Stone Maidens by Lloyd Devereux Richards

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This book was OK. The book is about a serial killer that's been murdering young girls in the Chicago area, and leaving stone figurines in their throats as a ritual. FBI forensic anthropologist Christine Prusik is assigned to solve the case. Her rival at the FBI, Bruce Howard, and her superior Roger Thorne, do not make her job easier because they don't really trust her abilities and Bruce wants to steal the limelight. When David Claremont was caught attacking a woman in a parking lot, he was brought in and an eye witness Joe confirmed David was the serial killer. Howard is quick to arrest Claremont and claim victory. Prusik decides not so fast! She interviews Claremont and believes he's not the killer. In the meanwhile, the forensic evidence comes back and the dental isn't a match. The fingerprint is a mirror image! So that means it must be a mirror twin! A rare type of identical twin where certain things are mirrored. Prusik investigates Claremont's childhood and finds out he is adopted and there is a brother. She tells FBI to let Claremont go, believing once he's released, his brother Jasper (real name Donald Holmquist) will try to reach out to Claremont, then they could catch him. She searches Jasper's house, finding evidence that Jasper is the true killer. In the meanwhile, Dr. Walstein (prison psychiatrist) is on a scheduled visit to see Claremont, and Jasper shows up. He startles the doctor, the doctor accidentally injects himself with a dose of drugs and passes out. Holmquist takes the doctor's white coat and sneaks out without getting caught, abducting both Dr. Walstein and Claremont, driving them in the doctor's car. Fast forward, Prusik is on her way to an engagement with the Girl Scouts when a girl at the Girl Scouts camp turned up missing. Prusik who has no transportation at this point (car broke down) accepts a ride from a stranger, hoping to get to the Girl Scouts quickly. Turns out, the driver is Jasper. Jasper stuns her with the doctor's stun gun. In the meanwhile, the local sheriff, McFaron is called in to investigate the missing girl. He finds Claremont carrying the girl back to camp. Turns out, Jasper had been to the camp (before picking up Prusik) and Claremont saved her. In the car, Prusik wakes up and Jasper tells her he saw her at the Papua New Guinea exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Natural History and believed they had a special connection. Prusik thinks Jasper is going to kill her, so she secretly calls Sheriff McFaron and loudly talks to Jasper, mentioning her location. McFaron shows up and drives Jasper off the road. McFaron had Claremont in his car since he had just re-arrested him. Claremont and Jasper both took off running. Prusik shoots Jasper, but both Claremont and Jasper escaped. Later, their bodies were found. Presumably, Jasper killed Claremont, and Jasper died from his injuries from the gunshot. Prusik and McFaron became a couple. The story ends on reporters interviewing Earl Avery, the twins father, who is connected to the serial killings of two girls.

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