Make Me No Grave

By: Hayley Stone

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Marshal Apostle Richardson faces off against bloodthirsty outlaws, flesh witches, ruthless vigilantes, and more in this gritty, magical re-imagining of the Old West.

Almena Guillory, better known as the Grizzly Queen of the West, has done plenty to warrant the noose, but US Marshal Apostle Richardson enforces the law, he doesn't decide it. When a posse tries to lynch Almena ahead of her trial, Apostle refuses their form of expedited justice - and receives a bullet for his trouble. Almena spares him through the use of dangerous flesh magic but escapes soon after saving him.

Weeks later, Apostle fears the outlaw queen has returned to her old ways when she's spotted terrorizing Kansas with a new gang in tow. When cornered, however, Almena makes a convincing case for her innocence and proposes a plan to take the real bandits down. Working with a known killer opens Apostle up to all sorts of trouble, not the least being his own growing attraction toward the roguish woman. Turning Almena away from vengeance may be out of the question, but if he doesn't try, she'll wind up right where the law wants her: at the end of a rope.

And if Apostle isn't careful, he'll end up joining her.

If you like Red Dead Redemption and Lila Bowen's Wake of Vultures, you'll love this gun-blazing weird Western.

"A marvelously written tale, with a unique voice, strong characters, and a well-structured plot that paid off in spades in the end." (Joe Nassise, New York Times best-selling author of the Templar Chronicles)

©2018 Hayley Stone (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"With relatable characters and delightful prose, this magic-laced gunslinger tale will transport you instantly into the Old West." (Charlie Holmberg, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of The Paper Magician)

"Hayley writes with grit, passion, and indomitable energy. A helluva ride." (Joseph Brassey, author of The Mongoliad and Skyfarer)

"A marvelously written tale, with a unique voice, strong characters, and a well-structured plot that paid off in spades in the end." (Joe Nassise, New York Times best-selling author of the Templar Chronicles)

Delightful!

I'd never heard of this genre, but on the recommendation of another author that I especially like, I gave this a try - and got rewarded with a delightful story set in the old West and shortly after the Civil War. The narration felt just a tiny bit slow so I set the speed at 1.05 and greatly enjoyed the whole thing. Give the classic Western song by the same name a listen to set the mood and enjoy a well told story.

highly recommended

This is a western with magic in it. The plot moves! Very insightful and twisty with MCs you care about! Well read and written. I can't wait for more in the Weird West!

Author! Another!

This is a book i could have listened to in one sitting with time permitting and its certainly one i will listen to again. The more i read, the more i wanted. Anyone looking for a western with a touch of the supernatural this is a go to.

so much fun!

I hope there's more to come..what happens next?! if you like westerns or not you'll like this 👍

western with a twist

just one little not quite normal characteristic and this is a good solid western, love story, moral tale, adventure. narrator is particularly good. almost forgot it was a man doing a woman's voice.

Wow, what a story! phenomenal narration!

This was the first Western I have read or listened to. Western's are not my thing. I have seen many on TV and in the movies, but I really have not read them. They are just not one of my genres of choice.

Well, all of that changed with Make Me No Grave. This story was SO good I could not stop listening to it. Oliver Wyman did an outstanding job with the narration.

There are some books where you say, yeah, it was good, or it was enjoyable or it was okay. This book is attention to detail incarnate. Apostle (Nathan) Richardson the U.S. Marshall and Almena Guillory (known as the Grizzly Queen of the West) are in diametric opposition to one another, but over time and circumstance Apostle finds out a lot about Almena, and all is not as it seems, including that she has a magic talent for healing and that she was a good friend of Abraham Lincoln. Yes, THE Abraham Lincoln.

Oliver Wyman does such a good job at narrating the characters that I actually feel as though I know them. The characters evolve and change so much over the course of the story that I feel like I am actually witnessing or even participating in the apotheosis of the mythic hero listening to this book.

I am a fan of great literature, and any story that is well done I consider perfectly valid and it has the potential to grab my attention and hold onto me. That's exactly what happened in this weird western novel. I went into this very skeptical, and I came out the other side a true believer. One of the real litmus tests for me about an author is would I read other books by them: And yes, yes I definitely would read more from Hayley Stone. She is a fabulous writer.

And likewise, I would definitely listen to more narrations by Oliver Wyman who captured the spirit and essence of these characters, these people, good and evil, good and bad, ugly and beautiful. Talk about the gritty nature of humanity! Boy, did the author and the narrator capture it! Wow!

Hats off to new publisher for choosing this book, it's a story that needs to be told. And I guess I can now call myself a convert to a new genre: Westerns with an infusion of fantasy!

I highly recommend this book. Quality and style are over the top and narration is stunning.

Best of the Weird West

COMPLETELY worth the listen. An engaging Western that allows for action, comedy, and wonderful character development, all with a wonderful voice performance. The weirdness of this western doesn't lay all its cards on the table, and allows the mystique of its fantastical elements to work in its favor.

Welcome to the Weird West!

I absolutely enjoyed this romp of a otherworldly alternate-history Old West tale. Annie Oakley-esque ladies, grizzled lawmen, and zombies, oh my! So fun.

Better than expected

it was cheap but it turned out to also be good! I like it when that happens.

Good story and characters amid a little weirdness

This book is well written and very enjoyable - I listened to it in just 4 days because it held my attention. The narrator was excellent and I would happily listen to him again. I liked both main characters and was rooting for both of them to make good choices; there is a lot of gray area in their behaviors. This isn't the typical good guy/bad guy story. I was drawn in enough to care.

I have a couple of things that annoyed me. First, there are some newer technologies back then that are mentioned. One is photography and there is a photograph that the narrator finds, that while plausible and possible to exist, would be very unlikely. The people that had it taken would have to have good means. There is another technology later on which I won't mention, but between it and the photography I felt the need to stop and Google. That killed the pace a little and the second item served no purpose whatsoever. Looking up more than an occasional word can detract from a book.

The other thing that annoyed me was that there was so little of the unbelievable. I would expect a Weird West Story to weave in just a little more of it.

All in all this is a good solid listen. This is a new genre for me and I won't rush to listen or read more, but I would be happy with an occasional book.