Rust & Stardust

A Novel

By: T. Greenwood

Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer

Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

“Greenwood’s glowing dark ruby of a novel brilliantly transforms the true crime story that inspired Nabokov’s Lolita. Shatteringly original and eloquently written....So ferociously suspenseful, I found myself holding my breath.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You

Based on the experiences of real-life kidnapping victim Sally Horner and her captor, whose story shocked the nation and inspired Vladimir Nabokov to write his controversial and iconic Lolita, Rust & Stardust is a heart-pounding audiobook by award-winning author T. Greenwood, who at last gives a voice to Sally herself.

Camden, NJ, 1948. When 11 year-old Sally Horner steals a notebook from the local Woolworth's, she has no way of knowing that 52 year-old Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison, is watching her, preparing to make his move. Accosting her outside the store, Frank convinces Sally that he’s an FBI agent who can have her arrested in a minute—unless she does as he says.

This chilling audiobook traces the next two harrowing years as Frank mentally and physically assaults Sally while the two of them travel westward from Camden to San Jose, forever altering not only her life, but the lives of her family, friends, and those she meets along the way.

More praise for Rust & Stardust:

“A beautifully written, unnerving tragedy woven from equal measures of hope and menace.” - Booklist

©2018 T. Greenwood (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Narrator Thérèse Plummer's striking characterizations and focused tone immerse listeners in the rapidly changing characters and settings...This audio is ideal for fans of true crime and Nabokov's LOLITA, which was inspired by Sally's story." -AudioFile

"A harrowing, ripped-from-the-headlines story of lives altered in the blink of an eye, once again proving her eloquence and dexterity as an author.” —Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl

"Greenwood is unmatched in her innate ability to weave lush, poetic language into a riveting story that hooks the reader from page one." —Amy Hatvany, author of Best Kept Secret, and It Happens All the Time

Outstanding!

This was probably one of the best books I have ever listened to. Both the story and narrator were spectacular. Moving story.

Great book!

This type story is hard to read, but the author did an excellent job of taking me there with enough detail, but not more than necessary. This story is Loaded with heroes, and reminds me to trust my gut especially when it comes to kids safety!

One of the best books I've every read..

this was one of the best books I've ever read,,, and the first book that ever made me cry. It just kept going on and surprising me with every little event that occurred. Even in the end with the author's note was another surprise altogether. This was one of the books that I could never put down and just had to finish from beginning to end. great work T Greenwood.

Absolutely captivating

It's beautifully written, captivating story of a young girl abducted by older man. Performance was amazing and very accurate.

Difficult but Excellent

This was a well written fictional account of a true story that inspired the book Lolita. 11 year old Sally Horner was kidnapped by a man posing to be an FBI agent after he caught her trying to steal a notebook from a store. Sally was kidnapped for 2 years before she was reunited with her family and this book details a fictional account of her inner thoughts while she was abducted and the people she met along the way. I thought the book was extremely well written and it's an incredibly sad piece of history that few people know about.

Sad story based on a true crime

I enjoyed this book a lot. It kept my interest to the end. So sad for Sally for the life she was dealt. Narrator does a great job with this story

Intense, beautiful and distressing

What an intense, beautiful and distressing story.

Based on the kidnapping of 11 year old Sally Horner in 1948, this book caused such powerful emotional reactions in me that I was sometimes shouting at characters, sometimes begging them out loud to make different choices and sometimes just sobbing and sobbing. The writing is exquisite and the author has the ability to create characters that you dislike but still have empathy for. Thank goodness there are always people like Al and Ruth to offset the evilness of people like Frank. Most of us is somewhere on a continuum between these two extremes as shown by all the other characters in the book.

To take the bare bones of what little was know of this abduction and add so much thought, feeling and depth to it, takes true talent. I listened to the audio and the narration was perfect.

I know that part of the hype around this book is that Nabokov's Lolita character was somewhat based on Sally, but for me I think it's much more important that this little, lonely girl, who had so many things taken from her are remembered by us, if only for a while.

One of the best-written, most upsetting and deserving books I've read. One of my top 2018 reads. Right up there with the heart's invisible furies, everything here is beautiful, an american marriage and white chrysanthemum.

#HistoricalFiction #Truecrime #Emotional #Abduction #Best-narration #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

Riveted

The story the girl, the times, I could not stop listening. Based on a true story this guy would have been tracked down a lot sooner than this if this happened now. Back in the 50's neighboring states law enforcement barely communicated.

Just WOW.

This author is incredible. I loved how the story was written and how it kept me listening nonstop until I got to the last couple chapters... and then I felt angry at the author for the way the story was ending...

And then I found out it had been a true story. This little girl, Sally, was a real person and this really happened to her...

Hug your daughters and teach them to be kind and accepting toward everyone, especially kids who look like they could use a friend...

Heartbreaking and triumphant

I was already aware of the story on which this book is based. The narrative is raw and detailed and puts you into the mind of a very young victim. There is limited insight into the mind of the kidnapper, but this is probably for the best. It does an excellent job of bringing the thoughts and feelings of the kidnapping victim’s family members to life, too. I highly recommend this book, though it’s not for the faint of heart.