Heart of Stone

Ellie Stone Mysteries #4

by James W. Ziskin

Anthony Award Winner 2016
Macavity Award Winner 2016
Edgar Award Finalist 2016
Lefty Award Finalist 2016

In the waning days of a lazy August holiday, Ellie Stone is enjoying a bright Adirondack-lake morning. Nearby, two men plummet to their deaths on the rocks below, just a few feet short of the water of a dangerous diving pool. A tragic accident, it seems. But the state police quickly establish that the two victims--one, a stranger to the lake and, the other, a teenaged boy from a nearby music camp--surely didn't know each other. That anomaly is strange enough, but what really perplexes Ellie is the out-of-place station wagon parked twenty yards from the edge of the cliff.

Wading into a slippery morass of fellow travelers, free-love intellectuals, rabid John Birchers, and charismatic evangelicals, Ellie must navigate old grudges and Cold War passions, lost ideals and betrayed loves. She sticks her nose where it's unwanted, rattling nerves and putting herself in jeopardy. But this time, it's her heart that's at risk.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Historical Fiction, Historical, Novels, Historical Mystery

290 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2016

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 5 out of 5]

I’m officially caught up on Ellie’s story and I’m slightly not ok with it. While it was a fantastic story, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye until next year, when book #5 (Cast the First Stone) is published. Ellie has become a dear friend; she’s a tough girl who takes crap from no one, holds her liquor better than most men, and is fully confident in who she is and in paving the way for women in the work force during the 60’s. Good luck trying to rein her in and getting her to settle down; however, we do get to see a softer side of our girl during this installment.

I’ll admit it took me a little longer to get into the beginning of this one; I mostly blame that on my pouting for a few pages due to missing our old characters in backwoods New York, but the new cast for this book took over nicely and drew me in just as well. This entire book had a different feel; the mystery was still top notch but there was even more backstory to Ellie’s childhood, along with further delving into her emotions and demons she has been wrestling with since book 1. The style of writing in this book reminded me a good bit of book 1, Styx & Stone, in the sense there are a good deal of new characters that can be difficult to follow at first but all come together to a nice point. The author takes the time to focus on each character to give us plenty of development, as these are all a group of friends who have known each other for many years, all the way back to those childhood summers at the lake each year. This seems to wipe out any confusion between characters and makes this read worth your time.

I am 0/4 people; I cannot seem to solve these mysteries until good Mr. Ziskin deems it time for me to know. Again, there is always a small detail that comes to light at the end of the book that offered evidence for the mystery to be solved, I just never seem to be able to piece it together myself until it is spelled out for me. I was extremely satisfied with the ending of this one; while everything did tie up nicely, it wasn’t cookie cutter pretty and it made the story feel more relatable and believable. It is always fun to go back in history with these stories; I tend to feel like it is such a welcome escape to a much simpler time that we have lost touch with, while also making me grateful for the progress we have made through the years, especially involving racial/women’s issues. In short, another incredible read from James Ziskin that has wormed it’s way into my heart and won me over to follow Ms. Stone for life.

*Once again, many thanks to JKS Publicity, Seventh Street Books, and Author James Ziskin for providing me copies to the entire series in exchange for fair and honest reviews. I’ve loved them so much that I’ll be raffling my copies off on the blog for another lucky individual to enjoy and hopefully spread the word!

[Aditi · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

----Albert Einstein


James W. Ziskin, an American author, has penned a riveting thriller in his new book, Heart of Stone which marks as the fourth book in the Ellie Stone Mysteries series. The book opens with the protagonist poking her nosy nose or rather say, investigate the death of a man and a teenage boy, who died apparently from diving off the cliff in Adirondack lake, as per the local sheriff's initial observations, but this investigation also makes the protagonist fall in a passionate summer romance with one of her childhood friends.


