Styx & Stone

Ellie Stone Mysteries #1

by James W. Ziskin

Ellie Stone is a professed modern girl in 1960s' New York City, playing by her own rules and breaking boundaries while searching for a killer among the renowned scholars in Columbia University's Italian Department.

"If you were a man, you'd make a good detective."

Ellie is sure that Sgt. McKeever meant that as a compliment, but that identity-a girl wanting to do a man's job-has throttled her for too long. It's 1960, and Ellie doesn't want to blaze any trails for women; she just wants to be a reporter, one who doesn't need to swat hands off her behind at every turn.

Adrift in her career, Ellie is back in New York City after receiving news that her estranged father, a renowned Dante scholar and distinguished professor, is near death after a savage bludgeoning in his home. The police suspect a routine burglary, but Ellie has her doubts. When a second attempt is made on her father's life, in the form of an "accident" in the hospital's ICU, Ellie's suspicions are confirmed.

Then another professor turns up dead, and Ellie's investigation turns to her father's university colleagues, their ambitions, jealousies, and secret lives. Ellie embarks on a thorny journey of discovery and reconciliation, as she pursues an investigation that offers her both a chance at redemption in her father's eyes, and the risk of losing him forever.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Mystery Thriller, Historical Mystery, Crime

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2013

About the author

2021 Barry Award WINNER TURN TO STONE for Best Paperback Original

2021 Macavity Award WINNER for Best Historical Mystery TURN TO STONE

2017 Anthony Award WINNER of Best Paperback Original HEART OF STONE

2017 Macavity Award WINNER of Sue Feder Memorial Best Historical Novel HEART OF STONE

2021 Edgar Award finalist for Best Short Story, “The Twenty-Five-Year Engagement”

2021 Anthony Award finalist for Best Short Story, “The Twenty-Five-Year Engagement”

2021 Agatha Award finalist for Best Short Story, “The Twenty-Five-Year Engagement”

2021 Macavity Award finalist for Best Short Story, “The Twenty-Five-Year Engagement”

2021 Sue Grafton Memorial Award finalist TURN TO STONE

2021 Lefty Award finalist for Best Historical Mystery TURN TO STONE

2019 Anthony Award finalist for Best Paperback Original A STONE’S THROW

2019 Lefty Award finalist for Best Mystery A STONE’S THROW

2018 Macavity Award finalist for Sue Feder Memorial Best Historical Novel CAST THE FIRST STONE

2018 Anthony Award finalist for Best Paperback Original CAST THE FIRST STONE

2018 Lefty Award finalist for Best Mystery CAST THE FIRST STONE

2017 Anthony Award winner of Best Paperback Original HEART OF STONE

2017 Macavity Award winner of Sue Feder Memorial Best Historical Novel HEART OF STONE

2017 Edgar Award finalist for Best Paperback Original HEART OF STONE

2017 Lefty Award finalist for Best Mystery HEART OF STONE

2016 Anthony Award finalist for Best Paperback Original STONE COLD DEAD

2016 Barry Award finalist for Best Paperback Original STONE COLD DEAD

2016 Lefty Award finalist for Best World Mystery Novel STONE COLD DEAD

2015 Anthony Award finalist for Best Paperback Original NO STONE UNTURNED

Reviews

[Chelsea Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The words that come to mind to describe James W. Siskin’s debut Ellie Stone novel are intelligent, classy, and well-crafted, among many others. I was completely taken aback by how much I loved not only this book, but Ellie Stone’s character. Here we have a young woman in her early twenties trying to make it in the world of journalism, which is male dominated as this is the 1960’s. Think Mad Men with a little Lois Lane thrown in. This gal is sassy, can hold her liquor, and out thinks any man in the police department by a mile. This story gave me an Alfred Hitchcock vibe in a sense, as all the clues are laid out from the beginning and if you are clever enough you could put them together to solve the crimes yourself. Little side note- I grew up an only child and was unusually and unashamedly close to my parents. We frequently (read almost daily) had movie nights back in the stone age where you perused Blockbuster (RIP) to pick out your choice of entertainment and brought it back home (which IMO was as enjoyable as the movie itself). When it was Chelsea’s turn to choose, my parents could always anticipate it would be an Alfred Hitchcock film (or preferably another mystery of sorts in black and white). Our house was a rotation of Turner Classic Movies and I wouldn’t change a thing. So you can see why this novel appealed to me on many levels.

