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Agony Hill

By: Sarah Stewart Taylor
Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
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Publisher's summary

Set in rural Vermont in the volatile 1960s, Agony Hill is the first novel in a historical series full of vivid New England atmosphere and the deeply drawn characters that are Sarah Stewart Taylor's trademark.

In the hot summer of 1965, Bostonian Franklin Warren arrives in Bethany, Vermont, to take a position as a detective with the state police. Warren's new home is on the verge of monumental change; the interstates under construction will bring new people, new opportunities, and new problems to Vermont, and the Cold War and protests against the war in Vietnam have finally reached the dirt roads and rolling pastures of Bethany.

Warren has barely unpacked when he's called up to a remote farm on Agony Hill. Former New Yorker and Back-to-the-Lander Hugh Weber seems to have set fire to his barn and himself, with the door barred from the inside, but things aren’t adding up for Warren. The people of Bethany―from Weber’s enigmatic wife to Warren's neighbor, widow and amateur detective Alice Bellows―clearly have secrets they’d like to keep, but Warren can’t tell if the truth about Weber’s death is one of them. As he gets to know his new home and grapples with the tragedy that brought him there, Warren is drawn to the people and traditions of small town Vermont, even as he finds darkness amidst the beauty.

©2024 Sarah Stewart Taylor. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
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Critic reviews

“Listeners will feel like they're nestled in the small town of Bethany, Vermont, in the 1960s.… This mystery is narrated by Eric G. Dove, who adds his own smooth tone to the story, making characters come alive. When Warren finally uncovers the truth of the small town and of Agony Hill, Dove makes it difficult to stop listening.”AudioFile Magazine

“The author of the Maggie D’arcy mysteries (A Stolen Child) launches a historical mystery series with a compassionate, vulnerable detective and a setting so vividly described it could be a character. Julia Spencer-Fleming fans will want to try this one.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“Sarah Stewart Taylor’s Agony Hill kicks off a historical mystery series set in a time with shocking parallels to the present, and features a vibrant cast of characters led by handsome but haunted Detective Franklin Warren... Taylor’s strong sense of place and community sets Agony Hill apart, and the mystery of Weber’s fiery demise is resolved in a way that’s both satisfying and thought-provoking.” —Book Page

What listeners say about Agony Hill

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Bounder

Took a chance on this new book as I am in Vermont and loved it ! Interesting without being confusing and I really liked the characters !

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Boring

Narrator was awful. Very slow and boring mystery. Overall it felt cheesy and was liking watching paint dry

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