Stone the Dead Crows

By: Carrie Magillen

Narrated by: Joanne Froggatt, Louise Brealey

Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

Winner of Audible 2017 Narrator of the Year Award.

Rose, newly married to surgeon Nathan Winter, wants for nothing in her perfect life–except the one thing she can’t have: for her sister, Daisy, who’s lying unresponsive in a coma, to wake up.

Daisy’s psychologist has been a constant presence at her hospital bedside. But he’s taken an unnatural interest in Rose, and now he’s made a shocking accusation: that Rose’s husband is a psychopath and that she’s in danger.

Of course, that’s ridiculous. Rose was married to a psychopath before–a man whose nature took a deadly turn after a year of wedded bliss–and Nathan is nothing like him. 

Her sisters would know what to do. Only Maggie is miles away and Daisy isn’t getting any better.

As Daisy continues to fight for her life and the psychologist’s interest in Rose turns to obsession, she’s torn between the two men, each on their own twisted path and each with questionable motives.

Who should she believe?

A complete stranger consumed by obsession? Or her loving husband who’s given her everything she ever wanted?

She’s been married to Nathan for a year now. And if he is a psychopath...

Is his nature about to take a deadly turn?

Narrated by Joanne Froggatt, the beloved Anna Bates from Downton Abbey, and Louise Brealey from Sherlock...from the number one best-selling author of When He’s Not Here comes another dark and twisty psychological thriller that will linger in your mind long after you’ve finished the book. 

©2021 Little Robin Press (P)2021 Little Robin Press

Critic Reviews

"Just what the psychological thriller market needs to shake things up a bit. And, of course, I’m a little in love with Saeed as I suspect everyone will be." (Sunday Times best-selling author Elizabeth Haynes)

Didn’t see it coming

I love stories that turn you upside down. This clever story is not only told with great talent but hits home with facts we all know but don’t talk about much.

I highly recommend time to listen. It’s worth it.

Just wow!

I loved every second of the book. The narration was fantastic, the story was thrilling and I didn’t want it to end.

Excellent book!

I was riveted from the beginning. I couldn’t stop thinking about when I could get back to this book it had me spellbound. I absolutely love Joanne Froggatt…she is the best actress and her outstanding performances on screen also carry over to her book narrations.
I would not hesitate for one second to recommend this book. I have not heard of the author but I will definitely look for other titles she has.
Just praises all round for this audible book.

Hard to rate

This is a tough one to rate. On an enjoyability scale, I'd give it a four. It's quick paced and kept me wanting to know what would happen next. I also really enjoyed the quaintness of her descriptions and all the British details - it felt cozy. Not to mention the Audible narrators were perfect!

But here's where I struggled. The two narrator perspectives (the characters, not audio narrators) felt very disjointed and the connection between them didn't make any sense until the very end. There were also numerous details throughout the book that I could tell were emphasized for some reason, but felt arbitrary and confusing at the initial mention until the ending brought things together. (No spoilers) the end was twisty and creative, so I enjoyed that, but it was also hard to follow at times.

On top of that, a lot of things were a stretch and were just distractingly unbelievable. And one of the characters was extremely frustrating. She could supposedly notice subtle things like a "shadow crossing someone's face", yet she doesn't notice any of the massive red flags in her relationship. And she's had a previous relationship full of these same red flags, which ended horribly, so she'd definitely be on the lookout to avoid repeating the past.

All in all, I'd give it a 3 and I'll still check out some of her other books.

Beautifully Written - will stick with you ...

As I said above, this is a beautifully written story -- the characters feel so real. Most you want to root for, but one you just want to pull into a back alley and beat the crap out of. Naturally, he was written that way, but still ... The story slowly builds to a twist that many won't see coming. This book had all the feels and will stick with me for a while.

The narration is top-notch as well --

All in all, well worth the time to listen to.

Kept me riveted!

I loved this audio book. The story was fast-paced and exciting, the characters were fully believable and the twist blew my mind. Also, really enjoyed the voice actors who read the story. Highly recommend!

Too much psychobabble

This book started out good and snagged me. Later on and especially in the last 1/3, the book became so convoluted and sensationalistic that I could not wait for it to be over. Too much of an attempt to INSTRUCT the reader about various psychological things which most/many people already know. Narcissistic personality, subconscious, etc. Please! No more!

Five Stars!!!

I’d give this book and the narrators a ‘10’ star rating if it were possible!! While I do rate most books I’ve listened to, I don’t typically write any comments. The characters were so well developed and the story really had me guessing throughout, not predictable as so many are. The very best story I’ve listened to and I simply didn’t want it to end. I’m really looking forward to this author’s next book.

Must read!

