THE STONE HEART

Murder in the Black Hills: The Stone Heart is a novel of deception, greed, love, and surprise. It captures the fleeting nature of normality in life, which can change abruptly without warning.

Ned Blanchette is a simple man and teacher who lives a simple life in northeastern Wyoming. His summer days revolve around a cabin in the Black Hills of South Dakota and being a part-time parent to a lively daughter just beyond the cusp of her teenage years. His ex-wife is a reminder of past mistakes. Two neighbors understand him only too well. And most surprisingly, Ned falls unexpectedly in love.

A string of bizarre murders pulls him into their path. Might his life—beyond teaching, beyond parenting, foreign to his lived experience—grow too complex for him? The story unfolds against the vibrant beauty of the Black Hills, the small-town gambling city of Deadwood, and its flinty residents.

Some mysteries aren’t just about who did it, they can be about who you become while finding out.