Sharyn McCrumb has 15 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 24 narrators, with an average listener rating of 3.5★ across 6 ratings. The most-rated is The Unquiet Grave.
The Unquiet Grave
Summary
From New York Times best-selling author Sharyn McCrumb comes a finely wrought novel set in 19th-century West Virginia, based on the true story of one of the strangest murder trials in American history - the case of the Greenbrier Ghost. Lakin, West Virginia, 1930 Following a suicide attempt and consigned to a segregated insane asylum, attorney James P. D. Gardner finds himself under the care of Dr. James Boozer. Fresh out of medical school, Dr. Boozer is eager to try the new talking cure for insanity and encourages his elderly patient to reminisce about his experiences as the first Black attorney to practice law in 19th-century West Virginia. Gardner's most memorable case was the one in which he helped to defend a White man on trial for the murder of his young bride - a case that the prosecution based on the testimony of a ghost. Greenbrier, West Virginia, 1897 Beautiful, willful Zona Heaster has always lived in the mountains of West Virginia. Despite her mother's misgivings, Zona marries Erasmus Trout Shue, the handsome blacksmith who has recently come to Greenbrier County. After weeks of silence from the newlyweds, riders come to the Heasters' place to tell them that Zona has died from a fall, attributed to a recent illness. Mary Jane is determined to get justice for her daughter. A month after the funeral, she informs the county prosecutor that Zona's ghost appeared to her, saying that she had been murdered. An autopsy, ordered by the reluctant prosecutor, confirms her claim. The Greenbrier Ghost is renowned in American folklore, but Sharyn McCrumb is the first author to look beneath the legend to unearth the facts. Using a century of genealogical material and other historical documents, McCrumb reveals new information about the story and brings to life the personalities in the trial: the prosecutor, a former Confederate cavalryman; the defense attorney, a pro-Union bridgeburner who nevertheless had owned slaves; and the mother of the murdered woman, who doggedly sticks to her ghost story - all seen through the eyes of a young Black lawyer on the cusp of a new century, with his own tragedies yet to come. With its unique blend of masterful research and mesmerizing folklore, illuminating the story's fascinating and complex characters, The Unquiet Grave confirms Sharyn McCrumb's place among the finest Southern writers at work today.
©2017 Sharyn McCrumb (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Rosewood Casket
Summary
This tantalizing addition to the award-winning Ballad series is a story that could be told only by Sharyn McCrumb, author of She Walks These Hills. A New York Times best-selling writer, McCrumb is noted for her lyrical tales that combine Appalachian lore with contemporary mysteries. Randall Stargill is dying. As his four sons gather to build his coffin, a local wise woman arrives with a small box that must be buried with the old man. In it are the fragile bones of a child and the memories of an ancient crime. Already faced with decisions about what to do with their father’s farm, his sons are now drawn into a hazardous conflict between families who would die for their land and those who do not value the rich tradition of the region. As the Stargills attempt to identify the child, McCrumb weaves mystical Indian legends and Daniel Boone’s sweeping visions of his beloved mountains into the investigation. The layers of this entrancing mystery create an unforgettable story of loving and letting go.
©1996 Sharyn McCrumb (P)1996 Recorded Books
The Devil Amongst the Lawyers
Summary
In 1934 all the national publications sent their star reporters to remote Virginia to cover the trial of Erma Morton: a beautiful 21-year-old mountain girl with a teaching degree, accused of murdering her father – a drunken tyrant of a man. Four seasoned journalists descend upon the small town – nothing sells papers better than a wronged woman on trial, or descriptions of “backwards” mountain life. Yet instead of rundown shacks and horse-drawn buggies, they found gas stations and coal company executives…but the truth can always be manipulated to suit the audience. Except that among them is Carl Jennings, an 18-year-old novice journalist from Tennessee who accurately reports on the trial and the citizens of the town. So when their articles conflict, Carl is condemned for perjury, while the other journalists sell Erma Morton’s verdict to the highest bidder. Soon, it is not the actual murder that is of interest, but the vultures attracted to the death. In the midst of all this, Carl continues to search for the truth, relying on his younger cousin, Nora – gifted with the “sight” – for help. A stunning return to the lands, ballads, and characters upon which she made her name, The Devil Amongst the Lawyers is a testament to Sharyn McCrumb’s lyrical and poetic writing.