” With nothing but a pencil and his fantasy, he had scratched onto paper fearsome and unholy beasts. The lines of each drawing were like scars rasped across the page; wounds that had healed on paper. His art filled me with a silent awe.”

As you can see, this is just one example of the author’s glorious writing. I think the beauty of it was the level of class his storytelling has without feeling “old fashioned”. The author is an intellectual; as a professor and master of many of the studies discussed in this book he did a fantastic job of explaining on a layman’s level some of history’s most complicated philosophical studies and some of the history that was going on in the time period of this book. I don’t want to give to much away, but I will say that this story started out with a fairly light feeling; it isn’t dark and disturbing as a psychological thriller would be, but by the end it had touched on some really heavy subjects that made me want to go back in history and do some researching of my own.

Ellie was an altogether lovable character for me. She’s prickly, outspoken, brilliant, and can hold her liquor as well as any man. I’ve always been intrigued by novels set in a time that was prior or during the trailblazing of women in the workplace. Her family situation was heartbreaking, and I really felt for her as she experienced staying by her father’s side in the hospital even though they had been estranged for years. I’m really excited to see where the author takes her character next, as we didn’t get to see a lot of Ellie in her work place due to the setting up of her character and introduction of the series. While it took me a bit to get into the book at first, mainly due to a large number of characters being introduced, i found the pages flipping much quicker as I nailed down who was who. There were plenty of unexpected twists near the end that I didn’t see coming, which was enjoyable and made me very excited to continue the series. I’m hoping this series will jump on more people’s radar, especially those who love a good mystery from a different decade.

*I received my copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was initially asked to read the fourth book in the series, which has just been published this month, but the publisher agreed to send me all the book sin the series to catch up! major win for Seventh Street Books!

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in 1960, Styx & Stone introduces Ellie Stone, a reporter for a small newspaper in upstate New York and the daughter of a renowned Dante scholar, Professor Abraham Stone. The elder Stone, a distinguished professor, has been found unconscious in his New York City apartment after having been beaten about the head. It may be a burglary gone bad, but then again, it may not be.

Ellie and her widowed father have long been estranged, but she races home to New York City and to the family apartment where she grew up. Professor Stone remains hospitalized, unconscious and in critical condition, obviously unable to shed any light on what happened the night he was assaulted. Not content simply to sit by his bedside, Ellie begins her own investigation into the attack.

The investigation leads her to the Italian department at the University where her father taught. Like many another academic department, this one is a sea of intrigue, with any number of matters large and small dividing its members. When another member of the department dies in an apparent accident shortly after the attack on her father, Ellie is certain that something sinister is going on above and beyond a simple burglary gone bad and a subsequent "accident."

Ellie is extremely tenacious and joins ranks with the detective investigating the assault on her father, a sergeant named McKeever. She's determined to unravel the mystery and along the way, McKeever pays her what he believes to be the ultimate compliment for that day and age, when he observes that, "If you were a man, you'd make a good detective."

Ellie thinks of herself as a "modern woman," who enjoys her whiskey and her men, and one of the strengths of the book is that the author has so deftly placed Ellie in her own time. Often in a book like this, the tendency of a good many authors is to simply transplant a woman of the Twenty-First Century back into the middle of the Twentieth, giving her values and attitudes that simply don't ring true for the time and place. In consequence the character often seems ultimately unbelievable.

Not so here. Ellie is a strong, independent woman with a mind of her own. But she is, clearly, a woman of the early 1960s. Ziskin, a linguist by training, has clearly done his homework, and the characters and the sense of place ring very true. Ellie is a very attractive protagonist and Ziskin is particularly good at capturing the jealousies, conflicting ambitions, and squabbles large and small that exist within Professor Stone's department, All in all, this is a very promising start to the Ellie Stone series.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Styx and Stone by James W. Ziskin is a 2013 Seventh Street Books publication.


