The Last Stone

A Masterpiece of Criminal Interrogation

By: Mark Bowden

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

The true story of a cold case, a compulsive liar, and five determined detectives, from the number-one New York Times best-selling author and “master journalist” (The Wall Street Journal).

On March 29, 1975, sisters Katherine and Sheila Lyons, ages 10 and 12, vanished from a shopping mall in suburban Washington, DC. As shock spread, then grief, a massive police effort found nothing. The investigation was shelved, and the mystery endured.

Then, in 2013, a cold case squad detective found something he and a generation of detectives had missed. It pointed them toward a man named Lloyd Welch, then serving time for child molestation in Delaware.

The acclaimed author of Black Hawk Down and Hue 1968 had been a cub reporter for a Baltimore newspaper at the time of the original disappearance, and covered the frantic first weeks of the story. In The Last Stone, he returns to write its ending. Over months of intense questioning and extensive investigation of Welch’s sprawling, sinister Appalachian clan, five skilled detectives learned to sift truth from determined lies. How do you get a compulsive liar with every reason in the world to lie to tell the truth? The Last Stone recounts a masterpiece of criminal interrogation, and delivers a chilling and unprecedented look inside a disturbing criminal mind.

©2019 Mark Bowden. Recorded by arrangement with Atlantic Monthly Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

interesting listen

had no idea what I was getting myself into. had its moments though and did enjoy the accent change 😊

No one’s better than Bowden

Another excellent book by Mark Bowden. This one, like all the rest of his, will just draw you in.

Very intriguing!

Thought this was very intriguing and a unique way to tell the story since it was based off detective interviews with the murderer.

How to get an innocent man to confess

I found it painful to listen the detectives manipulated this poor guy who was happy to get lunch and company. His confession mirrored back what the detectives were telling him. they had no concrete evidence. The author did a good job of compiling the information I just feel that he came to the wrong conclusion. The innocence Project would have A heyday with this conviction.

Okay

I can see the time and effort of the law enforcement team but the story was long and uneventful no clear ending other than to see there are really bad monsters in this world!