
Agony Hill
A Mystery (Franklin Warren, Book 1)
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $25.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Eric G. Dove
About this listen
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.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Mountains Wild
- A Mystery
- By: Sarah Stewart Taylor
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-three years ago, Maggie D'arcy's family received a call from the Dublin police. Her cousin Erin has been missing for several days. Maggie herself spent weeks in Ireland, trying to track Erin's movements, working beside the police. But it was to no avail: No trace of her was ever found. The experience inspired Maggie to become a cop. Now, back on Long Island, more than 20 years have passed. Maggie is a detective and a divorced mother of a teenager. When the Gardaí call to say that Erin's scarf has been found and another young woman has gone missing, Maggie returns to Ireland.
-
-
Excellent mystery, well worth your time!
- By Yara N. on 07-20-20
-
Salvage the Bones
- A Novel
- By: Jesmyn Ward
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hurricane is building, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and Esch's father is growing concerned. A hard drinker, largely absent, he doesn't show concern for much else. Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn't much to save. Lately, Esch can't keep down what food she gets; she's 14 and pregnant. Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull's new litter, dying one by one in the dirt. Meanwhile, brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child's play and short on parenting.
-
-
Good but I wish I hadn't read it.
- By Jeanie on 01-26-21
By: Jesmyn Ward
-
Trouble Island
- A Novel
- By: Sharon Short
- Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Both a gripping locked room mystery, and a transporting, evocative portrait of a woman in crisis, Trouble Island marks the enthralling standalone suspense debut from Sharon Short, promising to be her breakout novel, inspired by a real island in Lake Erie, and true events from her own rich family history.
-
-
Eh….
- By Mason on 03-25-25
By: Sharon Short
-
Still Life
- Chief Inspector Gamache, Book 1
- By: Louise Penny
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.
-
-
A rare find
- By Alex on 01-16-15
By: Louise Penny
-
The Hitchcock Hotel
- By: Stephanie Wrobel
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Gail Shalan, Helen Lloyd
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows. To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn’t spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened. But who better than them to appreciate Alfred’s creation?
-
-
Hitchcock would make it a movie
- By Michael Ferris on 10-13-24
By: Stephanie Wrobel
-
The Christmas Inn
- A Novel
- By: Pamela M. Kelley
- Narrated by: Stephanie Németh-Parker
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Riley Sanders didn’t plan on losing her job as a content marketing manager right before Christmas. When she calls her sister Amy to vent, she learns that their mother has broken her leg and could really use some help at the inn. Riley decides to head home to the inn, nestled along the shores of Cape Cod, in time for the Christmas rush. She is happy to help and needs something to distract her as mistletoe is hung and snowflakes begin to fall.
-
-
Great ok
- By Steph on 03-11-25
By: Pamela M. Kelley
-
The Mountains Wild
- A Mystery
- By: Sarah Stewart Taylor
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-three years ago, Maggie D'arcy's family received a call from the Dublin police. Her cousin Erin has been missing for several days. Maggie herself spent weeks in Ireland, trying to track Erin's movements, working beside the police. But it was to no avail: No trace of her was ever found. The experience inspired Maggie to become a cop. Now, back on Long Island, more than 20 years have passed. Maggie is a detective and a divorced mother of a teenager. When the Gardaí call to say that Erin's scarf has been found and another young woman has gone missing, Maggie returns to Ireland.
-
-
Excellent mystery, well worth your time!
- By Yara N. on 07-20-20
-
Salvage the Bones
- A Novel
- By: Jesmyn Ward
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hurricane is building, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and Esch's father is growing concerned. A hard drinker, largely absent, he doesn't show concern for much else. Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn't much to save. Lately, Esch can't keep down what food she gets; she's 14 and pregnant. Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull's new litter, dying one by one in the dirt. Meanwhile, brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child's play and short on parenting.
-
-
Good but I wish I hadn't read it.
- By Jeanie on 01-26-21
By: Jesmyn Ward
-
Trouble Island
- A Novel
- By: Sharon Short
- Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Both a gripping locked room mystery, and a transporting, evocative portrait of a woman in crisis, Trouble Island marks the enthralling standalone suspense debut from Sharon Short, promising to be her breakout novel, inspired by a real island in Lake Erie, and true events from her own rich family history.
-
-
Eh….
- By Mason on 03-25-25
By: Sharon Short
-
Still Life
- Chief Inspector Gamache, Book 1
- By: Louise Penny
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.
-
-
A rare find
- By Alex on 01-16-15
By: Louise Penny
-
The Hitchcock Hotel
- By: Stephanie Wrobel
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Gail Shalan, Helen Lloyd
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows. To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn’t spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened. But who better than them to appreciate Alfred’s creation?
-
-
Hitchcock would make it a movie
- By Michael Ferris on 10-13-24
By: Stephanie Wrobel
-
The Christmas Inn
- A Novel
- By: Pamela M. Kelley
- Narrated by: Stephanie Németh-Parker
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Riley Sanders didn’t plan on losing her job as a content marketing manager right before Christmas. When she calls her sister Amy to vent, she learns that their mother has broken her leg and could really use some help at the inn. Riley decides to head home to the inn, nestled along the shores of Cape Cod, in time for the Christmas rush. She is happy to help and needs something to distract her as mistletoe is hung and snowflakes begin to fall.
-
-
Great ok
- By Steph on 03-11-25
By: Pamela M. Kelley
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
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- jocelyn villiotti
- 08-09-24
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 !
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- bridget
- 08-28-24
Boring
Narrator was awful. Very slow and boring mystery. Overall it felt cheesy and was liking watching paint dry
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!