This is the first book in the Ellie Stone series set in the 1960’s. Ellie is a newspaper reporter, and is considered a ‘modern girl’, meaning she is not married and has a career, who might enjoy a party or two. But, she quickly turns into an amateur detective when her father is attacked in his apartment, leaving him comatose.

I had no idea what to expect when I started this series, but I knew one of the books in this series had been nominated for an Edgar. However, I must admit, I am still very pleasantly surprised by how good this book is.

The author cleverly weaves intellectual politics, backstabbing, and the jockeying for positions, by tenured professors, which had a very authentic ring to it, as well as incorporating the study and symbolisms of Dante, into a compelling whodunit. The story shifts into something far more serious with huge ramifications, but is also a poignant tale of family dynamics and crushing loss.

Ellie is definitely ahead of her time, accepting her unorthodox choices which goes against the traditional roles for women in 1960, but is also melancholy at times, as she copes with deep regret over the rift with her father, and the disappointment they both endure.

I loved the small details that, upon first glance, may not have seemed important, suddenly taking on greater significance, in one way or another. So, while on the surface, the story is a twisty and surprising mystery, it has a much deeper depth to it than I first realized.

I have already checked out the other books in this series and have signed up to review an ARC of the latest installment. I’m looking forward to seeing how Ellie’s character develops moving forward.

4 stars

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extra! Extra! Young Reporter Solves Murder Mystery

Ellie Stone at first reminded me a bit of Frank Kane's cub reporter Mugsy Kiely. Ellie is a young reporter in 1960 NYC who has a knack for resolving mysteries by tenacious footwork, always asking questions. This mystery, the first in the series, is set up sort of like a murder mystery weekend in the Poconos with a set list of about a dozen suspects and suspicions falling on first one then another. There's no hotel, but the suspect gallery is drawn from Ellie's father's Italian studies Department and the odd personalities there and all the intra -departmental flirting. And, there is the final Accusation where Ellie accuses the actual murderer. Ellie is as she tells you at the beginning is a thoroughly modern girl and leaves the fifties behind being young, eligible, and in the city. There's not a lot of bang-bang shoot-em-up action, really not any, and yet it's hard to put down as the author does such a great job of creating his character in time and place.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This introduction to Ellie Stone, reporter in the 1960 world of New York, finds her coming to NYC in response to a crisis with her father who had been attacked in his apartment. She goes into full investigative mode when she finds that police seem to be without clues and her father's co-workers unreliable witnesses. She teams up with the cop assigned to the case, providing him with hard-won evidence she doggedly gathers.
A bit of a wild child, Ellie has regrets. The death of her only brother Elijah is still fresh and now she is visiting her unconscious father in the ICU. Someone is continuing to make moves that will result in his death and the list of possible suspects is long. I did not untangle the truth myself, so I am certain to read more in this series.
There are interesting threads of Dante as well as holocaust details woven into the complex tapestry that sets a good foundation for this character.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my kind of mystery. The writer takes you deep into the main character's psyche and also into the time period. I also enjoyed reading about academic politics in a university department. Because the TV show Mad Men has made this time period chic again, perhaps James Ziskin's book will soar. I hope so. It does deserve to. Just simply loved it.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

After starting this series with the third book in it, I am delighted to have gone back and read #1, Styx & Stone. Ellie Stone, with whom I fell in love in Stone Cold Dead, has proved that she is not just a one hit wonder. In Styx and Stone, I got to see where Ellie comes from, her New York City roots and family history. It has solidified my fandom of this fascinating character and brilliantly written series. Discovering a new series that has a reader wanting more, more, more is the best part of reading for those of us who are mystery/crime series addicts. James Ziskin is the Pied Piper extraordinaire.

