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 and his sister’s story, 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. ( )

Author Elizabeth Crook was inspired to pen The Madstone by a desire to write about Benjamin Shreve again. He first appeared in The Which Way Tree at the age of seventeen. Crook says she wanted to "age him up a little bit and give him a chance to have a first love and [let readers] see the world through his eyes for a longer period of time." She finds him an "endearing character" – as will readers of The Madstone -- and "missed him" after she finished writing that prior novel.

The Reconstruction era began with the end of the Civil War in May 1865, and continued until the Compromise of 1877. Americans were rebuilding infrastructure, struggling to unify a fractured republic and reintegrate the states that seceded, and move past the destructive social, political, and economic impacts of slavery. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed, granting equal civil rights to all persons, but it was a turbulent time characterized by denial of rights to and ongoing violent attacks against Blacks, particularly in the South. While researching the period, Crooks learned about the Swamp Fox (depicted in The Madstone) and other gangs that preyed on Freed men and women, and government representatives from the Freedman's Bureau (part of the U.S. Army, established by President Abraham Lincoln but later disbanded due to corruption). The gangs hid in the swamps, emerging to commit atrocities.

The story opens in Comfort, Texas, in November 1868, and is presented in the form of a letter written by Benjamin to Tot, Nell’s son. Benjamin explains that he wants to tell Tot about the days they spent together but the letter will not be delivered to Tot until he is nineteen – Benjamin’s current age. Benjamin recognizes that Tot is not likely to remember all that occurred, and certainly not from the same perspective as Benjamin, who is “bound to remember these days I write about until the reaper should come fetch me.” After a brief introduction, Benjamin relates what happened earlier that year in what Crook calls a "linear" manner as her characters travel from one place to another and "many, many things happen along the way."

Benjamin describes his work as a carpenter, crafting household furniture, and renting a room in a German widow’s home. Working in the yard, he observed a stagecoach stopped across the street with Tot and his mother, Nell, inside. He also witnessed a dispute between the sheriff and a male passenger that culminated in the traveler’s arrest. Not long after, a rider recklessly charged into town from the same direction the coach had arrived on a horse that “was badly lathered and winded.” He seemed desperate to find a new horse to continue his journey, but the livery had none to offer nor did Benjamin. In frustration, he “mounted his spent roan, set spurs to it and rode off” just as the first passenger appeared and began yelling at the stable boy that one of his bags was not left behind when the coach departed without him. He, too, was looking for a horse and Benjamin decided there was something trustworthy about him. Although Benjamin had no intention of letting the man take off riding Benjamin’s only horse, an old mare, he agreed to take the man as far as Boerne, where he might find another horse, for a fair price. The man was carrying a pouch that appeared to be full of gold pesos like the one he showed Benjamin.

So the two of them set out to catch up with the coach, “at the usual pace for my mare, which is not a fast one.” Unbeknownst to Benjamin at the time, he was embarking on an adventure that would last longer than anticipated, take him further from home than planned, and forever change him. Along the way, Benjamin and his new companion, Richard Dean Bell, aka “Dickie,” a treasure hunter on his way to Indianola to board a ship to New Orleans, find themselves in a variety of unexpected and dangerous predicaments.

First, they encounter the rider, now barefoot and shirtless, walking along the road. He had been robbed and beaten, and Benjamin agreed to take him to Boerne, as well. Following an argument, the man tried to strike Dickie with a hammer he pulled from Benjamin’s toolbox, but missed and struck Benjamin’s mare instead before toppling out of the wagon and hitting his head. Hauling the injured man back into the wagon, Benjamin proceeded while Dickie talked incessantly, relating tales of his travels and treasure hunts.

Eventually, they come upon the coach being held up by the same robbers who attacked the rider. And Dickie spies his missing bag. Shots are fired, and the rider is killed. Soon, Benjamin and Dickie continue their journey with Nell, Tot, and the stagecoach driver joining them, and the rider’s body secured in the back of the wagon to be delivered to the undertaker in Boerne after questioning by the marshal. Nell insisted that her husband “had gone broke from the war and run off and left her to raise their son and the baby yet to be born” any minute. Tot told Benjamin that his father no longer lived with him and mother, and was instead living with a big swamp fox.

At last, their trip proceeds and the identity of the dead rider is revealed. Benjamin learns that Nell is running not just from her husband, but his family, as well. She is determined to reach Indianola and also board a ship to New Orleans where she and her children will be safe with one of her relatives. The matriarch of her husband’s family is a vile, conniving woman who controls and directs their violent gang activity. Nell could no longer remain silent in the face of their criminality and informed law enforcement of their activities and whereabouts. Now she and her children are in danger because her husband’s brothers are in hot pursuit, ordered by their mother to kill Nell and kidnap Tot so he can grow up to join their gang.

