal mare, and a gentle giant named Horhay.
And in case you are wondering what a madstone is (as I certainly was), Elizabeth Crook explains in her author notes that “madstones are essentially gallstones made of concretions of mineral salts mixed with hairs and fibers that accumulate in the bellies of cattle, horses, deer, and other animals. Those found in albino deer were thought to have the most curative powers.” These healing stones were passed down through generations. Hmmm . . . As one of my buddy readers commented: “Wive’s tale or medical science?” You be the judge.
“It’s the oddest thing in the world, Tot, the friends you make in a lifetime. The first I’d seen Dickie he was a stranger shatting alongside the Ficklin privy in Comfort and hollering at the sheriff within. And now here he was, waiting for me in Victoria when there was plenty of things more beneficial to him that he could be doing.”
I hope this author gives us another Benjamin story. I’m not ready to say goodbye.
December 12, 2023
A fitting (hmmm) companion (not merely a sequel, and, arguably, an interlude) to The Which Way Tree, (and, no, I would not recommend reading them out of order). If you enjoyed the first, I can't fathom a reason why you wouldn't want to read - or shouldn't expect to enjoy - this one.
Characters, setting, momentum (action?), pathos, adventure, love, loss, dream and aspiration, ... sure, it's all here, nicely interspersed with a shockingly potent dosage of post-Civil War (primarily, but not exclusively, Texas) history.
As historical fictions go, I found this quite compelling, and, while I'm inclined to read the author's stuff as soon as it comes out anyway, I was uniquely curious to read this after (belatedly) reading (and enjoying) Paulette Jiles' sublime News of the World (after I'd seen and enjoyed the movie, as I recall, on a plane). I'm not suggesting you should read one before the other, merely that, if you enjoyed one, I'm guessing you'd fully appreciate the other.
I'm also guessing I'm not alone in thinking that the book might particularly appeal to (now) adults open to historical fiction who grew up reading A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (but not really). (Here, I'm thinking about the books more so than the movies, but that's neither here nor there.) It's hard for me to put a time band on that reading peer group, but my gut says they're well into their twenties and thirties, but I digress. Then again, given the staying power of Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, well, there's always another empirical research piece about how few stories or plot lines there are in the world, but that's neither here nor there.
In the more of the same column, and in a good way, I was looking back at one of my observations from The Which Way Tree, and, well, yeah, it's every much more of the same: much of the art here lies in Crook finding (and perfecting) the narrator's voice (which she explains in the acknowledgements of the first book). My sense is that some readers may initially struggle to buy into the narrator's authenticity, but if they give up, that will be their loss. (I'm reminded of the number of times folks have told me that they never embraced (or felt or heard) the cadence and lilt and inflection that constitutes the magic of Hillary Mantel's exquisite Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies; if you can't hear the voice, I have no doubt both books are a disappointing slog. But ... but ... once you hear the music..., oh my!) Here, once you let go, give yourself over, and (of course) suspend your disbelief, and you begin hearing Benjamin's voice, the story merrily sings along.
Serious reader's tip: after you've read the book, don't skip the author's historical notes (which answered many of my questions, saving me time and energy, and putting my mind at ease) and acknowledgements. As for the Madstone itself, it did provide a serviceable title, regardless of its role as a pivot or anchor.
And, yes, I'm eagerly anticipating Benjamin Shreve's next great adventure. If it's a cattle drive (which would make sense to me, but what do I know?), I expect it to snuggle nicely onto the shelf alongside, but travel a different trail than, Lonesome Dove and the Power of the Dog. Regardless, it's a tough act to follow.
Characters, setting, momentum (action?), pathos, adventure, love, loss, dream and aspiration, ... sure, it's all here, nicely interspersed with a shockingly potent dosage of post-Civil War (primarily, but not exclusively, Texas) history.
As historical fictions go, I found this quite compelling, and, while I'm inclined to read the author's stuff as soon as it comes out anyway, I was uniquely curious to read this after (belatedly) reading (and enjoying) Paulette Jiles' sublime News of the World (after I'd seen and enjoyed the movie, as I recall, on a plane). I'm not suggesting you should read one before the other, merely that, if you enjoyed one, I'm guessing you'd fully appreciate the other.