Styx & Stone takes the reader from New Holland, New York, where Ellie is a reporter on the local paper back to her origins in New York City when she is called home after her father is attacked and fighting for his life in the hospital. Ellie, whose relationship with her father has been strained since the death of first her brother, then her mother, must confront emotions she has long kept quiet in her return home. Her father, a distinguished professor in the Italian studies department at Columbia, was found bashed in the head by his housekeeper. Ellie immediately senses that it is not the simple act of a burglar, as valuables aren't taken and her father's papers have been put askew. In addition, her father's latest manuscript concerning his lifelong study of Dante is missing. Ellie starts asking questions, especially within his circle of academic associates. There is much that isn't as it seems on the surface. Secret relationships, professional jealousies and conflicts. Fortunately, Ellie is able to convince the investigating officer that it is not just a case of an unknown burglar, and when the death of one of her father's colleagues occurs, she brings the likelihood of a connection to Sgt. McKeever. It is a bit head-spinning in the change from one suspect to the next, but it's a good head-spin. Ellie must work fast to ensure that the killer doesn't strike again in his or her desperation. Her father's precarious hold on life should be enough for Ellie to deal with, but she is determined to find his attacker, and with her eye for detail, she is just the man for the job.

Ellie Stone is one of my favorite new characters. She is smart, witty, funny, compassionate, determined, and a driving force for women's place in the job market. The setting of the 1960s pits her against many obstacles, but she meets them all head-on and with confidence of her right and ability to do her job as a reporter. James Ziskin brings the world of the beginning decade of the 60s to readers with authenticity and smooth blending of details. In this particular book, the author was also able to share some of his expertise in Italian studies without being tedious or too esoteric. I'm champing at the bit now to open the second book in the series, No Stone Unturned.

[Urszula · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads.com give aways. I like a good mystery, and was very happy when I won. Was this a good mystery? Maybe... Was this a good book? In some parts quite good, in other average.

I liked the idea of a strong female character. Ellie was just that. In some ways too detached and to clinical. She talked about her emotions, but I did not feel them. Her relationships with other characters in this story were forced and uncomfortable. She had a very strange relationship with her family as well as her inner self. She was not very likable at all.

Very quickly I got lost within the unending number of people coming in and out of this story. What I found helpful was the summary Ellie did before finding out the killer. Finally I was able to put everything into perspective, and maybe raise my own suspicions.

What I found interesting and thought that it would make a great story, was the complex backgrounds of two men with the same name. I would've loved to read a book based on these two characters.

Overall I found this book a little bit forgettable. I had no problem with putting it down for a day or two, and forgetting that I am in the middle of a murder mystery. The writing was very clinical: Ellie did this... Went there... Did that etc. There was no emotion in the story telling, it was just facts followed by more facts.

By the time the ending came, I was not that interested in the murderer. Maybe because Ellie didn't leave her mark on me.

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Styx & Stone by James W.Ziskin
The first in the Ellie Stone mystery series, Ellie is a reporter for an upstate New York newspaper. She learns that her father, a University Professor, has been seriously assaulted and is intensive care. Her inquisitive nature leads her to believe that the crime is linked to the recent death of another Professor in the same Italian Department. Ellie meets Detective Sergeant McKeever who wants to put her father’s assault down to a robbery and the death of Dr. Ercolano as a tragic accident.

Ellie is portrayed as a strong personality, who stands up for herself and has the determination to follow her instincts. The author has clearly drawn from his own academic background to produce this good opening story of the series. There are quite a lot of references to Dante and the underworld, which formed the greater part of Professor Stone’s working life and it helps to know something of this classic work. Woven into the story are plenty of references to the second world war, its aftermath and Jewish history. There is a love interest theme woven throughout the story which inevitably leads to the unmasking of the culprit, one that is difficult to spot until the final pages.

I enjoyed this one and put it as a 4star.

