Philip Rushlow

The final book in The Philosopher Stone trilogy. Locke Stone struggles to solve the mystery of his friends murder, the survival of the victimized Marilee and his own inability to commit to a mate for life.

By the time she entered her middle years Sunny Raymond was disappointed. She found men to be generally unskilled and uncaring lovers, something she was certain she could correct in young Richard Saunders. She trained him well but unfortunately the world began to turn upside down just as her student reached his peak years, years during which the women for whom he was trained, began to exercise social dominance. What is a man, trained for one kind of world, to do when that world gives way to a new order? Does he become an uncaring technician? And how do these young, aggressive and take-charge women view him? Does he become a challenge or a toy?

"Silent Night deals with serious, gut-wrenching issues in a warm, light-hearted and sometimes humorous manner. Stone is neither super hero nor villain, he is you and me, with one great difference, he can't resist taking that "other" road that the rest of us skillfully avoid. Not since Goodman Ace created the original parade of characters for "Allen's Alley," have we found such an exotic array of exotic, yet believable personalities as those who pass through Stone's inevitably exciting days and, sometimes, Silent Nights.

Locke Stone is a common man. He, like many of us, has a desire for taking the other road and thus, may be easily identified with. Expecting to fulfill a life-long dream he backs into a situation that defies belief when he crosses the paths of Donna Delgado and Saint Jake Chimoro. His unexpected nightmare adventure begins in shattering defeat and progresses through despair and frights until he and his demon face each other in a terrible, final mismatch.