I'm also guessing I'm not alone in thinking that the book might particularly appeal to (now) adults open to historical fiction who grew up reading A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (but not really). (Here, I'm thinking about the books more so than the movies, but that's neither here nor there.) It's hard for me to put a time band on that reading peer group, but my gut says they're well into their twenties and thirties, but I digress. Then again, given the staying power of Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, well, there's always another empirical research piece about how few stories or plot lines there are in the world, but that's neither here nor there.
In the more of the same column, and in a good way, I was looking back at one of my observations from The Which Way Tree, and, well, yeah, it's every much more of the same: much of the art here lies in Crook finding (and perfecting) the narrator's voice (which she explains in the acknowledgements of the first book). My sense is that some readers may initially struggle to buy into the narrator's authenticity, but if they give up, that will be their loss. (I'm reminded of the number of times folks have told me that they never embraced (or felt or heard) the cadence and lilt and inflection that constitutes the magic of Hillary Mantel's exquisite Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies; if you can't hear the voice, I have no doubt both books are a disappointing slog. But ... but ... once you hear the music..., oh my!) Here, once you let go, give yourself over, and (of course) suspend your disbelief, and you begin hearing Benjamin's voice, the story merrily sings along.
Serious reader's tip: after you've read the book, don't skip the author's historical notes (which answered many of my questions, saving me time and energy, and putting my mind at ease) and acknowledgements. As for the Madstone itself, it did provide a serviceable title, regardless of its role as a pivot or anchor.
And, yes, I'm eagerly anticipating Benjamin Shreve's next great adventure. If it's a cattle drive (which would make sense to me, but what do I know?), I expect it to snuggle nicely onto the shelf alongside, but travel a different trail than, Lonesome Dove and the Power of the Dog. Regardless, it's a tough act to follow.
December 9, 2023
This book was ok, but a little too sweet for me. Really, 4 members of a notorious group of vicious outlaws can’t take down a pregnant woman and her inexperienced escorts? The narrator of the audiobook was very good except when there were whispered conversations. Then he was unintelligible and I had to look at the ebook. 3.5 stars
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
December 27, 2023
A road story set in post-Civil War Texas in which a pregnant woman and her 9-year-old son are aided by a smitten young man to flee from her murderous outlaw husband and his even more unpleasant passel of brothers bent on revenge. High adventure, laced with the story of the blossoming relationship and the young man’s growing need to protect the boy and his mother.
January 28, 2024
I absolutely gobbled up, “The Madstone”, by Elizabeth Crook! It is immediately arresting, the narrative voice and character of young Benjamin Shreve is wonderfully authentic, the action-packed plot is propulsive, and ALL the characters are utterly unforgettable.
Fans of “New of the World”, by Paulette Jiles; run, don’t walk, to get this beautiful, poignant, funny, Texas-based gem.
It is 1868, just a few years after the Civil War, Benjamin helps Dickie catch up to his stagecoach which is heading to San Antonio carrying pregnant Nell, and her four year old son, Tot, and a mysterious package belonging to Dickie, that will alter all their lives.
The novel is in the form of a letter meant for Tot to read when he’s 19 describing exactly what transpired on this dynamic and fraught trip.
Benjamin writes that he thinks 19 will be the right age for Tot to learn the truth, as “there being sundry adult matters involved in it.”
Once you start this story you will not be able to stop, but you’ll also hate to see it end.
Fans of “New of the World”, by Paulette Jiles; run, don’t walk, to get this beautiful, poignant, funny, Texas-based gem.
It is 1868, just a few years after the Civil War, Benjamin helps Dickie catch up to his stagecoach which is heading to San Antonio carrying pregnant Nell, and her four year old son, Tot, and a mysterious package belonging to Dickie, that will alter all their lives.
The novel is in the form of a letter meant for Tot to read when he’s 19 describing exactly what transpired on this dynamic and fraught trip.
