The Way the Crow Flies: A Novel

 “One of the finest novels I’ve read. . . . A fiercely intelligent look at childhood, marriage, families, the 1960s, the Cold War and the fear and isolation that are part of the human condition. . . . Beautifully written. . . [and] equally beautiful in its conception, its compassion, its wisdom, even in its anger and pain. Don’t miss it.” — Washington Post Book World

From novelist and dramatist Ann-Marie MacDonald, author of the internationally bestselling and Oprah Book Club Selection Fall on Your Knees, "a head-spinning murder mystery and an absorbing exploration of morality, innocence lost and the lengths to which parents and children will go to protect one another." (People)

Ann-Marie MacDonald takes us back to a postwar world. For Madeleine McCarthy, high-spirited and eight years old, her family's posting to a quiet air force base near the Canadian-American border is at first welcome, secure as she is in the love of her family and unaware that her father, Jack, is caught up in his own web of secrets. The early sixties, a time of optimism infused with the excitement of the space race and overshadowed by the menace of the Cold War, is filtered through the rich imagination of a child as Madeleine draws us into her world.

But the base is host to some intriguing inhabitants, including the unconventional Froehlich family, and the odd Mr. March, whose power over the children is a secret burden that they carry. Then tragedy strikes, and a very local murder intersects with global forces, binding the participants for life. As the tension in the McCarthys' household builds, Jack must decide where his loyalties lie, and Madeleine learns about the ambiguity of human morality -- a lesson that will become clear only when the quest for the truth, and the killer, is renewed twenty years later.

The Way the Crow Flies is a novel that is as compelling as it is rich. With her unerring eye for the whimsical, the absurd, and the quintessentially human, MacDonald stunningly evokes the pain, confusion, and humor of childhood in a perilous adult world. At once a loving portrayal and indictment of an era, here is a work of great heart and soaring intelligence.

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 very 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 ofhuman morality -- one she will only begin to understand when she carries herquest for the truth, and the killer, into adulthood twenty years later.

“[The Way the Crow Flies] takes us into a world where even loved, attended-to children are grievously hurt and suffer in silence for years; where adults’ choices can be hugely wrong but were nevertheless undertaken with the heartfelt intent to do the right thing; where we’re all literally on the brink more ceaselessly than we can bear to grant mind; and where strain and struggle can lead to understanding and some measure of redemption.” - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Heartbreaking, startling, profound.” - New Jersey Courier Post

“[An] absorbing, psychologically rich second novel by the Canadian author of Fall On Your Knees. . . . A powerful story, delicately layered with complex secrets, told with a masterful command of narrative and a strong moral message.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A sweeping family story that often reads alike a thriller … The characters, family dynamics, and time period are all sharply rendered and tightly tied to the overriding theme of innocence betrayed. But perhaps MacDonald’s most impressive accomplishment is her uncanny ability … to vividly re-create the wonder, humor, and fears of childhood.” - Booklist (starred review)

“By incorporating the epic history of the Cold War and the space race into an otherwise tightly focused story, MacDonald brings a tumultuous time palpably to life.” - Entertainment Weekly

“Both a head-spinning murder mystery and an absorbing exploration of morality, innocence lost and the lengths to which parents and children will go to protect one another. Astonishing in its depth and breath, it artfully weaves one family’s struggles into the fabric of the Cold War.” - People

“MacDonald’s story is absorbing, and her writing perceptive and. . . poetic. THE WAY THE CROW FLIES is a thoughtful look at a time and place now gone forever, and the traces that can never be erased.” - Philadelphia Inquirer

“One of the finest novels I’ve read in along time … [THE WAY THE CROW FLIES] is a fiercely intelligent look at childhood, marriage, families, the 1960s, the Cold War and the fear and isolation that are part of the human condition…. it is not only beautifully written…. it is equally beautiful in its conception, its compassion, its wisdom, even in its anger and pain. Don’t miss it.” - Patrick Anderson, Washington Post Book World

“Murder mystery, spy thriller, historical novel, morality play—The Way the Crow Flies is all of these. . . . An engrossing tale.” - Orlando Sentinel

“Ambitious … intriguing … A grand sweeping saga.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Rich and complex … hard to put down … MacDonald deserves another prize for THE WAY THE CROW FLIES.” - San Diego Union-Tribune

“Both terrifying and moving...MacDonald treats the personal and the political as parts of the same synaptic connection, and they fire in tandem.” - New York Times Book Review

“Ann-Marie MacDonald has painted a lush canvas of childhood at its richest and most memorable … [she] is a generous writer and skilled storyteller, giving away a little at a time—like the peeling of a rare fruit—until her tale is told without any gaps, overflowing with feeling yet measured and epic” - The Oregonian (Portland)

“Beautifully crafted … To submit to … THE WAY THE CROW FLIES is to be both transported and haunted.” - Seattle Times