The Murder Stone - Charles Todd

The Great War is still raging in the autumn of 1916, when Francesca Hatton￢ﾀﾙs beloved grandfather dies on the family estate in England￢ﾀﾙs isolated Exe Valley. Grieving for the man who raised her, Francesca is stunned to find an unsigned letter among his effects, cursing the Hattons and their descendants. Now a stranger has shown up on her doorstep, accusing her grandfather of being a murderer.
Ex-soldier Richard Leighton blames Francis Hatton for the death of his mother, who vanished nearly a quarter of a century earlier. Her body was never found, only a shawl stained with her blood. And Leighton is not the only one with a claim on Francesca￢ﾀﾙs grandfather. On the day of his funeral, unexpected visitors arrive with the mourners, and Francesca is besieged by charges of Hatton￢ﾀﾙs vicious dealings. Yet there is also a shy young woman who praises his secret generosity.
At the center of the intrigue is an unusual white stone that lies hidden in a secluded garden where Francesca once played with her five male cousins, all of them dead now on the battlefields of France. According to the terms of Hatton￢ﾀﾙs will, the Murder Stone must be dug up and transported to Scotland, where it is to be buried forever. But before Francesca can begin the journey, a series of ominous ￢ﾀﾜaccidents￢ﾀﾝ occur, culminating in the discovery of a bleeding body on the Murder Stone itself.
Was Hatton the loving, caring protector his granddaughter always believed him to be?
Or a vindictive, secretive man who cultivated dangerous enemies? Francesca sets out in pursuit of the truth￢ﾀﾔand into the sights of someone determined to exact a revenge long overdue.
Attractive hardcover book

Condition: Good