When the Prior family move to the Chiltern village of Ickfield, they come across an old, worn Druid stone, a megalith standing on a hilltop, deep in the twisting paths behind their new home. But they know nothing of the Stone's dark history. Fifteen year old Vanessa becomes increasingly obsessed by the stone’s deep magic. Especially when she finds a hundred-year-old diary from the previous owner of the house, a young woman called Clarissa Henry who became similarly enthralled by the object. Vanessa decides to seek out local antique dealer Adam Sandys for more information. He reveals that Clarissa was sentenced for murder but was eventually pronounced insane... Will Vanessa be getting more than she bargained for? She finds herself losing part of her own memory, as she becomes more and more involved with Clarissa’s story. When blood is found on the stone Vanessa is forced to confront its brutal past… What involvement did the stone have in the murder Clarissa was charged for? Could it now be affecting Vanessa? And will it be used to claim another victim….? 'The Stone' is a gripping crime thriller from a master of the genre. Praise for Anthea “A superbly crafted, riveting, page-turner of a read" - Booklist “Ms Fraser is her dependable elegant, guileful self withholding the killer's identity till a dying fall" - Sunday Times 'A well-mannered, well-plotted and well-told story' - Birmingham Post 'Sympathetic, well-executed book, in which full attention is paid to human feelings and failings' - Yorkshire Post ANTHEA FRASER has written all her life but did not begin to take it seriously until after marriage, when she found herself at home with two small daughters and embarked on a correspondence course with the London School of Journalism. She wrote short stories before turning to novels of the supernatural, and then to crime. Her other books include ‘Pretty Maids all in a Row’, ‘Eleven Who Went Up to Heaven’, The Ten Commandments’, ‘The Seven Stars’ and ‘One is One and All Alone’.