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Stone By Joe Donnelly     Some time ago I read one of Joe Donnelly's novels. It was called Still Life, it was set in Scotland, and I enjoyed it very much. This made me want to read more of his work, so I bought Stone. Stone is also set in Scotland and is about a family that move into an old house - Cromwath House. The move is necessitated when the head of the household, Alan Crombie, gets a new and better job and has to move up to Scotland to be near to it. Formerly the Crombies had been living in Guildford, but Alan is a Scotsman by birth and the move also, for him, marks a return to his roots.   Alan's wife, Helen, has had mental problems in the past and he hopes that the new environment will do her good. At first she is not keen on her new home, but soon grows to love it to the point of obsession. Tommy Crombie, and his sisters, the twins, like Cromwath. It is a big house and there is plenty to explore. Unfortunately it also has its fair share of secrets, and dark forces are at work, not only within its walls, but in the surrounding area too.   There is a lot to this story. It is quite complex and very well thought out. If you like tales about haunted houses and stone circles, then you will probably enjoy Stone. Most of the characters are easy to like and. I particularly liked the twins and Old Mrs Macphee. The twins run hand-in-hand through the story from the beginning, but you have to turn quite a few pages before you meet the old lady. She is worth waiting for though and I found her to quite a heroic figure. Actually, as I write this, I realize that I found several of the characters to be heroic.   Lots of strange things happen throughout the story, but there are reasons for everything and, chapter by chapter, these reason become clear and it all makes perfect sense. I read the paperback version of Stone and it was a little over 500 pages long. The ending could have perhaps have been a little stronger, but I still found it a very enjoyable read. List of Joe Donnelly books reviewed on this site HOME