Stone Maidens by Lloyd Devereux Richards
🪨 Stone Maidens by Lloyd Devereux Richards — Detailed Review & Plot (Spoilers Galore!)
⭐ 3 out of 5 stars | Serial killer thriller | Twisty, but not perfect | Rituals, twins, and a dash of romance
🚨 MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW 🚨
💭 My Take
Alright, friends — this one was okay. It had a decent mystery, but it didn’t blow me away. Some parts felt overly complex, and others had me like, “Wait...what?” Still, if you’re into serial killer procedurals with a quirky forensic angle and a hint of FBI drama, this might work for you.
📝 The Plot — In All Its Detailed, Wild Glory
👉 Christine Prusik, our FBI forensic anthropologist heroine, is on the hunt for a serial killer in Chicago. This killer isn’t just murdering young women — he’s shoving creepy little stone figurines down their throats as his sick signature.
👉 Naturally, Christine has to fight off the usual suspects at work:
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Bruce Howard (fame-hungry rival)
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Roger Thorne (the boss who thinks she’s not up for the job)
👉 They catch a break — or so they think.
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A guy named David Claremont is busted attacking a woman in a parking lot.
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A witness, Joe, IDs him as the serial killer.
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Howard is ecstatic — case closed, right?
👉 Nope. Christine isn’t buying it.
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She digs deeper, interviews Claremont, and the evidence doesn’t add up.
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Fingerprints? A mirrored match.
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Dental? Doesn’t fit.
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Conclusion: The killer is Claremont’s rare mirror twin.
🧬 The twin twist
👉 Christine uncovers that Claremont was adopted — yep, he has a brother: Jasper (real name Donald Holmquist).
👉 The plan? Let Claremont go, knowing Jasper will come for him — and they’ll nab the real killer.
👉 Christine searches Jasper’s place and finds proof: Jasper’s the man behind the murders.
🩺 The abduction chaos
👉 Meanwhile, Jasper:
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Disguises himself as a prison doctor.
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Kidnaps both Dr. Walstein (the actual prison psychiatrist) and Claremont.
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Loads them into the doctor’s car and takes off.
⛺ Girl Scout camp mayhem
👉 Christine, en route to a Girl Scout event, ends up stranded (because of course her car breaks down at the worst time).
👉 She accepts a ride from a seemingly kind stranger... JASPER.
👉 He zaps her with the doctor’s stun gun.
👉 Meanwhile, local sheriff McFaron is on the case of a missing Girl Scout.
👉 Claremont (who’s somehow escaped Jasper) heroically returns the girl to camp.
🚗 The showdown
👉 In Jasper’s car, Christine secretly calls McFaron, dropping location hints.
👉 McFaron arrives, chases Jasper off the road.
👉 Both Claremont and Jasper bolt into the woods.
👉 Christine shoots Jasper — but they both disappear.
👉 Later, their bodies are found:
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Jasper apparently killed Claremont.
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Jasper succumbed to Christine’s gunshot.
🕵️ The loose threads
👉 Christine and McFaron end up together. Love blooms amid murder, apparently.
👉 The book wraps on a slightly unsettling note — a reporter interviews Earl Avery, the twins’ biological father, who’s linked to other killings. Dun dun dun...
🌟 Final Thoughts
✅ Stone Maidens serves up a lot: creepy rituals, twin twists, FBI politics, and a high-stakes chase.
✅ Cool premise... but a bit overstuffed.
✅ The ending leaves a lot hanging (Earl Avery’s connection? What happens next?).
✅ Solid, but didn’t wow me.
📌 Grab Stone Maidens
📚 If you liked this, check out:
✅ The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver
✅ Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
✅ I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll
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