Synopsis:

In the waning days of a lazy August holiday, Ellie Stone is enjoying a bright Adirondack-lake morning. Nearby, two men plummet to their deaths just a few feet short of the water of a dangerous diving pool. A tragic accident, it seems. But the state police quickly establish that the two victims--one, a stranger to the lake and, the other, a teenaged boy from a nearby music camp--surely didn't know each other. That anomaly is strange enough, but what really perplexes Ellie is the out-of-place station wagon parked twenty yards from the edge of the cliff.

Wading into a slippery morass of fellow travelers, free-love intellectuals, rabid John Birchers, and charismatic evangelicals, Ellie must navigate old grudges and Cold War passions, lost ideals and betrayed loves. She sticks her nose where it's unwanted, rattling nerves and putting herself in jeopardy. But this time, it's her heart that's at risk.


Ellie Stone, the reporter from a newspaper, is sun tanning, while her Aunt Lena is taking a nude swim into the Adirondack lake when the newbie local chief of police, Tiny Terwilliger, asks for Ellie to photograph the bodies of two divers, one man and a teenage boy. The chief rules out that their deaths might have occurred due to a diving accident, but Ellie finds so many things out of order while photographing the two bodies, especially the station wagon few feet from the cliff where the bodies were found. Luckily for Ellie, she is pulled into the camp lifestyle of non-stop music, dance and free wine in the Arcadia Lodge , when her childhood friends invite her over dinner, and that is where, she meets the charming man, Issac. Their instant attraction for one another draws her into a passionate love affair but in due time, Issac's lies and the stories about a group of left-wing Jewish intellectuals leave Ellie digging for clues behind the tragic death of two human lives. So amidst of love and hate and fighting with Issac, keeps Ellie looking for the truth behind the deaths.

Having never before read an Ellie Stone Mysteries makes me really sad, as Ellie turned out to be an exceptional and fearless heroine who is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, even though the statistics says otherwise, nothing could be missed from her sharp brain and eyes. I definitely need to read the previous books, which I guess, would be equally enthralling. And what really surprises me is the word "Stone" from Ellie's surname is common in the titles of the books from this series. And not to mention, the book's cover image has arrested the summer feel of a lake, sun tanning and swimming quite strikingly, that enchanted me to open the book and read the story behind its alluring cover.

The author's writing style is coherent and is laced with suspense and emotions that promises for a fulfilling read for the readers. The narrative is both intriguing and emotional that will keep the readers gripped to the very core of the story. Right from the very start, the story will immediately pull in the readers into its very heart, as the author narrates the story with a visual angle that is both interesting and edgy. The pacing of the book is fast as the story progresses with a swiftly through the twists and the turns and the hidden stories from the Cold War era to the biblical and satanic preaching.

The mystery concocted by the author is really cleverly unwrapped through its layers and unexpected twists that will both shock the hell out of readers minds as well as anticipate the story till the very end. The mystifying tension will keep the readers hooked to the edges of their seats until the very climax that is not only unforeseeable but is quite powerful and apt. The mystery runs in the background of a love story that the author has penned with lots of compassion that will definitely make the readers feel the heat as well as passion off the pages of the book.

The characters in this book are well-developed. The main character, Ellie, is a brave and dedicated woman who will go at any length or take any risks to uncover the truth. Her relationship with other characters is projected as authentic and striking. The only disappointing part of the story would be that this story is set in the 60s, but not once I felt like teleported back in time as the time setting could play a major role in the story.

In a nutshell, the story is a must read that will challenge and entice the readers' minds and hearts and also the story will give the readers a rush towards the thrill over the mystery and the summery feel over love and swimming.

Verdict: A thriller not to be missed.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, James W. Ziskin, for giving me an opportunity to read and review his book.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This will be my last Ellie Stone, but I gave it a fair chance. I enjoyed this more than book #3 as we find Ellie making trip into the Adirondacks to the family cottage where she meets up with not just her aunt (who likes swimming nude) and uncle but also a group of family friends/acquaintances. Of course Ellie gets involved with murder due to being asked by the new sheriff in town to go with him by boat across the lake to take photos of two dead bodies. There is a lot of social commentary, war stories, music and bed hopping.

