Sharyn McCrumb should definitely be listened to! I recently listened to two of Sharyn McCrumb’s books on audio. 

Hearing the music that inspired the stories made the experience richer!

While I enjoyed reading The Ballad of Frankie Silver, hearing it performed 

gave me a deeper understanding of the music. The cadence of Appalachia 

with it’s rich history and folk lore woven together by a master storyteller such

as Ms. McCrumb gives her readers a tapestry of beauty and legend that could

only exist in Appalachia. 
Ms. McCrumb weaves legend and lore with the present showing us how the 

past can influence today. The beautiful awful story of Frankie Silver is uncovered 

by Tennessee, Sheriff Arrowood as memory, the site and police detection come 

together to unravel a century old mystery. The resemblance of this past tragedy 

brings an enlightening to a more pressing duty. The truth is not always enough to 

bring justice. 
In If I Ever Return, Pretty Peggy-O, Sharyn McCrumb shines the light on the soldiers’

plight, returning from war isn’t easy and some can never come home. The tangle of 

Vietnam veterans and the very real burden of PTSD, Appalachian folk music and the 

perversion of the truth twine together for this exciting murder mystery. 
Listening to the audiobook brought the story to life. Hearing the music of the mountains 

with their pure notes balanced against the stark contrast of the present gave innocence

to the tale as the darkness of madness and war ripped at the quiet little town.