©2010 Sharyn McCrumb (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
King's Mountain
Summary
Sharyn McCrumb is the New York Times best-selling author of the Ballad novels, which celebrate the rich history of Appalachia. An elegant saga set against the American Revolution, King' s Mountain features John Sevier and his legendary Carolina Overmountain Men, who find themselves defending their families and farms against the troops of a haughty British major.
©2013 Sharyn McCrumb (P)2013 Recorded Books
The Windsor Knot
Summary
If forensic anthropologist and amateur sleuth Elizabeth MacPherson is to have tea with the queen of England, she has to get married first. And in the space of five weeks, she plans to do just that. When an old neighbor receives word that her husband has died again, it's up to Elizabeth to determine just whose ashes the double widow has been cursing at all these years.
©1990 Sharyn McCrumb (P)1993 Recorded Books
The Ballad of Tom Dooley
Summary
The Kingston Trio’s folk song “Tom Dooley” tells the story of the murder of Laura Foster, a simple country girl involved with returning Confederate soldier Tom Dula. But Tom was also engaged in a passionate affair with his childhood sweetheart, the beautiful - and married - Ann Melton. One May morning in 1866, Laura Foster stole her father’s horse and left home, telling a neighbor that she was eloping to Tennessee. Three months later, her body was found in a shallow grave only a few hundred yards from where she was last seen. The sensational elements in the case attracted national attention: a man and his married lover accused of murdering the other woman; the former governor of North Carolina, spearheading the defense; and a noble gesture from the condemned man on the eve of his execution, saving the woman he really loved. With the help of Wilkes County historians and researchers, author Sharyn McCrumb visited the actual sites, studied the legal evidence, and concluded that the traditional story did not make sense. Consulting the maps, the trial transcripts, and the census records, she uncovered a missing piece of the story that will shock those who think they already know what happened. What seemed at first to be a sordid tale of adultery and betrayal has been transformed by new discoveries into an Appalachian Wuthering Heights. The fictional retelling of the historical account became an astonishing revelation of the real motives and the real culprit in the murder of Laura Foster.
©2011 Sharyn McCrumb (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Missing Susan
Summary
Anyone with a taste for murder with a British twist will stand in line to listen to this riveting audiobook by internationally acclaimed author Sharyn McCrumb. Laced with biting wit, humor, and a delightful helping of irony, Missing Susan carries listeners on a holiday filled with potentially lethal adventure. When Rowan Rover is offered $50,000 to murder a woman on his September Mystery Tour, he is surprised to find himself accepting the offer. The thought of committing murder chills him, until he meets the beautiful Susan Cohen. After days of listening to her nonstop chatter, with insults tossed in every direction, Rowan reaches a startling conclusion: she is someone he would like to kill. And he is not alone. Can MacPherson prevent the murder, or will she unwittingly aid in a deadly accident? Listeners will revel in Barbara Rosenblat's luxurious reading as she delivers all McCrumb's top-notch suspense and a first-rate tour of southern England.
©1991 Sharyn McCrumb (P)1998 Recorded Books
If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him
Summary
Sharyn McCrumb's Edgar Award-winning novels featuring Elizabeth MacPherson have captured countless fans who eagerly share this young detective's longings for tantalizing cases and all things Scottish. In the latest New York Times best-selling addition to the series, MacPherson yearns for one particular Scot, her missing husband Cameron, while she tries to solve two baffling instances of murder. If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him draws together the stories of two women, unrelated except for a common crime: both are charged with killing their husbands. As their tales of abandonment and abuse unfold, the forensic anthropologist must sift through decades of information while juggling evidence, hearsay, and history. Before she realizes it, MacPherson is involved in a battle of the sexes that hits very close to home. Right up until the final verdict, this moving adventure will keep you guessing the outcome and cheering for the spirited investigator.
©1995 Sharyn McCrumb (P)1996 Recorded Books
The Ballad of Frankie Silver
Summary
One hundred years after a woman is hanged, the search for justice reveals a story of simple faith, obsession, and murder. In 1832, an 18-year-old Frankie Silver was charged with murdering her young husband. In 1833, she became the first woman in the state of North Carolina to be hanged for murder. But was she guilty? More than 100 later, Tennessee sheriff Spencer Arrowood is determined to reveal the truth behind this unanswered question. The Ballad of Frankie Silver flawlessly weaves past and present, truth and fiction, folklore and legend in a spellbinding story that sweeps from the drawing rooms of early aristocracy to the ruins of a one-room cabin deep in the Appalachian wilderness...from a 19th-century courtroom and the infamous Hanging Oak of cold, bare room where a final jolt for modern justice is delivered.