[Lori Rader-Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ellie Stone. Long may she nose her way into murder investigations.

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellie Stone is on holiday with her aunt Lena and a cousin Max at a lake in the Adirondaks. Soon she discovers old friends from her childhood. The local police chief asks her to photograph two bodies of men thought to have jumped off a notoriously dangerous cliff. Unfortunately, the plot goes around and around seemingly not going anywhere, allowing a promiscuous side f Ellie to jump in and out of bed and frolic in the pine needles, but then arrives, after some deduction of Ellies at a startling conclusion. The conclusion saves the book with the author descriptive prose.

Not a bad read and 3 stars.

Thanks to Goodreads friend Kathy for steering me towards the site where I was able to download the book and send it to my Kindle.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fourth installment to this mystery series featuring investigative reporter Ellie Stone may be my favorite yet. Set in 1961 Adirondacks, it opens with the chief of police, Tiny Terwilliger, asking Ellie to take photos of two men who have plummeted to their deaths off Baxter Rock. Their deaths are deemed accidental. Meanwhile, Ellie runs into childhood friends at nearby Arcadia Lodge and is drawn to their nights of wine and music, although she’s drawn to charming Isaac the most. The more she learns about this group of left-wing Jewish intellectuals, the more suspicious she becomes that the deaths off Baxter Rock are not accidental. There are clues and connections that she can't ignore so she does what she's good at, pokes around where she's not wanted. Ellie tries not to let her feelings for Isaac cloud her judgment as she wades through long-buried secrets, religious fanatics, and Cold War ideology. This whirlwind romance brings out a softer side to the typically tough protagonist which I found endearing and real.

[Mark Stevens]

Intricately plotted and deftly layered with dicey issues of identity and status, "Heart of Stone" is another terrific entry in this spunky, energetic series featuring the likable Ellie Stone and that Cold War in-between-everything era of 1961.

If you’ve read the three books leading up to this one (I've read the last two), you know the intrepid Ellie is a reporter in a small-town newspaper called the New Holland Republic in upstate New York. "Heart of Stone" takes place during summer downtime at a lakeside in the Adirondacks. Ellie’s natural inquisitiveness and sense of order come in handy when two men are found splat dead on the beach, apparently having misjudged the leap necessary to safely dive to the water.

Sounds like the set-up for your basic amateur sleuth mystery, right? Well, maybe. First, Ellie is asked by the local chief of police, Ralph “Tiny” Terwilliger, to assist by helping photograph the bodies with her ever-handy Leica. The cop is camera-less and also a bit clueless about photography. He’s also more than a bit of a boor and has opinions about the “Jew Communists” staying at the “Hebrew kee-boots,” a.k.a. the nearby Arcadia Lodge.

Ellie is happy to help and doesn’t even mind, too much, getting close to the bodies or figuring out all the angles to take of the scene, whether not it’s yet known to be a crime. Ellie briefly contemplates the ghastly scene on the beach and the jumping-off point above, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to instantly drop her sunbathing plans and grab the nearest magnifying glass. Hardly. Ziskin lets the story build like a slow-gathering wave. Ellie knows that “procedures” belong to the police. She supplies the contact sheets to the cop, wonders casually about what could have possibly happened to lead two men to the fatal plunge, and goes about her summer.

An intense fling develops as Ellie finds herself hanging around the aforementioned “kee-boots,” the communal Arcadia Lodge where the musicians play Puccini and Verdi and pass the whiskey. "Heart of Stone" is well-populated (a Ziskin trademark) and more—there’s even a prison escapee who is allegedly loose in the woods nearby. Once the questions around the odd-couple deaths turn from accident to murder, there is a small army of suspects in place. So the slow turn toward investigation, when Ellie turns up the jets on her reporter snoop-doggedness, doesn’t happen until dead middle of the story.

