Moving Day

Jonathan Stone

Thomas & Mercer, 2014

Agent: Jill Marr

Forty years' accumulation of art, antiques, and family photographs are more than just objects for Stanley Peke, they are proof of a life fully lived. A life he could have easily lost long ago.

When a con man steals his houseful of possessions in a sophisticated moving-day scam, Peke wanders helplessly through his empty New England home, inevitably reminded of another helpless time: decades in Peke's past, a cold and threadbare Stanislaw Shmuel Pecoskowitz eked out a desperate existence in the war-torn Polish countryside, subsisting on scraps and dodging Nazi soldiers. Now, the seventy-two-year-old Peke, who survived, came to America, and succeeded,must summon his original grit and determination to track down the thieves, retrieve his things, and restore the life he made for himself.

Peke and his wife, Rose, trace the path of the thieves' truck across America, to the wilds of Montana, and to an ultimate, chilling confrontation with not only the thieves but also with Peke's brutal, unresolved past.

Reviews:
"Crisp, elegant prose distinguishes this exceptional crime thriller from Stone (Parting Shots)… With steely resolve, [Stanley] sets out on a cross-country road trip to retrieve his stolen property. Readers will cheer this unlikely hero every step of the way." 
Publishers Weekly (starred)
 

"Sparking your interest on the very first page, readers will actually feel that thin layer of ‘creepy’ wash over them when Stanley Peke opens his front door…This is a very frightening tale that’s written so well, the reader will be able to see everything that’s happening in their mind’s eye. The writing is A-one, and the subject is very close to the heart, creating a story that easily affects anyone who reads it. A definite keeper!"
Suspense Magazine


"A spellbinding tale . . . A compelling mystery with a moral foundation."
Library Journal (starred)