©1999 Sharyn McCrumb (P)2009 Phoenix
Prayers the Devil Answers
Summary
Sharyn McCrumb, New York Times best-selling author of the acclaimed Ballad series, examines one of the most famous public executions in US history in her stunning and powerfully written Depression-era novel. Years later, after the tragedy, someone remembered the Dumb Supper and what had happened there. That was the cause of it, they said, because the ritual wasn't a game after all. It really was magic, but magic has rules, and she broke them. Suddenly thrust into the role of primary caretaker for her family following the tragic death of her husband, Ellie Robbins is appointed to serve out his term as sheriff of their rural Tennessee mountain town. The year is 1936, and her role is largely symbolic except for the one task that only a sheriff can do: execute a convicted prisoner. Ellie has long proven she can handle herself. But becoming sheriff is altogether different, and the demands of the role are even more challenging when she is forced to combat society's expectations for a woman. Soon enough, dark secrets come to light, and Ellie must grapple with small-town superstitions and the tenuous ties she shares with a condemned killer as she carves out a place for herself in an uncertain future. "There is no one quite like Sharyn McCrumb. No one better either" (San Diego Union-Tribune), and her luscious narrative brings her unforgettable characters to life with the "pure poetry" (The New York Times Book Review) that defines her astounding novels. Prayers the Devil Answers combines masterful historical research and captivating folklore to make an atmospheric and suspenseful tour de force.
©2016 Sharyn McCrumb (P)2016 Simon & Schuster
Highland Laddie Gone
Summary
In her third outing as amateur sleuth, Elizabeth MacPherson has the chance to revel in the rites of the old country at the annual Glencoe Mountain Games. But the innocent ethnic fair is cursed when the loathed Colin Campbell is found murdered. When a second reveler is found dead, Elizabeth lays to hunt and untangles all....
©1986 Sharyn McCrumb (P)1992 Recorded Books
MacPherson's Lament
Summary
Sharyn McCrumb's Edgar Award-winning series features the savvy exploits of forensic anthropologist and not-so-amateur sleuth Elizabeth MacPherson. In MacPherson's Lament, family troubles in Virginia spin out of control, forcing Elizabeth to leave her adopted Scotland to sort out the multiplying problems. Struggling to start a new law practice in Danville, Virginia, Bill MacPherson will handle almost any case, even his parents' divorce. But when he takes on a realtor's job - selling an antebellum mansion for eight elderly daughters of Confederate veterans - he only earns criminal charges. As Elizabeth confronts her panicked sibling, she wonders if even she can untangle this web of deceit and keep her brother out of prison. Best-selling author Sharyn McCrumb's masterful storytelling is guaranteed to captivate listeners as she deftly combines the past with the present, humor with suspense. Barbara Rosenblat's first-rate performance leads you on a luxurious armchair tour of the South alongside the spunky Elizabeth.
©1992 Sharyn McCrumb (P)1999 Recorded Books
Paying the Piper
Summary
Elizabeth has a plan for how she and her boyfriend Cameron can spend the summer together in Scotland. While Cameron researches the migratory patterns of seals, Elizabeth will join an archaeological dig on the nearby island of Banrigh. But Elizabeth's plans don't include a devastating plague which starts killing off her fellow crew members.
©1988 Sharyn McCrumb (P)1993 Recorded Books
If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O
Summary
Written in grease pencil on a tourist postcard, the lyrics are winsome and innocent. But for famous folk singer Peggy Muryan, who has moved recently to the rural community of Hamelin, Tennessee, they are a chilling reminder of a troubled moment in her past.
©1990 Sharyn McCrumb (P)1993 Recorded Books
Pussy Tales
Summary
Intrigue, crime, and murder create suspense in this edge-of-your-seat collection of cat mystery stories whose plots are all centered on a beloved feline, written by some of the finest, best-selling mystery writers of all time. Full list of authors includes Bill Cridermore and Carolyn Wheat.
©1998 Dove Audio (P)2019 Phoenix Books