[Eleanor Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you ever pick up a book to see what it's about and discover the most amazing and unexpected writing and storytelling? I really meant to read a few pages, then read a few more, and finally fell into the story as if the writer was pulling me along by a string until I finished and had one of those, "Wow that was really good, what else has he written" moments. And at that point, if you're like me, you end up cackling with glee and wanting to tell all your friends to read it.
There's something about Ellie Stone. Something dark, something mysterious, something sad and at the same time beautiful and a little scary and God knows, independent. That's a lot to say about a character, but the fact that Ellie is her own person in the early 60s, bucking all kinds of convention, and is so comfortable in her own skin is a lot of the appeal of the story for me. Also, her interactions with her own childhood memories, her father's colleagues--some remembered, some new--at the Italian Department at Columbia University, the police department, and neighbors in an apartment building, all build into a well crafted, borderline-noir mystery woven into several other mysterious subplots. It's a story of love, loss, families, language, ethnicity, history, escape, and suspense. It's a story where every character has his or her own story, each captivating in its own way.
The writing is superb, the emotions raw, the atmosphere intriguing, the storyline well developed, and we're left with a sense that the character has come in to her own but is only just beginning to develop in a tale that will continue in No Stone Unturned. That book is not coincidentally my next read, because I love intelligent writing for grownups. Bravo.

[Leslie Karst · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s 1960, and Ellie Stone—a girl reporter with “modern” ideas—has been called from upstate New York back home to Manhattan. Her father, a renowned Dante scholar, is in a coma from a beating he received in his apartment, and the police are treating it as a routine burglary gone wrong. But when a second professor is found dead, Ellie suspects foul play within the Italian Department of Columbia University.

STYX & STONE is what I guess is now called a “traditional” mystery—more serious and literary in tone than your typical cozy, but with a sense of humor and genuine feel for human emotion that sets it apart from the hard-boiled or noir end of the spectrum.

I should disclose that I’m the daughter of a professor, which no doubt helped me become immediately hooked by the University setting. Even non-academic brats, however, will be sucked in by the book’s wry but affectionate portrayal of the various eccentric professors suspected of the crimes.

Ziskin is a skilled wordsmith, and it was a pleasure reading STYX & STONE as much for its language as it was to find out who dunnit. His descriptions of 1960 New York made me feel like I’d stepped out into the streets of a rainy East Village afternoon. (And, I feel compelled to add, the book’s portrayal of Ellie Stone rang true to me throughout, even though it was penned by a man.)

STYX & STONE is one of the best mysteries I’ve read in years. So if you’re looking for something in the manner of Sarah Caudwell or Josephine Tey—but with a heroine more in the line of Sue Grafton’s snarky Kinsey Millhone—you should definitely check out James Ziskin. Can’t wait to get hold of the next in the series!

[Waverly Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I finish one of James Ziskin's books, I want to start reading another one. I don't know what I'll do when I finally read all of the ones he's written so far. I started (out of order) with his second book, No Stone Unturned, and was sufficiently charmed by the main character, Ellie Stone, and curious about the references to what I could sense was the first novel, that I sought out the first book. I'm impressed by how well Ziskin does a female protagonist and the opening of this first novel is one of the best I've ever seen as he establishes his character, after a panoramic paragraph about a massacre in Wolf Hollow, "between New Holland and Schenectady." with these sentences: "One mild Sunday evening in January, I found myself in Wolf Hollow, a willing prisoner in the backseat of a black Chrysler 300. I'm what people call a modern girl. The kind who works for a living in a man's world. I can hold my drink and I'm a good sport. I'm the kind who has her own place and sometimes invites a gentleman in for a nightcap." Not only does he get the gender right but the time period (1960) as well. And I love it that (so far in these first two books) the clues to the murders Ellie investigates are all language-related (Ziskin is a linguist) so one has to read every document mentioned carefully knowing there's a clue in there somewhere.

[Lucy Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read an ARC and was riveted! I loved this book, the setting, and the characters really stayed with me afterward. I re-read the last few pages again because I was sorry for it to end.

[Jennifer Kincheloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The heroine is fabulous, the mystery intriguing. I could not put this book down.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun, enjoyable book! I grew up reading Agatha Christie mysteries and this novel took be right back there. First and most importantly, it is a great mystery. All the clues were there (I caught some!) as well as some really clever red herrings. There is plenty of action throughout with some twists and turns to keep the story moving. And by the end, I felt completely satisfied. But the real treat here is the lead character, Ellie Stone, a "modern-day" woman in the 1960s. This line from the book says it all, "If you were a man, you'd make a good detective." She is fun, feisty, smart, clever, and knows exactly how to play all the men in her life. There are also some really nice moments where you see her vulnerability which helped shape her into the three-dimensional character she is. Overall, this book was a great read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries with a little sass and sexiness thrown in.