Benjamin writes that he thinks 19 will be the right age for Tot to learn the truth, as “there being sundry adult matters involved in it.”
Once you start this story you will not be able to stop, but you’ll also hate to see it end.
June 11, 2023
Elizabeth Crook is a treasure. We’re lucky to have her in Texas, and the literary world is lucky to have her at all.
November 4, 2023
I loved this story! I read The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook, so I was naturally interested in reading more of her work. I was pleasantly surprised to find that The Madstone followed one of the characters in her previous book.
Benjamin Shreve is a young carpenter living in Comfort, part of the Texas Hill Country. One day a stagecoach arrived and some drama ensues that leads Ben to offer to help one of the stagecoach passengers. What he thinks will be an afternoon good deed turns into several days of an adventure he would have never imagined.
A woman on the stagecoach is fleeing an outlaw husband and his gang of brothers who are part of the notorious Swamp Fox gang who are wanted for a multitude of crimes. She has her young son with her and is expecting another child in the near future.
Another passenger, Dickie, has found some buried treasure that he later learned may bring bad luck, but his greed won’t allow him to get rid of it, just in case it isn’t bad luck.
I don’t want to tell anymore about the story, except to say what a wonderful character Benjamin is in the story. Benjamin manages to make the right decisions regardless of the troubles that he faces with his new group of friends. He also finds love along the journey in the most unexpected way.
I love how Crook presents life in Texas during that time as very real, not sugarcoating the dangers of the Hill Country and the coastal region. Readers who love an adventure and a good western story will not want to pass this one up.
Many thanks to NetGally and Little, Brown and Company for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to offer my honest review and look forward to reading more from Elizabeth Crook in the future.
April 12, 2023
Such a fantastic read! The stylized choices, the plotting and pacing and characters! All of it 5++ stars 👏🏼 This is one of those books you just simply don’t ever want to end. Highly recommend!
February 14, 2025
I love a good western, especially as they are not too common right now. I saw the author talk about this novel last spring at the Tucson Book Festival. So glad I finally settled into it!
December 10, 2023
This book was put on my radar by Cindy at @thoughtsfromapage. First off- the cover is just gorgeous and second, it’s set in Texas so… I’m sold. I live in Georgia now- but grew up in Texas- it’s where my and my husband’s parents and siblings live and it will always feel like home.
The entirety of this book is told in one voice. That voice is telling a story. I kept waiting for a shift in POV- but there wasn’t one. Once I realized that, I settled in and got absorbed in the story.
Set in the 1868, the plot involves a pregnant woman and her young son running from her husband and his outlaw brother-in-laws. I was taken back in time and was amazed at how well the author could describe the surroundings and people so well through a lone voice.
This book was like nothing I have read before- so I just loved that originality. The characters were vivid and I hated the ones I should despise, and loved the ones trying hard to do the right thing.
“…Benjamin Franklin noted thirteen moral virtues in his autobiography, one of them being resolution. He maintained how resolution requires being resolved to do what you aught, and then doing what you resolve. Resolve is what your mother done in that moment. No matter this nor that, she intended to see you was safe.”
I definitely recommend this immersive and at times tense book. Be ready to spend time in the vast Texas Hill Country.
Thank you to @netgalley and @littlebrown for the ARC to read and review.
The entirety of this book is told in one voice. That voice is telling a story. I kept waiting for a shift in POV- but there wasn’t one. Once I realized that, I settled in and got absorbed in the story.
Set in the 1868, the plot involves a pregnant woman and her young son running from her husband and his outlaw brother-in-laws. I was taken back in time and was amazed at how well the author could describe the surroundings and people so well through a lone voice.
This book was like nothing I have read before- so I just loved that originality. The characters were vivid and I hated the ones I should despise, and loved the ones trying hard to do the right thing.
“…Benjamin Franklin noted thirteen moral virtues in his autobiography, one of them being resolution. He maintained how resolution requires being resolved to do what you aught, and then doing what you resolve. Resolve is what your mother done in that moment. No matter this nor that, she intended to see you was safe.”
