Ten of the best new or recent Texas books

Michael Barnes writes about the people, places, culture and history of Austin and Texas. For the Austin American-Statesman he tagged ten top new or recent Texas books, including:

A Texas adventure endures in 'The Madstone'

Elizabeth Crook's sixth historical novel, "The Madstone" (Little, Brown and Company), picks up where her brilliant "The Which Way Tree" left off. I shared these remarks in an Oct. 28 column: "For a few pages, I missed Sam from 'The Which Way Tree.' How could I not? She is a once-in-a-lifetime character. Yet resourceful Benjamin, always trying to do the right thing but caught up with all sorts of flawed characters, grows more and more compelling. Especially as he bonds with a woman on the run from her in-laws, a sadistic East Texas crime family that has not accepted the end of the Civil War." The suspense fanned by this chase across the state will make your heart race.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Page 69 Test: The Madstone.

--Marshal Zeringue