[Katherine Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellie Stone heads to New York City after learning that someone has attacked her father, a professor at Columbia, in his home. She is determined to solve the case, which becomes more complex after another professor is found dead at his home. Set in the 1960's, it is an interesting and fun read of a modern-girl who is not afraid to set her own rules and uncover the many secrets that come out of the Italian Department in which her father worked. I enjoyed the characters, particularly the development of Ellie, a strong female protagonist. Ziskin has a great writing style and I look forward to reading what he has to offer next.

[D.J. Adamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The dark voice of noir set in New York, not the streets of Los Angeles, and the dark underbelly of the populace replaced with respectable, distinguished academics and small town citizens peaks curiosity. All three of Ziskin’s novels offer complex plots and characters which move the reader from page to page. But what keeps those enthralled with his work is not on the surface. What pulls someone after finishing Styx and Stone to reach for No Stone Unturned, and then Cold Stone Dead? James W. Ziskin has an extraordinary understanding, gift and use of language.
Review by Le Coeur de l'Artiste http://www.djadamson.com/le-coeur-de-...

[Glen Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Ziskin has created a wonderful character in Ellie Stone, a diminutive but brassy young woman. Ellie combines hard thinking and quick wisecracks to make her way though the sexism and social mores of 1960 New York City. The period details are terrific, and the theme hinted at by the title is borne out as Ellie investigates an assault on her estranged father, a Dante scholar at Columbia university. For once, the stakes are very high in academia. I'm looking forward to picking up the rest of the series, not least because I have a crush on Ellie.

[Brena Chan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got forty pages into the book and had to stop. The author bludgeon's you over the head repeatedly with what a male-minded female character this is. I'm not sure if he's never met a woman before of if he really is that confused on what a strong female character looks like. The protagonist is completely unrelatable and unlikable.

[Monica Ravreby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A definite must- read for any fan of stellar suspense novels.. Loved everything about this first Ellie Stone series!

[Brenda]

Setting this aside at page 77. It's set in 1960, but feels 1940 to me. Old and stuffy. It's not grabbing me, and other books are calling my name.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the great delight of hearing author James W. Ziskin speak to a Sisters in Crime chapter about how he goes about research for his historical mysteries, and immediately bought the first book in his Ellie Stone series to see how I liked them.

Well, I liked this book. A lot.

Ellie's a photojournalist with her local newspaper, so she knows how to dig for information. It's the 1960s, so there's a lot of sexism (and casual racism) on display in her surroundings ... people thinking she should find a nice guy and get married rather than working, for example.

When her university professor father is assaulted and his house burglarized, Ellie decides she can figure everything out more quickly than the disinterested police department (she's not wrong, BTW). She starts with her father's university colleagues, because she's hearing from numerous sources that there were arguments and even a physical altercation in the days before her dad was injured.

Ellie's no saint herself; she drinks a good bit, and isn't shy about going to bed with men whom she finds attractive. This latter sometimes crosses up her investigation, but she remains undeterred.

When the "whodunnit" was revealed, I was kind of surprised. I hadn't necessarily seen the culprit as an innocent party, but I didn't put everything together the same way Ellie did ... and that was, honestly, delightful. The clues were so skillfully woven into the story that, in hindsight, it was absolutely a fair play puzzle ... but the reveal hit me like a ton of bricks.

The book is rife with historical detail about life in the 1960s, women's roles, and more. I thoroughy enjoyed it and look forward to reading more titles in the series.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started well, as a modern woman in the 1960s, Ellie made an impression right from the start. However the problems started quite early, first there was the number of characters that appear and disappear. Next came the introspection, I suspect this was a way of introducing some of Ellie’s back-story and show some of her vulnerabilities, but it became a bit excessive.
Finally the book’s biggest problem is that great chunks of the first half are just boring.

