The Stones Cry Out is the first book in Sibella Giorello’s Raleigh Harmon series. I started this series with book 3, so I was really interested to get back to the beginning — of great writing and a great character. Giorello is one of my favorite suspense writers. If you haven’t read any of her books or if you started in the middle like me, check out The Stones Cry Out.

Things are hot in Richmond in the summer. But the heat is not the only thing getting tempers hot. A civil rights investigation by the FBI into the deaths of a white policeman and a black businessman has the city on edge. And while the two plummeted to their deaths in the midst of a demonstration, there are no witnesses to the incident. Raleigh Harmon, geologist turned agent, is charged with the investigation and getting the case closed quickly. No one seems interested in finding out just what happened. But Raleigh, who is haunted by her own unsolved case, won’t give up.

Raleigh Harmon is a great character. She has lots of baggage — a father murdered in a mugging, a sister that thinks the FBI is no better than the Gestapo, and a mother who struggles with mental stabilbity. Raleigh also has a strong sense of right and wrong. Her faith keeps her going despite the obstacles thrown in her way — a vindictive boss, hostile citizens and uncooperative police. Raleigh is a complex character with plenty of flaws and lots to love. The story is also a great twisting mystery. The forensic investigation is just as important as the hunches Raleigh follows. The Stones Cry Out is great for those who like CSI or Bones.

I loved this book and look forward to #2 in the series, The Rivers Run Dry.

Recommended. ( )

Richmond VA FBI agent Raleigh Harmon. one black man and one white cop die falling from a roof. ( )

This thriller about a FBI agent investigating the possible racial motive behind a double homicide seemed run of the mill to me. Special agent Raleigh Harmon is said FBI investigator working near her southern hometown--so lots of family issues come to play as well. It is a bit convoluted and not very memorable. ( )

Good story. Written in first person and I'm not crazy about the writing style. ( )

Mostly a suspense, but without the heightened sense of danger to the heroine. Set in contemporary Richmond, the story follows FBI agent and forensic geologist Raleigh as she investigates a civil rights case in which a white cop and a local African-American hero both fall off an abandoned building in front of 600 people, none of whom come forward as witnesses. The Christian message is not blatant, but rather focuses on Raleigh’s trouble with the investigation, the unsolved murder of her father four years past, and her mother’s growing mania. Short, fast-paced chapters keep the reader involved, even if some of the scenes lack detail and resort to stereotypes (snobbish and unwashed college students and professors, a general disregard for the arts, African-Americans are either greedy and shady or “mystical” Christians, a distrust of natural foods and medicine). Some non-explicit violence, a near-rape scene.