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Will Finch Mystery #2
Stone Eater
A reporter on the rebound. An ex-cop with nothing to lose. A murder they can only solve together.
If you love a gripping financial thriller series that crackles with the voltage of a technothriller trilogy, then grab the second installment in this new crime trilogy. This hot fusion of PI mysteries, an organized crime series, and noir crime new releases will keep you reading through the night!
Will Finch returns to the San Francisco eXpress convinced that Gianna Whitelaw was murdered. But everyone else claims that she threw herself from the Golden Gate Bridge. Who can dispute the facts? Her suicide note posted on Facebook. Her fiancée, murdered. Her fast-lane love-life, a disgrace. When her father, US Senator Franklin Whitelaw, demands that the press respect his family’s privacy, the story is quietly shut down.
Then Finch receives a mysterious text from Eve Noon. She knew Gianna. And she knows about Gianna’s intimate night with Finch. Her revelations could ruin his career. Will she destroy him, or can Finch use what Eve knows to crack open the case?
Fans of organized crime series will love this technothriller trilogy. Inspired by true events, Stone Eater is the second novel in this string of noir crime new releases. Be sure to read this gripping financial thriller series in order: Bone Maker, Stone Eater, Lone Hunter. All three books are available now.
Author Interview with D. F. Bailey
Q. Stone Eater is the second novel in the Finch Trilogy. How do you describe the novel?
DFB. There’s a flavor of PI mysteries in the first book. But in this novel, readers will see how all three books morph into a financial thriller series. And since the crimes are based on cryptocurrency algorithms (like bitcoin) you can also describe them as a technothriller trilogy. Both terms apply.
Q. Stone Eater introduces a new character, Eve Noon. Who is she?
DFB. Eve Noon is a 32 year-old ex-cop. For five years she worked for the SFPD. After enduring years of on-the-job sexual harassment she sued — and won! As the story opens, she works as an independent, up-market PI catering exclusively to women. More important, in her quest to expose Gianna's killer she launches a devious plan to recruit Finch. It’s Eve who provides the skills and instincts of a good detective that you find in most PI mysteries.
Q. Tell us about some of the other characters.
DFB. In the first novel, Bone Maker, we met the managing editor, Wally Gimbel, and Finch's colleague, Fiona Page. We learn a lot more about them in Stone Eater, where they play critical roles. We’re also introduced to Sochi, a genius at cracking computer codes using quantum cryptography. And of course, readers will come to grips with a man known to local street kids as the Stone Eater.
Q. So who is the Stone Eater?
DFB. I can't reveal too much (no spoilers allowed!) but it's safe to say that he’s the biggest threat to a good night sleep ever to emerge from the South Shoreditch area in East London.
Q. And what makes the plot tick?
DFB. This plot — like some of the better PI mysteries — turns on the personalities of the characters rather than hidden clues and false leads. Crime is sometimes a very personal affair. Especially murder. That’s when homicide can become quite nasty. Also, Will and Eve have to sort out the motives behind Gianna's murder — and answer the lingering questions about why Raymond Toeplitz was killed in the previous book. Finally, the importance of the $450,000,000 bitcoin theft begins to emerge. So, it’s a hybrid of an organized crime series, financial thriller series — served up as a box-set technothriller trilogy.
If you love a gripping financial thriller series that crackles with the voltage of a technothriller trilogy, then grab the second installment in this new crime trilogy. This hot fusion of PI mysteries, an organized crime series, and noir crime new releases will keep you reading through the night!
Will Finch returns to the San Francisco eXpress convinced that Gianna Whitelaw was murdered. But everyone else claims that she threw herself from the Golden Gate Bridge. Who can dispute the facts? Her suicide note posted on Facebook. Her fiancée, murdered. Her fast-lane love-life, a disgrace. When her father, US Senator Franklin Whitelaw, demands that the press respect his family’s privacy, the story is quietly shut down.
Then Finch receives a mysterious text from Eve Noon. She knew Gianna. And she knows about Gianna’s intimate night with Finch. Her revelations could ruin his career. Will she destroy him, or can Finch use what Eve knows to crack open the case?
