Cast the First Stone

I’ve had the hardest time writing this review. Not because I didn’t like the book, but because I don’t think I can do it justice. The first book in The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone series, Cast the First Stone is one of the most intriguing books I’ve read in a very long time. I truly believe it’s brilliant. The author David James Warren is actually the pen name for Susan May Warren, her son David Curtis Warren, and James L. Rubart.

I’m not a time travel aficionado, so I was a little skeptical. Would I like the book? Short answer, I was hooked from the first sentence. “It’s the regrets that keep me awake.” Doesn’t that make you want to know what regrets Rembrandt has?

Relatable characters 

One thing that makes a book good is if you can relate to the characters. Like the hero, I definitely have regrets I wish I could change, and there are many things I wish I could forget. “Memory is cruel that way…it steals the moments you want to save, and leaves behind the rubble.” How can you not be intrigued by this character?

Stone is a retired detective and novelist, who lives with the regrets surrounding his cold cases and a tragedy from his youth. His regrets haunt his dreams and color his outlook, and all he wants is a chance to make things right. He’s his own worst enemy, but you know he loves his wife, he’d do anything for his little girl, and he cared about his job and protecting people.

The heroine is Rembrandt’s wife, Eve. I like Eve. She’s smart, and loves this man with all her being, despite what others think about him and even despite his own hang-ups and actions. She’s the kind of person you want in your corner.

Where trouble begins

The trouble begins when Rembrandt inherits a watch. The watch is his time travel mechanism, and the giver should have left instructions. Some of the funniest moments come when Rembrandt takes a trip back to 1997. He has all the technological knowledge of the current time, which occasionally slips out causing people around him to wonder if he’s lost his mind. You also see a glimpse of his true character, which is very noble.

Rembrandt may can change history, but not without monumental consequences. He says it best. “Try as I might, there are no happy endings.”

It’s a five star book, and I can hardly wait to read the rest of the series.