SOULJOURNER

A murder mystery of karmic proportions.

In Stone’s spiritual thriller, David Rockwood Worthington languishes in a Massachusetts prison facility for killing his third wife, Anna, the love of his life. He is also a member of the group “Seekers for Truth,” who believe in a world based on Hindu-inspired concepts of karmic interventions and reincarnation. David is under pressure from rival prison gangs to assume his second wife’s debts; and the IRS accuses him of harboring a secret Cayman Islands bank account. He describes Blossom, his Russian second wife, as emotionally, financially and physically abusive. He believes she is on the same universal karmic frequency as him and, therefore, part of his “Karmic Pod”—even after her death. In Stone’s novel, David recounts his past failed marriages and explains how he became responsible for Anna’s death. Interspersed with his perspective are those of the prison therapist as well as the vindictive Blossom and David’s spiritual guide and artistic muse. Each section begins with lyrics from a Beatles song that serve to emphasize the book’s themes of karma, mystery, love, and pain. The connection between Anna’s death and David’s past is well constructed, and a truly unforeseen final twist adds interest. Stone creates tension with not just the plot, but also multiple perspectives. However, while male characters have complex personalities and pasts, female characters are flat. Cringe-inducing terms like orientalare used. And the author could have improved representation substantially by including more characters who belong to the South Asian and Indigenous American cultures his key concepts come from.

Conceptually intriguing but discomfiting in delivery.