“The day was bright. The wind and rain of the previous night had passed, and the August sun was back in the saddle. It was only half past noon, but Wednesday promised to be an exhausting day. I was supposed to be on vacation, yet I was chasing a story that was surely just an accident. Yes, there were a few details about the diving deaths that didn’t make sense. But what did I think had happened? Had the two men been pushed off the cliff? Was this a case of double suicide?”

Ellie has an “obsessive devotion to clearing up remainders and riddles” and soon she is out studying the crime from new angles with fresh eyes and her analytical powers in full force. Fans of the series know full well that her camera will help piece the puzzle together. All the camera nostalgia, from Tri-X film to darkroom enlargers, is fantastic. The camera doesn’t lie. On the other hand, there are the humans who do. And many have arrived on the shore of Prospector Lake with a rich variety of back stories and dark secrets that go straight to the heart of the era’s cultural divides, social norms, sexual politics, racism and more. More than a few have tried to change their stripes or shed their skins. (Maybe one too many?) Heart of Stone does not lack for themes or issues. The story is sprinkled with world politics of the day, from who gets to work in Hollywood to the John Birch Society.

But the key here is Ellie—she’s a Dewars-sipping, forward-thinking “modern” young woman. She’s independent, feisty, and smart. For the first time, we get to see her get cozy (and then some) with a true love interest. She’s free spirited, a few years ahead of her time. She'll make the switch from classical music to meaningful folk music, I have no doubt, when the time comes. And that free-thinking mentality and open mind is what helps her figure out why the two men took their fatal tumbles. Long may Ellie run.

[Jennifer Kincheloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart of Stone, James W. Ziskin’s latest novel in the Ellie Stone mystery series, is everything you hope it would be—gripping, unpredictable, and full of sexual intrigue. In a 1960s retreat for Jewish intellectuals, Ziskin creates a rich community of multifaceted actors—the volatile zealot, the cold beauty with dark secrets, the irresistibly sexy man from Ellie’s past.

A hard drinking, sophisticated, modern girl, Ellie Stone herself is unforgettable. Alternately steely and vulnerable, Ellie sets off to find out what really happened to two young men found dead at the bottom of a cliff on a peaceful lake in the Adirondacks.

Ziskin’s expert plotting, living breathing characters, and beautiful command of the language make Heart of Stone one of the best books I’ve read this year.

You must read Heart of Stone.

[Gina Fava · Rating 3 out of 5]

This installment of a typically 5 star series was less gritty, less witty, and slightly dull and repetitive.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart of Stone by James W. Ziskin is a 2016 Seventh Street Books publication.

It’s summer in the Adirondacks, where Ellie is visiting her delightful aunt for a while. She is instantly drawn into a murder case when the inept and the disgusting chief of police asks her to take photographs of two dead bodies, the victims of a cliff diving accident. However, the circumstances are questionable enough to ping Ellie’s radar.

I enjoyed the change of scenery in this fourth installment of the series, and the musical elements, as well. Ellie’s character is slightly less morose here as she enjoys a little vacation time and connects with old friends. But, her need to discover the truth behind these tragic deaths, which leads her to a few very shocking and painful revelations.

Ellie, in a short span of time, has become one of my favorite amateur sleuths. Her character carves out opportunities for women in a field dominated by men, she has an open mind and heart, and feels things deeply. The mystery, while it seems like an open and shut case, turns out to be much more complex and is a real head scratcher. Again, the details, descriptions, characters and dialogue is crisp and sharp.

This is another fantastic chapter in the series!