I definitely recommend this immersive and at times tense book. Be ready to spend time in the vast Texas Hill Country.
Thank you to @netgalley and @littlebrown for the ARC to read and review.
August 18, 2024
I caught this author at a book fair and when the book finally came in to my library I truly enjoyed it and it matches her voice quite well. I want to go back and read the first one- the which way tree. I found myself looking up what a madstone was and she nailed it! The main character is endearing. Most of the rest of the characters were not. Would recommend and eager to read the first one.
November 7, 2023
This is the story of a woman fleeing her husband's violent family with her 4 year old son. She is pregnant and crosses paths with Benjamin and Dickie who decide to help her get to her final destination. The story is fraught with danger, both from the elements of 1860's Texas and from criminals out to get revenge. The story is at times a madcap race through the wilds of Texas and at times a touching story of humanity.
I loved Benjamin, what a kind, brave man. I adored the way we were getting told the story by a much older Benjamin recounting both the events and how he felt about them. I loved every second of this story and my only criticism is that I wanted more. The ending was complete but I would have loved to see more of the characters' lives after this letter was delivered.
I agree with the comments that compare this one to The News of the World but I'd also say that it reminded me of Where the Lost Wander and strangely the caper / adventure parts reminded me a bit of The Lincoln Highway.
Thanks to Little Brown and Company for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.
I loved Benjamin, what a kind, brave man. I adored the way we were getting told the story by a much older Benjamin recounting both the events and how he felt about them. I loved every second of this story and my only criticism is that I wanted more. The ending was complete but I would have loved to see more of the characters' lives after this letter was delivered.
I agree with the comments that compare this one to The News of the World but I'd also say that it reminded me of Where the Lost Wander and strangely the caper / adventure parts reminded me a bit of The Lincoln Highway.
Thanks to Little Brown and Company for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.
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November 20, 2023For fans of Leif Enger
June 12, 2024
The narrator was excellent in this wild west historical drama. I really enjoyed the book and the references afterwards of the actual events.
April 4, 2024
This book was unexpectedly great! I don't read a lot of western style books, but this one hooked me from the beginning. I love the way that this story is told. It is a letter from Benjamin to boy that he met and got to know through a strange sequence of events. The entire book is one letter, and I loved the language used as the story is retold. Benjamin tells "Tot", Henry, the story of how he meets Tot and Tot's mother and the few days that they spend together. I don't really like the title of the book, but I have no better suggestion so I can live with it. There is a madstone in the book, but the madstone is by no means is the centerpiece of the story. I enjoyed the way that Benjamin writes to Tot. The language is how I would picture a Texan from the late 1800s speaking. He talks about owning to things that he said or did. There are tons of little phrases that just make it sound western, but the story is one of adventure and vulnerability. The honesty that come out in the pages are what make it so fascinating to me.
I loved it and I recommend it.
There are some scenes that involve poop and some violence, but it is all part of tale and none of it appears to be there just for sensationalism.
I loved it and I recommend it.
There are some scenes that involve poop and some violence, but it is all part of tale and none of it appears to be there just for sensationalism.
January 18, 2024
Even though I was truly intrigued by this plot, this book was a no for me. It was a quick read being under 300 pages but even then the story seemed to drag on. I struggled with it being written in first person as the main character was writing a letter and really hated that there were no chapters to break it up or quotations during dialogue. Once I finished it, I could not remember half the events that took place in this story. It just wasn’t for me.
November 30, 2023
3.5/5-Must admit the format of this story wasn't enjoyable for me - the entire book is written as a single letter from a man who rescued and guided a young boy and his mother to safety from outlaws relatives. No chapters, just brief pauses as he tells his story. It just didn't work for me.
I did find the use of the madstone fascinating in treating the boy's bite from a rabid coyote.
I did find the use of the madstone fascinating in treating the boy's bite from a rabid coyote.