Fans of organized crime series will love this technothriller trilogy. Inspired by true events, Stone Eater is the second novel in this string of noir crime new releases. Be sure to read this gripping financial thriller series in order: Bone Maker, Stone Eater, Lone Hunter. All three books are available now.
Author Interview with D. F. Bailey
Q. Stone Eater is the second novel in the Finch Trilogy. How do you describe the novel?
DFB. There’s a flavor of PI mysteries in the first book. But in this novel, readers will see how all three books morph into a financial thriller series. And since the crimes are based on cryptocurrency algorithms (like bitcoin) you can also describe them as a technothriller trilogy. Both terms apply.
Q. Stone Eater introduces a new character, Eve Noon. Who is she?
DFB. Eve Noon is a 32 year-old ex-cop. For five years she worked for the SFPD. After enduring years of on-the-job sexual harassment she sued — and won! As the story opens, she works as an independent, up-market PI catering exclusively to women. More important, in her quest to expose Gianna's killer she launches a devious plan to recruit Finch. It’s Eve who provides the skills and instincts of a good detective that you find in most PI mysteries.
Q. Tell us about some of the other characters.
DFB. In the first novel, Bone Maker, we met the managing editor, Wally Gimbel, and Finch's colleague, Fiona Page. We learn a lot more about them in Stone Eater, where they play critical roles. We’re also introduced to Sochi, a genius at cracking computer codes using quantum cryptography. And of course, readers will come to grips with a man known to local street kids as the Stone Eater.
Q. So who is the Stone Eater?
DFB. I can't reveal too much (no spoilers allowed!) but it's safe to say that he’s the biggest threat to a good night sleep ever to emerge from the South Shoreditch area in East London.
Q. And what makes the plot tick?
DFB. This plot — like some of the better PI mysteries — turns on the personalities of the characters rather than hidden clues and false leads. Crime is sometimes a very personal affair. Especially murder. That’s when homicide can become quite nasty. Also, Will and Eve have to sort out the motives behind Gianna's murder — and answer the lingering questions about why Raymond Toeplitz was killed in the previous book. Finally, the importance of the $450,000,000 bitcoin theft begins to emerge. So, it’s a hybrid of an organized crime series, financial thriller series — served up as a box-set technothriller trilogy.
257 pages, Hardcover
First published December 20, 2015
1182 people are currently reading
444 people want to read
About the author
D.F. Bailey
21 books116 followersD.F. Bailey is a W.H. Smith First Novel Award and a Whistler Independent Book Award finalist.
His first novel, Fire Eyes was optioned for film. His second novel, Healing the Dead, was translated into German as Todliche Ahnungen. The Good Lie, another psychological thriller, was recorded as a talking book. A fourth novel, Exit from America, made its debut as an e-book in 2013.
In 2015 D.F. Bailey published The Finch Trilogy — Bone Maker, Stone Eater, and Lone Hunter — novels narrated from the point-of-view of a crime reporter in San Francisco. He is now extending the trilogy in a series of stand-alone novels.
Following his birth in Montreal, D.F. Bailey's family moved around North America from rural Ontario to New York City to McComb, Mississippi to Cape May, New Jersey. He finally "landed on his feet" on Vancouver Island — where he lives next to the Salish Sea in the city of Victoria.
For twenty-two years D.F. Bailey worked at the University of Victoria where he taught creative writing and journalism and coordinated the Professional Writing Cooperative Education Program — which he co-founded. From time to time he also freelanced as a business writer and journalist. In the fall of 2010 he left the university so that he could turn "his pre-occupation with writing into a full-blown obsession."
For more information about D.F. Bailey's books and his free newsletter visit: www.dfbailey.com
His first novel, Fire Eyes was optioned for film. His second novel, Healing the Dead, was translated into German as Todliche Ahnungen. The Good Lie, another psychological thriller, was recorded as a talking book. A fourth novel, Exit from America, made its debut as an e-book in 2013.
In 2015 D.F. Bailey published The Finch Trilogy — Bone Maker, Stone Eater, and Lone Hunter — novels narrated from the point-of-view of a crime reporter in San Francisco. He is now extending the trilogy in a series of stand-alone novels.