4 stars

[Monica Ravreby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE Ellie Stone, hence James Ziskin for creating this intelligent, witty, progressive, strong, yet compassionate heroine. The fourth installment in this exquisite series does not disappoint.
Ziskin's descriptive language, suspenseful plot and top notch character development is superb. Looking very forward to Ellie's next adventure!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart of Stone may be the best yet in the Ellie Stone mystery series. I’ve been an enthusiastic fan since the first book, Styx and Stone, and James Ziskin deftly continued the story of my favorite twenty-five-year-old reporter in the next two tales. This fourth entry is special to me because the very first page gobsmacked me with gorgeous writing that I had to read several times before I continued on with the book. When students study creating atmosphere in writing, they should study this page. The woods become alive and you will gasp and declare that it is the stuff of your childhood nightmares. Don’t misunderstand. James Ziskin’s previous three books are wonderfully written with language, story, and character that are amazing. Heart of Stone just made me catch my breath. To be reading a murder mystery with a fierce character and have the language take you to a level of euphoria is like wishing for a cake and getting one made by Ace of Cakes. There are layers of delicious that you never anticipated. The combination of all the ingredients is electric. Bold, well-developed characters; suspenseful plot that twists and turns unexpectedly, but in a natural unfolding; and voice that beguiles. Damn, you’re good, James Ziskin!

Set in the early 1960s, 1961 to be specific, Ziskin doesn’t miss a beat with the trappings of that period. And, yet, he gives us the irrepressible Ellie, who defies the expectation of females at the beginning of a decade when change was coming to so many areas of the world and life. Ellie is ahead of her time, but symbolic of the path ahead. One of the most impressive aspects of this series is how James Ziskin, a man, writes from the viewpoint of Ellie, a woman. As if undertaking the setting of the 1960s isn’t enough, the author must be the voice of a female protagonist and get that right, too. Well, get it right he does, and there is never any question of authenticity of setting or character.

In Heart of Stone, Ellie is on vacation from her newspaper reporter job in New Holland, New York. She has joined her aunt Lena and cousin Max for an August holiday at Lena’s cabin on Prospector Lake in the Adirondacks. Familiar to Ellie from her childhood days with her family here, it’s a spot that promises relaxation and a rest from her constant struggle for respect at the newspaper. Enter two dead male bodies, one mid-thirties and one seventeen, at the bottom of Baxter’s Rock diving point, and add Ellie’s immediate involvement, and you have no rest for the curious. Having a camera, her prized Leica, Ellie is commandeered into taking pictures of the death scene by the bumbling, obnoxious, and highly creepy chief of police, who wants to wrap up the incident as an accident as quickly as he can. But, Ellie feels the scene is wrong, something is off, starting with why a thirty-something man, who has no identification, and a seventeen-year-old boy from a nearby music camp ended up at the same time on the rocky shore beneath a known danger spot. One of the best attributes of a good reporter is a dogged commitment to finding the whole story and the truth, and Ellie is the proverbial dog with the bone times ten.

In addition to the death investigation that Ellie is bent on continuing, she becomes reacquainted with some friends from her childhood who are ensconced at Arcadia, a nearby community of Jewish intellectuals and artists. Of particular interest is Isaac, with whom Ellie makes an immediate reconnection and current romantic attachment. We know that our intrepid reporter has a healthy attitude toward sex, something that the 1960s would become known for. However, book four introduces a vulnerability that we haven’t yet seen in Ellie’s emotions. Her relationships with Isaac and her aunt and her cousin provide readers with a satisfying look at a support system for her heart and a journey for Ellie to knowing herself better. The other Jewish friends with whom Ellie reconnects are an interesting, quirky group that includes an outspoken communist and an enigmatic musician. Ziskin does an amazing job bringing these characters to life and addressing issues of the day through them. And, not surprisingly, the Arcadia community plays an important part in what Ellie has determined is the murder of the two men who fell from Baxter’s Rock.

