Orchids and Stone

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

They're trying to take me. Help! Help me, please.

Daphne Mayfield sought a moment of quiet in a park--a break from city life, a tense relationship, and chronic overwork--but then an elderly woman makes a desperate plea. Daphne is reluctant to get involved when she's not sure what's happening, but she wants to help the stranger. Is the rambling old lady the victim of a crime or a victim of dementia?

As her unease grows, Daphne can't let go of the encounter. No matter what her boyfriend or her friends say. No matter what the retired homicide detective warns. Though she knows she's meddling in other people's lives, her instincts scream that the danger is real.

With each increasingly bold intervention, Daphne involves herself in someone else's crisis until she's in too deep to turn back. She's not just fighting for a stranger's life...she's fighting for her own.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Early in Preston's mediocre first novel, roofer Daphne Mayfield, who has earned the respect of her colleagues, is sitting on a bench in a Seattle park when elderly Minerva Watts asks for her help. Minerva keeps insisting that the well-dressed woman who's trying to maneuver her into a car isn't her daughter and that she's being kidnapped. Is Minerva suffering from Alzheimer's, or is Daphne witnessing a crime? With scant information to tell the police, Daphne starts her own investigation. But her devoted boyfriend, her friends, and even the police don't understand Daphne's obsession with finding Minerva, nor will the reader. The suggestion that Daphne's fixation stems from the emotions brought on by the 20th anniversary of the murder of her sister, Suzanne, and the 10th anniversary of her father's suicide feels false. In addition, some may wonder why Daphne acts irrationally at each turn of her quest. Few surprises and the uninspired characters further mar the listless plot. Agent: Mark Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Daphne Mayfield has had a hard life. As a child, her sister was kidnapped, never to be seen or heard from again. Years later, Daphne's father takes his own life in a dumpy hotel room, ridding himself of his grief but only increasing it for those left behind. Tragedy continues to follow the young woman when, in the park, she meets Minerva Watts, an elderly woman who is begging for help. At first glance, Daphne thinks she's simply old and confused, especially when the woman's daughter comes along and takes her away. But something in Daphne's gut tells her there is more than meets the eye. Not being able to live with the guilt of having something bad happen to Minerva, Daphne embarks on what becomes a wild journey of deceit, corruption, and terror to find out the truth: Is Minerva Watts a crazy old lady, or has she been kidnapped like Daphne's sister? Preston creates a riveting tale in her first thriller, intertwining the past with the present for an exciting ride that will keep readers hanging on until the very end.--Chesanek, Carissa Copyright 2016 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

In Preston's debut novel, a tough, wounded woman discovers that in helping others, she can also help herself make peace with great family loss. Daphne Mayfield sits in a park contemplating the upcoming anniversaries of her father's suicide and her murdered sister's birthday. Her boyfriend's children, poisoned by a tough divorce, are making her life difficult, and their dog is facing surgery. Suddenly, an old woman darts out of the bushes, asking for help; giving her name as Minerva Watts, she claims she's being kidnapped and robbed. When a younger woman ushers her into a car, it seems clear that the old woman must suffer from dementia, but Daphne finds herself unable to forget the encounter. Soon enough, her decision to uncover the truth leads to her arrest, but she refuses to turn away from someone who might be in trouble, driven by her own tragic losses to try and make a difference. With the help of her boyfriend, Vic, her best friend, Thea, and one sympathetic police officer, she simultaneously searches for Minerva and for people who were part of her sister's past, hoping she can find answers to both mysteries. In the end, the most fascinating and successful aspect of the novel is the character of Daphne herself. Incongruously, she's a roofer by trade, and the stories of how she pursues this unorthodox career give us insight into her stubborn, strong, and empathetic personality. Unfortunately, the mystery of Minerva Watts, intended to drive the plot, is not particularly interesting; rather, the story of Daphne's past should have taken center stage. She is both flawed and interesting, and her relationships with Vic, Thea, Vic's children, and her mother are well-developed and believable. Read it for the characters, but don't expect much from the mystery/thriller. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.