The Reckoning Stones

Iris Dashwood, the heroine of this uneven tale of revenge, retribution, and redemption from DiSilverio (Swift Run), was born into a strict Colorado religious community and sexually abused at 15 by its pastor, Matthew Brozek. After the congregation supported him and inflicted a stoning ritual on her, she fled Colorado. Now 38, she’s a well-heeled jewelry designer in Portland, Ore., where she engages in casual sex with hot—and younger—men. When Iris learns that her abuser has awakened from a coma caused by the vicious beating that her father has spent 23 years in prison for committing, she returns to Colorado to confront Matt. In her search for the truth, she must come to terms with her failures in judgment and lack of compassion. Iris begins as a model of trendy sexual role reversal, but after she seduces her once-best friend’s son, she realizes that she has victimized people in a way that uncomfortably mirrors Matt’s behavior. The reality-stretching antics of assorted religious zealots pad out Iris’s cozy confessions. (Sept.)