Ellie has her work cut out for her in slogging through all of the different suspects and scenarios in trying to piece together murder, motive, and opportunity. Distractions such as an escaped murderer from a prison and John Birchers voicing their fanaticism add to an atmosphere of fear and volatility. Secrets and deceptions run amok, but not without purpose, providing twists that keep the reader guessing to the end, and that end is spectacular. Heart of Stone is absolutely a thrilling, scary, delightful mystery that has as its star one of the wittiest, most resolute, most curious of heroines. Sometimes she drinks a bit too much and sometimes she is reckless in her pursuit of the truth and sometimes she makes a bad choice in a bed mate, but Ellie Stone keeps it interesting, always.

[Kathleen Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journalist Eleonora (“Ellie”) Stone is spending some time with her aunt Lena and cousin Max at her aunts Adirondack lake cottage. While on the dock with her aunt who is swimming in the nude, the police chief "Tiny" Terwilliger appears and the first thing he says it "You know that nude bathing is prohibited her on Prospector Lake?" That is how Ellie first gets involved in the deaths of two people, one a man and the other a teenage boy. They have appeared to have jumped from a cliff onto the beach below. Is it an accident? Why the two men together, did they know each other?
The police chief asks Ellie if she would take pictures of the dead men. This is 1961 and no cell phones in sight and even if there were, the police chief seems to be pretty inept. Ellie notices that Tiny has been drinking and is a very unkempt man who also appears to be a bit racist as he makes comments about the 'Jew communists' staying at Arcadia Lodge. A group of families had gotten together to purchase this lodge and they come for their vacations and get together's to talk about art, literature and politics. 
Ellie, over a course of time, comes to spend a lot of time with the people from Arcadia Lodge and falls for one of the men there while investigating the deaths of the two men. Ellie is a free-thinking modern woman who has no trouble with having a summer fling. Is it just a summer fling and can she trust the people that she has become close to? How did these men die and if it was murder, who did it and why?
This book caught me from the first page, fast reading, and believable characters. This is #4 in the Ellie Stone mystery series and in spite of that, I did not have any difficulties at all getting into the story. It really can be read as a stand alone novel. Ellie is a woman who is a go-getter and a persistent journalist. I enjoyed it and hope to read the previous books in the series at some point!
 

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a higher rating than the previous books and has had some very good reviews but I’m afraid I found it a bit slow. The investigation hardly moved for two thirds of the book, old assumptions were repeated over and over again even when it was clear they were going nowhere. The last quarter of the book was more exciting and the ending was quite interesting. Overall I enjoyed the book but I still feel it is worth just 3 stars.
Several reviewers commented on the Author trying to create a slightly different environment and group of interesting characters for Ellie to interact with in this novel. She is staying with her Aunt Lena and cousin Max on an Adirondack Lake and meets a group of Jewish intellectuals that she used to know when she was a child. I must admit I was quite intrigued by Aunt Lena but after the first few chapters she almost disappeared from the story. As for the intellectuals, I just found most of them nauseating.

[Nancy Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised to find the location change and then delighted. Not only did I recognize "New Holland" but my family also had a home in the Adirondacks, which I consider my home.

I'm looking forward to the next Ellie Stone book. Thanks to Author James Ziskin for making me feel "at home" when I read.

[Kim Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I interviewed James Ziskin about HEART OF STONE for the "Los Angeles Review of Books": https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/w...

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Ellie is enjoying an Adirondack-lake morning when two men plummet to their deaths off a cliff nearby. She finds some anomalies.

[Dlmrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+

[Rusty Dalferes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another really good entry in this series, which I've grown to enjoy for its plots and great writing. I give a big recommendation of this series to any fans of mysteries, books set in the 1960s, and stories with strong female leads.

