Echoes among the Stones
In 1946 Wisconsin, Imogene (Genie) Grayson discovers her sister, Hazel, brutally murdered. Genie becomes obsessed with finding the murderer. Both of Genie’s suitors, Sam and Ollie, try to discourage her obsession, but Genie goes so far as to recreate the crime scene using Hazel’s old dollhouse replica of their Mill Creek farmhouse. When other seemingly unconnected events occur in town, including an explosion at the post office and arson at the town hall, Genie begins to realize sweet, innocent Hazel might have been keeping secrets.
In present time, Aggie Dunkirk returns home to help her aged grandmother, Mumsie. Aggie, down on her luck, takes a lowly secretary job at the local cemetery. A flood has dislodged many graves, and Aggie is hired to sift through the mountains of paperwork to re-identify graves and their occupants. There, she meets Collin, an archaeologist also hired to help with the great cemetery project. When a skeleton is found in Mumsie’s yard, and threats are made, Aggie begins to wonder what is going on in Mill Creek. Are these events related to the mysterious corpse they find buried in the cemetery, but not in a coffin? And why does Mumsie have a dollhouse with a morbid crime scene hidden away in a back bedroom? Aggie, with Collin’s assistance, begins to dig into Mumsie’s past, and what she discovers is haunting, thrilling, and deeply mysterious.
Jaime Jo Wright has written a unique mystery with lifelike characters and a complex plot. I was hooked from the start. Genie’s story is poignant and sad. Aggie’s drive to find the truth intrigues. The budding romance between Aggie and Collin adds a nice touch of happiness to a slightly dark tale. The two stories intertwine well; past and present coming together in a memorable, thrilling conclusion. Highly recommended.
