The Holy Terrors are back in Simon R. Green’s second mystery to feature them, but I found Stone Certainty a little disappointing. There’s a line in the book that usually describes Green’s books, “Hip-deep in sudden death, with supernatural elements.” The deaths came late in the story, and the supernatural elements were missing.

Alistair Kincaid is the youngest ever bishop of All Souls Hollow. He partnered with actress Diana Hunt when they were on a hit ghost-hunting show. Now, they’ve been invited to Chipping Amesbury where there is a stone circle. Sir Neville Chumley, the current owner, is going to place the stones back where they belong, despite protests from the villagers. Kincaid and Hunt are part of the TV team that will film a documentary, along with two newscasters, the producer, and a two-person crew. Kincaid brings his expertise on Britain’s stone circles. Hunt brings her acting skills and her previous experience ghost-hunting.

But, all doesn’t go as planned. The team has little cooperation from the villagers, and when a mist strands them at the circles with an unknown murder victim, some of the group panics. It’s up to Kincaid to keep the group together while investigating the elements that seem to make the stones so mysterious

I’m always willing to try a new Simon R. Green series, but I’ve also dropped them when they were disappointing. The Holy Terrors may be a replacement for the Ishmael Jones mysteries. The creepiness and supernatural elements aren’t as good in this series. Two were enough for me.

Stone Certainty by Simon R. Green. Severn House, 2025. ISBN 9781448313518 (hardcover), 192p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley through NetGalley to review for a journal.