I loved this book & kept me on edge the whole time& couldn’t wait for the next part. It is a power of a book and you ever know who or what is about to happen.

Unexpectedly Obsessed with this book

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book when I began reading it. But it sucked me in from the start and kept me guessing until the very end. As I kept trying to guess how it would conclude, I could only think of scenarios that I knew would have disappointed me. I was very surprised and pleased, because I would have never in a million years have guessed it. I would recommend this book.

So powerful that the author has me crying in Tesco

This is one of those books that once finished, leave you reeling. I inhaled the entirety of the audio book as soon as I could, and since then have been trying to process every nuance and twist that unfolded.

After reading When He's Not Here (currently delving into Sly Trap For A Fox!), I didn't think I could love Carrie's work more - turns out, I've actually found my new favourite author and I cannot put any of her books down 😭 Dr Saeed Sharif has developed into my comfort character 100%

I came for Emilia Fox's narration in the first book, and am SO glad I stuck around to bear witness to Joanne Froggatt's and Louise Brealey's respective takes on these new characters!

Cannot rave about this book and its talents enough - Here lies 10 hours and 50 minutes of lives I now feel deeply connected to, and will have to keep revisiting in order to try and recapture the memory.

Sparkling prose, dark drama

When I stumbled across ‘When He’s Not Here’ a few months back I knew I’d found an author I was going to love. While the other story was very physical – maybe even a bit too much for me at times, this one is much more cerebral with a super clever plot construction that really grabbed me.

Splitting the narration between two famous voices was a great touch too – like two friends telling me their side of a family drama – I felt invested in their fear and was rooting for them.

It’s a rare book that can bring a tear to my eye for the sheer elegant craft of it and I reckon, for a new-comer, this author is right up there with the big-hitters.

Way more thrilling than ‘Before I go to Sleep’ and 100 times smarter than ‘Behind her Eyes’, this book puts the psych into psychological thriller.

A struggle

I found this far too long, eventually stumbled to the end, the only thing keeping me going was the quality of the narration.

Confusing story

It might just be me but I found this a very confusing story. Interesting recount of male psychological abuse though

Goosebumps!

Love this author. Her books are just perfection. Great twist to this story. Please write another book soon!!!

Even better than her brilliant debut!

Having read and loved Magillen’s debut thriller, When He’s Not Here, I had high expectations Stone the Dead Crows, and I am happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed.

Narrators Joanne Froggatt and Louise Brealey did an outstanding job of bringing Magillen’s carefully-crafted cast of characters to life.

The book follows the lives of three sisters: Rose, Maggie and Daisy. Rose is newly-married to Nathan, a handsome doctor who swept her off her feet in a whirlwind romance. Maggie is on a sabbatical in a cabin in the woods with her husband Luc and their young son Alfie. And Daisy has spent the last three years in a coma in the very hospital where Nathan works.

Rose and Maggie’s lives are – on paper at least – picture-perfect. But Rose’s new husband is growing increasingly jealous and controlling, and Maggie is becoming fixated by a sinister hooded man in the woods who she is convinced is a threat to her little family.

At first, Rose and Maggie are following very different paths, and it’s hard to see how their stories will intertwine. Daisy is the common denominator, the link in the Venn diagram of their lives. So, when Daisy’s doctor announces that her condition is worsening and they must consider turning off her life support, the two sisters must come together if they are to save her.

Magillen weaves the threads of Rose and Maggie’s stories together so skilfully that you don’t even realise she’s doing it until she reveals the final, stunning twist.

I did begin to guess which way the story was heading, but only when I was about three-quarters of the way through the book, and only because I was listening very closely for clues because I knew from her first book that Magillen is the queen of great twists and I had challenged myself to see if I could spot the revelations before she revealed them to me.

Even so, the sheer cleverness of the plot took my breath away.

Once again, Magillen does not shy away from some extremely emotive subjects, but she handles them all with compassion and empathy. And once again, the book is extremely well researched.

I was hooked from the first few pages to the very satisfying conclusion, and can say without hesitation that Stone the Dead Crows is even better than When He’s Not Here.

one of the best I've listened too

Great , story, great narrator's ,will certainly get more books from this author and narrator's

Intriguing and beautifully narrated

An eerie, intriguing story that kept me on the hook throughout….lovely narration ..highly recommend

Fantastic!

Couldn't stop listening to my kindle! Will now search out author immediately. Well done Audible!

Read it, you won’t regret it

I was gripped by this book from the start, listened on audible. The narrators really bring the characters to life and I really bought into the characters Maggie, Rose & Daisy, Sayeed & Nathan, Luke & Alfie.

The twists are great and the relationships between the characters make you want to listen find out what happen next.

I laughed out loud at some points and wiped away tears at others.

Loved this book and would throughly recommend.