June 19, 2025
Who recommended this book to me: Lovely experience with her last book, plus interesting presentation at TBF '23
I would recommend this book to: Those seeking lyrical, atmospheric writing style from a vastly underrated author who is bringing Texas in the 1800s to life
I would recommend this book to: Those seeking lyrical, atmospheric writing style from a vastly underrated author who is bringing Texas in the 1800s to life
March 16, 2024
In The Madstone, Elizabeth Crook brings back her appealing protagonist and narrator Benjamin Shreve from her earlier novel The Which Way Tree. This time around, a chance meeting leads Benjamin to help a pregnant woman and her young son escape her violent husband and his outlaw family. There’s a cursed necklace, a star-crossed romance, and a great cast of supporting characters along for the journey, as they race to get to the steamer that will take the desperate woman to family in New Orleans.
I’m not usually big on Westerns, but Elizabeth Crook tells a great story. So far, I'm two for two on loving her books. In The Madstone, the pacing is just perfect. The excitement and tension never sag, even though Benjamin spends a fair amount of time reflecting on events. You could read the book and enjoy it purely for the adventure and peril, but there's a deeper layer too. In its more thoughtful moments, the story is also a meditation on luck, good or bad, the power of chance meetings, lucky shots, near misses, happy accidents, the meaning we create from them, and the forces we attribute them to.
I’m not usually big on Westerns, but Elizabeth Crook tells a great story. So far, I'm two for two on loving her books. In The Madstone, the pacing is just perfect. The excitement and tension never sag, even though Benjamin spends a fair amount of time reflecting on events. You could read the book and enjoy it purely for the adventure and peril, but there's a deeper layer too. In its more thoughtful moments, the story is also a meditation on luck, good or bad, the power of chance meetings, lucky shots, near misses, happy accidents, the meaning we create from them, and the forces we attribute them to.
December 10, 2023
4.5
A love story that takes place in Texas in the late 1800’s.
A young mother trying to escape with her young son from a brutal marriage and family- which was similar to the KKK.
She hires a ride to get her to the port to catch a ship to New Orleans.
It’s a rough journey across Texas filled with struggles to survive and an unlikely group that becomes a makeshift family.
Reminded me if News of the World and True Grit.
Great writing, great storytelling and unforgettable characters.
Loved it.
A love story that takes place in Texas in the late 1800’s.
A young mother trying to escape with her young son from a brutal marriage and family- which was similar to the KKK.
She hires a ride to get her to the port to catch a ship to New Orleans.
It’s a rough journey across Texas filled with struggles to survive and an unlikely group that becomes a makeshift family.
Reminded me if News of the World and True Grit.
Great writing, great storytelling and unforgettable characters.
Loved it.
March 8, 2024
The format of this book took some getting used to for me. There are no chapters and it’s told in a unique style, the grammar is disconcerting at first. It’s an epistolary type format and the main character, Benjamin writes a record to Tot, who is a child at the time of the happenings that went on, for him to remember.
When Benjamin meets up with Tot and his mother Nell, he has no idea of the adventures that await him. He’s seeking to find himself, in a way. He agrees to drive them by wagon and they encounter many interesting challenges. Murder, robbery, treasure hunting and more.
One of the other main characters, Dickie, who travels with them, is just that, a character! A storyteller at heart. I ended up enjoying him a lot! The setting of the book is Texas, just after the Civil War. At one point they seek after a ‘Madstone’ which is purported to have healing properties. I had never heard of this before so of course I went down the rabbit hole of googling it. I enjoyed this book.
When Benjamin meets up with Tot and his mother Nell, he has no idea of the adventures that await him. He’s seeking to find himself, in a way. He agrees to drive them by wagon and they encounter many interesting challenges. Murder, robbery, treasure hunting and more.
One of the other main characters, Dickie, who travels with them, is just that, a character! A storyteller at heart. I ended up enjoying him a lot! The setting of the book is Texas, just after the Civil War. At one point they seek after a ‘Madstone’ which is purported to have healing properties. I had never heard of this before so of course I went down the rabbit hole of googling it. I enjoyed this book.
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