The Stones of Ailsa Craig

by David S. Florig

A widower at just fifty years old, one lost, lonely, and increasingly obsessed man seemingly finds salvation in the ancient Scottish sport of curling, until it unexpectedly takes him down a much different and darker path. A path through present-day Belfast, Maine; 1880s Scotland; and to the remote, volcanic island of Ailsa Craig, home to the finest curling stone granite in the world and former home to tens of thousands of marauding brown rats. A path that was revealed to him after seeing a single, 130-year-old black-and-white photograph of the beautiful Darcie Ross from Glasgow.

What else could he do but embrace what surely must be his calling after seeing that picture and finally learning the truth?

he Stones of Ailsa Craig is a work of historical fiction, toggling between present-day Belfast, Maine and 1880s Scotland, and is rich with detail about the Maine mid-coast, Scotland, and the sport of curling, which was born in Scotland. It is a deep look into one man's loss, loneliness, obsession, and vengeance. The Stones of Ailsa Craig should appeal to not only curlers, but to fans of historical fiction and mystery.