Crook says when she learned about the gangs, she pondered what it would be like to be in Nell’s shoes. She knew terrible crimes were being committed, but women had few rights, especially when it came to raising their children. Crook wanted to explore the point at which a woman in Nell’s situation would be able to muster the courage to turn in not just her own husband, but his whole family, with the certainty that she would be subjected to retribution. Nell provides information to the sheriff, in part, because “her own sense of guilt catches up with her" concerning one particularly heinous incident. She has no choice but to run because she cannot permit Tot or her unborn child to be raised amid or by such monstrous criminals. That, being the “most threatening thing to a mother,” provides Nell’s motivation and she will do anything to protect her children. She could not have foreseen that she would encounter and be aided by Benjamin, and their relationship deepens quickly during the few, fraught days they spend together. Crook, writing in Benjamin’s voice, describes his growing feelings for Nell in a believable and tender manner. Benjamin is hardly more than a boy himself, but he realizes he is forming a strong bond with Nell, and he is capable of being and wants be a loving father to both Tot and Nell’s yet-to-be-born child. As the fast-paced story proceeds, Benjamin matures and reveals himself to be principled, quite bright, and loyal, especially to the sister he has sworn to wait for at home and still believes might return.

Despite the precarious situations in which her characters find themselves – and there are many tense moments when Benjamin and the other characters must quickly devise strategies to outwit their pursuers, as well as the elements, to survive -- Crook has deftly crafted a narrative that is filled with humor. Benjamin’s descriptions of his adventure, and reactions to the people he encounters and challenges he withstands, are frequently hilarious which, from Crook’s perspective, is because he has no idea he is being funny. He merely offers his observations (phonetic spellings included), recounting the complications and setbacks along the way, recalling his fears as the gang chases them across Texas, in a straight-forward, unembellished, and often naïve and awestruck manner. Crook aptly describes him as very "earnest, sincere, and dutiful," noting that he is just trying "in an honest way to relate the story." Crook’s understanding of her character, and skillful demonstration of his indomitable spirit and determination to keep himself and his companions safe, makes the story riveting and readers will find themselves taking Benjamin into their heart, and cheering for his mission to succeed.

The book’s title? In American folklore, a madstone was a rock or other object believed to have the power to draw poison out of a bite from an animal when pressed into the bite after being soaked in milk. Madstones were treasured because they represented and offered hope at a time when there were no medical cures for rabies, venomous snake bites, etc. The title was selected because one such magical object comes into play at a turning point in the story, according to Crook.

The Madstone is delightfully entertaining and evocative of classic, beloved Western novels, films, and television programs, replete with perilous situations, shocking revelations, an eclectic cast of fascinating and memorable supporting characters, and even secret treasure and a legendary curse.

But it is also an emotionally rich and thought-provoking story of bravery, the power of a courageous mother’s devotion to her children’s futures, and multiple literal and figurative journeys, including Benjamin’s journey to manhood and what he learns about the world beyond Comfort, Texas, and the people who inhabit it. Benjamin gains a deeper understanding of honor and the importance of keeping promises, and finds the first love Crook wanted him to experience . . . as well as so much more. It's understandable that Crook missed Benjamin and describes him as her favorite out of all the characters she has created during her career. Hopefully, Crook will reunite readers with him and, perhaps, Tot, when both are a bit older and certainly wiser, in a future novel.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book. ( )

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. ( )

The madstone of the novel’s title is not just a talisman with reputed healing power: it is a symbol of found family, a mother’s determination to protect her children at all costs, and the found fathers willing to risk everything to get her little family to safety. One father figure, the main character, Benjamin, is the first person narrator. His straightforward yet magical voice drives the action and emotion of Crook’s novel set in the aftermath of the Civil War. Benjamin is telling the story to Tot, to be saved until he grows up, so this is an epistolary novel.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Edelweiss/Above the Tree Line and Hachette for sending me this book to me for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The other father figure, Jorges (called Horhay, because Benjamin isn’t a great speller) is part Native American, part Black, and all heart. Benjamin accidentally finds himself helping Nell Banes and her son Tot when they flee from a band of evil outlaws. The journey is fraught with every kind of peril, from finicky animals to weather. Benjamin goes on a side quest to find a madstone after the little boy is bitten by a rabid coyote. Horhay provides the madstone and some desperately-needed help in getting across Texas to New Orleans. There is also a figure of fun on this road trip, Dickie, who turns out to have some surprising qualities.

I’d never heard of a madstone (also called a bezoar) as a folk remedy. The Old Farmer’s Almanac has a characteristically romantic take on madstones, but it’s basically a calcified hairball found in the stomach of ruminant animals. There is a centuries-long tradition of white folks obtaining madstones from nonwhite folks, including indigenous folks on this continent, including, per family lore, a notable Louisiana stony hairball called the Madstone of Vacherie.

Two things I enjoyed about this novel:

1. I remained with one person, Benjamin, in one linear narrative from beginning to end, with only minimal looking back at the past and slim foreshadowings of the future. I am weary of constantly jumping from mind to mind, place to place, time to time. Few writers can pull it off well without overtaxing the reader, and yet it is all the rage in fiction.
2. The novel, like the narrator, enchants the reader with understatement, a rare quality in a novel. What Benjamin leaves unsaid is as important as what he does not say. Healing power withheld speaks as loudly as healing power offered. A veil is drawn over the romance, which is sacred to Benjamin. ( )