The Way the Crow Flies

A Novel

By: Ann-Marie MacDonald

Narrated by: Ann Marie MacDonald

The optimism of the early sixties, infused with the excitement of the space race and the menace of the Cold War, is filtered through the rich imagination of high-spirited eight-year-old Madeleine, who welcomes her family's posting to a quiet Air Force base near the Canadian border. Secure in the love of her beautiful mother, she is unaware that her father, Jack, is caught up in a web of secrets. When a local murder intersects with global forces, Jack must decide where his loyalties lie, and Madeleine will be forced to learn a lesson about the ambiguity of human morality—one she will only begin to understand when she carries her quest for the truth, and the killer, into adulthood twenty years later.

©2003 A. M. MacDonald Holdings, Inc. (P)2023 Tantor

Do yourself a favor

I’ve been reading for over 50 years and I love novels. This is hands down one of the best stories I’ve ever read. I just listened to it for the first time and it’s still beautiful. It has everything I enjoy. A great story line with murder. The writing is better every time I read it. It’s a touching, real family saga. History. Love.

The story beneath the story

It was heavy reading as far as the story. It touched on many subjects authors seem fearful to approach.

Exquisite

This is one of my favorite novels and I was thrilled to see this audiobook version (available 20 years after the original publication) which is narrated beautifully by the author. While this book is a complex murder mystery, it comes wrapped in the engrossing story of Madeleine McCarthy and her family as they move through the optimism of post-WWII Canada into the long stretch of the cold war. My highest recommendation.

Wonderful story and narrator!

Loved it so much, Im sad its over. Great storyline, great characters and a great example of how decisions both worldly and personal can affect your life and those around you

This book helped me deal with my own childhood trauma

I often feel like the abuse I went through as a child happened to someone else. The writing gave voice to what I felt and was not able to verbalize. There is so much more to the story. This is not the story of abuse. This is a complex riveting account of how little decisions can have profound effects on so many lives. Most of the characters were doing their best with the circumstances they were presented with. But that doesn’t stop them from choosing the wrong path. This book has really impacted me.