The fourth in the Ellie Stone series begins with the title character trying to enjoy a vacation with her aunt and older cousin at the family cabin on Prospector Lake in the Adirondacks, when she's approached by the local sheriff, a corpulent, smelly, drunk, lazy man who needs her to take pictures of a crime scene. Ellie goes with the untidy man to the base of a cliff near the water -- a popular diving spot for daredevil youngsters -- to the scene of two bodies, a man in his twenties or early thirties and a teenage boy, apparently the victims of an accidental fall from the precipice. The older man turned out to be a long-lost member of a group of Jewish leftists that had a set of cabins for music and socializing near Ellie's family property, many of whom Ellie had known during her summers in the area as a child. The teenage victim was wearing the t-shirt of a nearby music camp mostly catering to Jewish kids, and was a talented musician with a penchant for sneaking off to meet with girls. The victims are seemingly unrelated, but Ellie feels compelled to pull at the threads of unexplained facts that the sheriff seems unwilling or unable to investigate. Throughout her attempts to find out the reasons for the deaths, she encounters many characters, including the indolent sheriff who likes to take other people's booze for himself, a seductive Jewish-atheist lothario with whom she becomes involved, a newly-reconfirmed strict Jewish man with a condition that causes aggressive outbursts, his adulterous wife, a swinger couple, an evangelical Christian preacher, and a group of John Birch Society bigots -- any of whom could have been the killer. Or were the deaths really caused by an unfortunate accident? In the meantime, everyone in the area is on edge because of sightings of an escaped killer in the area, who becomes another possible suspect lurking in the background.

As with the first three novels in the series, I really enjoy Ziskin's writing style, which is funny and colloquial without being outlandish, with sporadic bursts of pure literary flair. Ellie Stone continues her semi-broken ways (still getting over the deaths of her brother and father, still drinking too much, still making impulsive choices with the men in her life), yet is a high-functioning broken woman, with serious investigative chops that often outshine everyone else around her. The plot is plausible and well-paced, with new clues dotted throughout the storyline at regular intervals, and while you might be able to guess whodunit by about midway through the book, you're just not *quite* sure you've got the right culprit until the final few pages, as Ziskin is adept at weaving plots with multiple believable suspects. I do wish one or two side plots had been given a bit more of a resolution, but the story came to a satisfying conclusion nonetheless, and I'm looking forward to continuing the series immediately.

I didn't have any complaints in this book about the mechanics of grammar or typesetting or editing, so I continue to be pleased with the final copy of Ziskin's products.

Overall, this book -- and, indeed, the whole series so far -- has been really well done, and I recommend it strongly to fans of murder mysteries and strong women.

Thanks to Seventh Street Books (and my Queen of the Book Fairies) for providing me with a copy of this book.

[Vinnie Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of this slightly noir-ish series set in the early 1960's. The time period is far enough back to seem historical, and yet it's during my lifetime.

Ellie Stone is a single, 25-year-old, female reporter, qualities that make her fairly remarkable for the time period. She's also Jewish, hard-drinking, and sexually liberated, all characteristics that factor into the books, particularly Heart of Stone.

I like that Ellie is on vacation in this fourth book in the series, providing a different backdrop--in this case the Adirondacks--and an opportunity to meet Ellie's colorful cousin Max and her Aunt Lena.

[Anniereads · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little hard to get into but then a total page turner.
Ellie Stone is visiting her aunt Lena and avuncular cousin Max when Max is missing and his car is found with pants and shoes belonging t someone else. This someone else is found dead at Baxter’s Rock with a 16 year old boy. Was it an accident, a dive gone wrong or did something nefarious occur. It will be close to the final pages before the truth comes out.
In the meantime there is a lodge, Arcadia where a group of Jews had purchased years ago where they offer nightly dinner and food. These are old friends of Ellie’s but there is a lot about these old friends that is complicated.

[Toni Kania · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series that is always a good read. It takes place in the 60's, where they still used phone booths and in which the journalist protagonist had no Internet to work with. And am always amazed that it is written by a male with a very credible female protagonist. I wonder how Mr. Ziskin can do that.

[Carole Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok but ms .Stone sounds like a man

I enjoyed the setting and the mystery but characters are not very deep. The two dead people were particularly facile. There were elements of cozy and a few semi scary scenes. Perhaps jumping into the middle of the series isn't such a good idea. Alas I may not try another.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this were the first I'd read in the series, I'd be quitting now, because until the arrest at the end of ch. 24, I was exceeding bored. But apparently I enjoyed the first three, so I'll take a chance on #5.

