Hidden In Stone

A legacy that sets her up for life from a relative she never knew existed…A secret that began 30 years ago at a boarding school and haunted someone who wanted revenge…And an ancient circle of stones that unravels it all…

Ria Quinn, amateur archaeologist, gets caught up in a mysterious, prehistoric stone circle in the woods, along with a dead body in the snow, calls in the night, a set of quirky townspeople with too many secrets, and an impossible connection between what is hidden in stone and a girl’s boarding school from thirty years before.

How is she supposed to make sense of any of it? When a second victim is found, she wonders if she should just return to London, where until recently she had a lowly job as a film researcher with no dead bodies lying around, no real ones, anyway.

Yet against the sheriff’s orders that she stay clear of his work, Ria intends to find out who the killer is and what link the ancient stone circle has to her aunt’s past.

Yet Hailey, the golden retriever who befriends her, is a joy to have near, reading Beowulf in Old English keeps her calm, and she finds the local sheriff more than easy on the eyes. Those things, together with the gorgeous and ancient Shawangunk and Catskill mountain ranges of the Hudson River Valley, already have a hold on her.

Excerpt from Hidden In Stone…

It was four o’clock and close to dusk. The only color in the winter landscape was the abandoned railway station near a copse of oak and ash as she drove past, its walls a faded red. The broad, fast-flowing Hudson River lay some miles to the east and the Shawangunk range rose high to the southwest, while the Catskills showed up often at bends in the road. The sun had gone again and the sky looked somewhat threatening.

Ria drove into the center of town and parked outside a diner she’d noticed on her way to Manny’s. She’d been drawn to the American diners in old films about cross-country drives and stopovers, often in noir settings. Those diners always had so many different kinds of people converging in them, so many stories to tell. She wanted time to think, and a cup of coffee would help. Granted, she could go back to the house, but why pass up the experience of a real diner when it was right there? Besides, having people around sometimes made thinking easier. Sometimes.

The place was almost empty. Two men sat talking quietly together in a booth at one end. A mother and small child were eating ice cream at the other. A very old woman sat alone in a booth by herself, digging into her purse. With a feeling of anticipation and satisfaction Ria chose a seat at the counter.

“Just passing through?” The unsmiling waitress stood holding an order pad. Her wiry gray hair made a halo around her head.

“What? Oh, yes I suppose so, in a way. I came over to secure a property. How did you—”

“Thanks, dearie. Good to know. Whadda you want?”

What did she want? Not easy to answer, even though she’d told Sam Goodsen she was keeping the house. She shook her head. That wasn’t what the woman wanted to know.

“Hot coffee, please. And some buttered toast—whole wheat if you have it.”

“Right.”

Not so friendly. Not down home, like the movies gave it. Ria sighed and looked around. The diner did have that wonderful chrome trim on the seats and around the counter. There were booths with vinyl backing. There were even old table jukeboxes attached to the wall in each booth, and she could see a standing jukebox in the corner. Too right, she thought, smiling, taking it all in. The noise of the kitchen was loud through the open window dividing it from the serving area. Shelves behind the counter held cups and saucers and rows of glasses of all sizes. Maybe she should have ordered one of their milkshakes. No, not today, but she would before she left town.

(More…)

Outside, the streetlights had come on. Light snow fell against the amber light. She was putting more orange marmalade on her toast when a scream cut into her thoughts. Looking out the window, Ria saw the young woman who had been in the diner earlier. Now she was standing next to a car, hands raised, letting out high-pitched wailing sounds over and over. The two men in the diner kept talking. The old woman looked as if she were asleep. Ria opened the door and ran over to see what was going on. Ella and the cook stayed inside, peering out.

The woman was wearing a pale blue coat and sandals with socks. The car door was open and a little girl was in a child seat, crying uncontrollably. Ria couldn’t see anything causing the woman’s state. She went up to her and shouted the words “The baby! The baby is crying! Help her!” Instantly the woman stopped screaming and unbuckled her child and began soothing her. Soft sobs were coming from both of them.

“What is it? What is wrong?” Ria asked in a calm voice.

The woman had an expression of terror on her face. She looked as if she was going to break down again, but she pointed beyond the car into the green verge of the parking lot that ran along one side of the diner.

Ria saw the body right away, and the knife that was plunged into it down to the hilt. With a sharp intake of breath and against common sense, Ria went closer. It was a man, dressed in jeans and a checked shirt, no jacket, and no shoes or socks. She couldn’t see his face and didn’t dare go further.

“Call the police,” she said to the woman, who looked at her with fear still in her eyes, but took out her phone.

Read more of Hidden In Stone to follow Ria’s search for both an ancient stone circle and murderer seeking revenge in this first volume of the series.

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Book categories: Cozy Mystery