The second half of the book did improve enough to keep me reading, although she was incredibly slow in putting together the obvious clues. And I’m not sure why the author turned her from a woman who was in control of her relationships with men, into a rather pathetic jealous, lovelorn wimp in just a few days.
Another reason I kept reading was I hoped to find out how the author was going to make Ellie different. There are numerous mystery books with amateur detectives, so to make a series stand out it is important that the main characters have something that makes them special. Ellie has something about her, but I’m not sure it is enough to make her really interesting. However, I did enjoy the last half of the book.

I will probably try the rest of the series, as the ratings do look much better for the next book and I know of several series where I wasn’t impressed with the first book but took a chance with the next one to find the series became one of my favourites.

[Kim Kaso · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would like this book more. I liked the idea of this book. I wanted to like it, saw all the books in the series and thought, “ah, riches” as one does as a reader, discovering a new author. I liked the portrayal of academia. But. But I did not like Ellie Stone...or I did not like the author’s voice as Ellie Stone. I did not find it authentic, I did not connect. It felt like a gimmick, a woman as a hard-boiled journalist wanna be...yet full of impulse, weeping at the drop of a hat, getting hung up on a guy about which she knew very little, hearing various things about him but never going to the source to see what he really felt or did...she was all over the place & it felt like he thought her being a woman was
enough motivation for her often less than well thought out behavior. This is not to say that guys cannot write sympathetic female characters, they can, just as women can write interesting male characters. It’s called imagination with an empathy chaser. I found that part of the equation lacking. Perhaps the later books are better, but this one was just ok.

[Meg Boyko · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is set in the past but the mindset of the main character is not so I had trouble believing any of it. Plus, the number of characters and random false leads were distracting. I didn't find it enjoyable or particularity good.

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially lured by the book's attractive cover, with its well-composed photograph, mix of cool (as in temperature) colors and desire to sort out just what was going on in the scene depicted, what I most enjoyed about James Ziskin's Styx & Stone was the opportunity to ponder what New York City must have been like--socially, architecturally, physically--in the waning days of January 1960.

The action of the novel centers on the fact that mid-twenties Ellie Stone is called home to NYC when her father, a respected (if not liked) Professor of Italian at Columbia University and expert on the works of Dante Alighieri, lies in a coma after having been bludgeoned in what is believed to be a robbery gone wrong. Ellie, the last surviving child in her family and something of an independent spirit with a healthy disdain for social expectations, hypocrisy, and the dog eat dog nature of academe, unsettles those around her by bluntly posing the penetrating questions those investigating the case have yet to entertain. The story has an awful lot going on, including: a missing book manuscript, a grade-grubbing graduate student, bitter academicians jockeying for position, what would today be identified as identity theft, loneliness and loss.

The story is told in an interesting mix of first-person narration juxtaposed against dialogue and short flashbacks told in the form of dialogue and exchanges the reader witnesses instead of having the narrator characterize them in hindsight. I found it well written, and I was interested to see how Ellie came across given that she was written by a male. It seemed to work well, esp. given the fact that Ellie was a bit emotionally adrift given her personal circumstances.

Where the story was most successful was in rendering all the sorts of period-specific details and circumstances that would have constrained the conversations, actions, and interactions depicted throughout the book (e.g., elevator operators, calling up to announce apartment house visitors, household wiring and circuitry, race relations, class differences, gendering of everything from cocktail selections to occupational possibilities). It really felt like a novel more about time and place than a mystery. Some of the details of the case were patently obvious, but I figured they were really jut the backdrop against which the author played with the setting and era. Can you really imagine solving a murder in 2014 without the benefits of CODIS, cell phones, and the internet? Having to make a trip to the New York Public Library to go through the telephone directories presents a powerful opportunity to reflect back on what those two lions guarding the entry meant to you, the reader, when you first encountered them, for instance. The only real shortcoming, to my mind, was the fact that the specifics of why Abraham Stone had withdrawn his affection and regard from his daughter was withheld until less than 15 pages from book's end--and only tossed in almost as an afterthought. While seemingly trivial, this detail was pretty darn important given that it was a defining part of their father-daughter dynamic and will doubtless have long-term implications in future books in what is intended as a multiple installment series. I want to be able to trust my narrator, and this felt a bit dishonest to me. Not so dishonest that I won't read Ziskin's follow-up, but just that I'll now be a bit more skeptical myself.