[jennifer shank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is # 4 in a series. I have not read any of the others but it was easy to jump right into . A decent plot and I wasn’t able to figure it out. Definitely not who I was expecting, so I liked the wrap up.

[Kiana Siefkas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for the soul. I love a delicious old fashioned mystery, woven with fun characters, a shifting whodunnit, sprinkles of culture. Love the main character!

[Doug]

A fun story. Not to serious. Good characters

[Amanda Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One wild week in the late 1960s on a lake in the Adirondacks, Ellie Stone had an adventure. This former journalist decides to vacation with her aunt and uncle on their family compound at the lake where she spent her childhood summers. The first day she is there, a mysterious tragedy occurs: one man and one teenage boy are found dead at the bottom of the same cliff on the same morning. Busybody Ellie feels the need to investigate these deaths, and will stop at nothing to figure out what happened.

While Ellie is staying at the compound, she finds a group of people staying at a nearby camp on the same lake, who she remembers from her teenage years. All grown and some married now, Ellie begins hanging out with this group and begins a love affair with one of the single men.

The town's drunk, stinky local cop takes a liking to Ellie and enjoys her helping him out with the investigation, keeping her close the whole time.

This story juggles several interesting storylines and is hard to believe it's contained to just one week's time. But it moves quickly and the writing keeps the reader interested. One thing I thought was somewhat out of place was when Ellie's large friend Fadge visits her for a day or two from back home. He doesn't seem to really have a point to this story, but I'm guessing he plays a bigger part in the previous book in this series, which I have not read.

I did not feel like I missed out on anything from reading this book as a standalone. I won this book via First Reads.

[Jill Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Ziskin's new novel, "Cast the First Stone", is the fourth in his Eleanora Stone novels. (I read and enjoyed the first in the series, but didn't realise there were more til I received this book,). Ziskin sets his novels and character in the early 1960's, a seemingly innocent time in US history. Ellie Stone is a "girl" newspaper reporter in upstate New York and is not exactly treated as the rest of the staff. But in "Cast the First Stone", Ellie is sent out to Los Angeles - on a non-stop jet, no less - to interview a young actor from the area who is on the edge of stardom. Unfortunately for Ellie, the actor disappears after the murder of a producer. Ellie is told by her boss to "finish" the story by finding the actor...and the murderer.

Ziskin's novel is one where the supporting characters play a large role in the plot. And Ziskin's Hollywood in 1962 has a film-noirish feel to it; those supporting characters are well-developed and I rather expected Troy Donahue or Rock Hudson on the scene any minute. Much of the book has to do with the gay community of actors and film people who were hiding in plain sight. There are no happy endings in Ziskin's book; rather the endings that are appropriate. It's a good read.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#4 in the Ellie (Eleonora) Stone Mystery series. Finalist 2017 Lefty Award for Best Mystery; Finalist 2017 Edgar Award for Best Paperback. Ellie Stone encounters a mystery in the Adirondacks during the summer of 1961. In an enclave of Jewish culture and classical music, 25 year old Ellie renews acquaintances made 15 years earlier. In trying to find the causes of two deaths and the connection between the deceased, Ellie ingeniously uncovers clues that lead to unforeseen results. A look at post-war Jewish intelligentsia.

Ellie (Eleonora) Stone - Set in the Adirondacks in August of 1961, the story begins with slovenly local police chief Ralph Terwilliger asking the vacationing 25-year-old reporter to photograph the corpses of two people who fell from a cliff in a nearby cove. Though the deceased-one a teenager from an area music camp, the other a wealthy man in his mid-30s-don't appear to have known one another, their deaths are deemed accidental. Sensing that there's more to the story, Ellie launches her own investigation. Clever clues and convincing red herrings share the page with discussions of faith, prejudice, and cold war politics.