Following his birth in Montreal, D.F. Bailey's family moved around North America from rural Ontario to New York City to McComb, Mississippi to Cape May, New Jersey. He finally "landed on his feet" on Vancouver Island — where he lives next to the Salish Sea in the city of Victoria.
For twenty-two years D.F. Bailey worked at the University of Victoria where he taught creative writing and journalism and coordinated the Professional Writing Cooperative Education Program — which he co-founded. From time to time he also freelanced as a business writer and journalist. In the fall of 2010 he left the university so that he could turn "his pre-occupation with writing into a full-blown obsession."
For more information about D.F. Bailey's books and his free newsletter visit: www.dfbailey.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
January 21, 2016
Bailey hits his stride with this second Will Finch Thriller
I read the first book in this series – Bone Maker – and the ending stirred my curiosity. Moving into the second Will Finch novel, the author answered many of the questions I had from the first novel while spinning a fine stand-alone story. Will Finch, main character and intrepid journalist, is a more fleshed out character in this second offering. The author ties the action of the series opener to the second book with seamless brush strokes that never weigh down the current novel. No mean feat!
Readers will enjoy seeing the world through Will’s somewhat cynical perspective. His work cubicle is a “… doleful mix of neglect and oppression.” His exercise regime consists of making it up and down the three flights of stairs to his office and his huffing and puffing when he arrives is something many of us can identify with. There is also the occasional turn of word that delights – sailboats slip back and forth playing the invisible breeze and a man’s life is described as running along a track that is narrow, flat and gray. These few words stand in for so much that need never be said. A gruesome scene is described thus – the girl collapsed on the lawn like a sack of snakes. This metaphor brings the horror of the character’s situation to graphic life.
Bring on book three! I’m ready to see what Will Finch will do next.
I read the first book in this series – Bone Maker – and the ending stirred my curiosity. Moving into the second Will Finch novel, the author answered many of the questions I had from the first novel while spinning a fine stand-alone story. Will Finch, main character and intrepid journalist, is a more fleshed out character in this second offering. The author ties the action of the series opener to the second book with seamless brush strokes that never weigh down the current novel. No mean feat!
Readers will enjoy seeing the world through Will’s somewhat cynical perspective. His work cubicle is a “… doleful mix of neglect and oppression.” His exercise regime consists of making it up and down the three flights of stairs to his office and his huffing and puffing when he arrives is something many of us can identify with. There is also the occasional turn of word that delights – sailboats slip back and forth playing the invisible breeze and a man’s life is described as running along a track that is narrow, flat and gray. These few words stand in for so much that need never be said. A gruesome scene is described thus – the girl collapsed on the lawn like a sack of snakes. This metaphor brings the horror of the character’s situation to graphic life.
Bring on book three! I’m ready to see what Will Finch will do next.
December 30, 2017
The Stone Eater is a great read centered on an investigative reporter. Strong characters provide a nuanced look at the human element and challenges faced by modern day journalists. During the course of the narration, Mr. Bailey lays out a setting that fits all-too-well with serious issues in our society today.
Read The Bone Maker first. Like The Stone Eater, there is a resolution of the main conflict by the time the novel ends, but there are threads of the earlier novels plot that are woven into this one, some of which are also resolved, and others are used to build tension. Not surprisingly, this one has similar threads that lead towards the third novel, which I have, but have not yet read.
The Stone Eater introduces a strong and fascinating female protagonist, and fleshes out the background on the most interesting female character from the previous one.
If you enjoy this one, you likely will be equally entertained by the Alex Vane series by A. C. Fuller.
Read The Bone Maker first. Like The Stone Eater, there is a resolution of the main conflict by the time the novel ends, but there are threads of the earlier novels plot that are woven into this one, some of which are also resolved, and others are used to build tension. Not surprisingly, this one has similar threads that lead towards the third novel, which I have, but have not yet read.
The Stone Eater introduces a strong and fascinating female protagonist, and fleshes out the background on the most interesting female character from the previous one.
If you enjoy this one, you likely will be equally entertained by the Alex Vane series by A. C. Fuller.
October 12, 2020
"He shook his head to dislodge these crazy, infirm ideas. Then he tried to will her back to life with his mind alone. God-someone-anyone, he prayed, please bring her back to me."