[Jennifer Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it somewhat... it was a bit heavier than my usual mystery fare of late. I liked the idea of the protagonist being a woman fighting to get by in a man's job in 1960, and launching her own investigation after the attempted murder of her father. But while I don't judge her for her indulgence in booze and sex (no explicit scenes, just hints and before and after sequences), it turned out that I really just didn't like her too much. It's the first time in a long time that I didn't like the main character sleuth. It was partly her attitude, her callousness. I was on board with her intellect and some sarcasm, and her pursuit of answers, but sometimes the brusqueness and the inconsiderate way she spoke and behaved just put me off. It made it hard to feel sympathy for her sometimes.
It didn't help that I didn't like much of the supporting cast of characters either. The only people I think I sort of liked were Det. McKeever and Rodney the doorman. And the busboy at the Faculty Dining Hall, who we met for all of a few pages. The whole set of her father's colleagues and students were awful. Everyone was written well, but the den of iniquity was too much gossip and scandal, high and mighty attitudes... it was none too kind of a little world, and I wouldn't want to be around any of those personalities.
And the overall tone of the novel followed all that somewhat. It was gritty, dark at times, awful WWII recountings popped up... and it just left this dingy dim feeling on my mind. Even though I was thinking and solving with Ellie, I didn't like the feel of it overall.

Not a bad noir, but not as witty/sharp feeling or as lively as, say, the classic Thin Man. It teased me enough that I wanted to work out the puzzle, but it didn't grip me or pull me into it's world.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed being introduced to Ellie and the early 60s. She takes all the sexism in stride and keeps on moving. Much as the women of the day did I imagine. She's supposed to be all of 23 but her attitudes and thought processes seemed a lot older. Perhaps that's a reflection of the change over time from when society used to treat 16 year olds as adults (sometimes even married with kids by then) to today where we barely consider a 25 year old an adult.

It's certainly a 'smart' mystery in that the reader actually learns something about an academic subject few of us would voluntarily delve into but happily digest learned tidbits via fictional account.

The author had a habit of throwing out provocative statements that provide a flash of illumination on elements hinted at (i.e. the cause of estrangement between Ellie and her father) but then not delving further. A wee bit irritating to not be offered more BUT it's also the device that draws one along to want to continue with a series.

I'm certainly intrigued enough to immediately start the next book and have the 3rd sitting on my shelf as well.

I'd really give it a 3.5 stars if I could. Not quite a 4 but not far off.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in 1960+ in New York City. A few things stretch the belief a bit too much (really? the NYPD detective willingly and repeatedly opens up evidence & reports for scrutiny by the 23-year-old daughter of a victim of what appears to be a break-in?) But otherwise, a great story and descriptions of the time and place. The protagonist (said 23-year-old) is a great character, and I will look for another story featuring her. Though I suspect this could get old fast, like the Stephanie character from the numbers books (have to look it up, don't remember.) Okay, Stephanie Plum in for example "To the nines". Great character at first; extremely formulaic as the numbers piled up. Another edgy crime protagonist that's become too too much is the one in Cara Black's Parisian stories, Aimee LeDuc. Terrific, but after the first few books, formulaic, repetitive, full of enormous story holes and typos. Back to Styx & Stone: Ziskin is a very good writer, knows of the pettiness and fragile egos in academia, and is very entertaining.

[Clay Stafford]

And now our tour comes back to New York in the 1960s to a mystery debut and the start of a new series. Sexism is common in the 1960s and author James W. Ziskin uses this as his backdrop in Book One, “Styx & Stone.” His main character Ellie Stone wants to be a reporter in a time when this was an all-boy’s club. However, when her father’s life is threatened, she begins to exert herself to find out why. It becomes obvious when another of her father’s contemporaries is murdered and she starts learning all she can from her father’s university colleagues only to discover not everything one hears or reads in college can be considered the truth especially when dealing with some manuscripts that seem to be worth their weight in blood. Look for the surprise ending that really brings this 1960s murder mystery alive.


My Review of Styx & Stone on Killer Nashville
My Other Reviews on Killer Nashville