"A feeling of insularity disturbed him. That, and the utter silence of the night...as he jogged toward the garage, the starkness of his own being simmered in his heightened awareness."
"As an afterthought she set the zirconia stud in her belly button and studied its bright sparkle. At just the right moment, it would offer a surprise."
Oof. Continued this "trilogy," going from "meh" to worse....again with the feeling that the author had the thesaurus open as he wrote...his narrative re: females is really "oogy," for want of a better term, not just when he's writing from their POV, but when his male protagonist comments on their appearance (and seems unable to stop himself from bonking the latest person he's met/interacted with..ugh). I'm going to charge ahead and read the last one, because it's already on my Kindle...but this was pretty bad.
"A feeling of insularity disturbed him. That, and the utter silence of the night...as he jogged toward the garage, the starkness of his own being simmered in his heightened awareness."
"As an afterthought she set the zirconia stud in her belly button and studied its bright sparkle. At just the right moment, it would offer a surprise."
Oof. Continued this "trilogy," going from "meh" to worse....again with the feeling that the author had the thesaurus open as he wrote...his narrative re: females is really "oogy," for want of a better term, not just when he's writing from their POV, but when his male protagonist comments on their appearance (and seems unable to stop himself from bonking the latest person he's met/interacted with..ugh). I'm going to charge ahead and read the last one, because it's already on my Kindle...but this was pretty bad.
May 29, 2019
One Wild Ride!
Will has gone through so much previously you would hope that he could just do his job, write some good investigative stories that didn’t involve his life being at risk, or others that he cares for. But then that wouldn’t be a Will Finch Thriller would it?
This is definitely a Will Finch thriller with lots of action, twists and turns. It has a bunch of bad guys that you hope gets theirs, and some good guys that you hope get a real relationship or at least a break in the heartbreak in their lives. But I don’t do spoilers so you will have to find out for yourself!
Buy this book and the series.
Will has gone through so much previously you would hope that he could just do his job, write some good investigative stories that didn’t involve his life being at risk, or others that he cares for. But then that wouldn’t be a Will Finch Thriller would it?
This is definitely a Will Finch thriller with lots of action, twists and turns. It has a bunch of bad guys that you hope gets theirs, and some good guys that you hope get a real relationship or at least a break in the heartbreak in their lives. But I don’t do spoilers so you will have to find out for yourself!
Buy this book and the series.
October 6, 2020
This is a good story of murder and intrigue. The unlikely chain of events make it sometimes difficult to keep everything straight. Then, when you finally think you have things figured out, another new twist throws you off on a different course. There are many unanswered questions in this book, and I can only assume the next book in the series will continue where this one leaves off. However, many times it feels like the author has forgotten what has taken place and what needs to be followed up. I almost gave this 5 stars, but with so many questions left unanswered, I didn't feel totally satisfied with the story.
July 19, 2023
This was my second book to read in the series and I could detect a pattern in the author's writing: reporter interacts with interesting female resulting in the unearthing of information that solves a murder, with just one minor loose end. The loose end entices said reporter to solve the mystery involved.. in the next book of the series. The book was a quick. interesting read, with only limited info regurgitated about what had occurred in the previous book, but as a reader who likes everything to be "tied up with a big bow"by a book's conclusion, this book's ending was a little too contrived and disappointing for me.
November 11, 2019
AN AWESOME, AWESOME READ!!
This book, was a Non-stop READ!! A continuation of book one, Will gets deeper into the death of Gianna. To really find out, if Gianna's death was a suicide over the death of Ray Toeplitz or something more sinister.
Will connects with an Ex-SFPD, now a Private Detective Eve Noon. Things really get hairy as they finally decide to check out the man, they saw in a video, with Gianna. The man, Toby Squire, is the chauffeur for Dean Whitelaw.
This is a book, the reader won't want to put down, until the very end!!!
Me, I'm off to read the next book!!!
This book, was a Non-stop READ!! A continuation of book one, Will gets deeper into the death of Gianna. To really find out, if Gianna's death was a suicide over the death of Ray Toeplitz or something more sinister.
Will connects with an Ex-SFPD, now a Private Detective Eve Noon. Things really get hairy as they finally decide to check out the man, they saw in a video, with Gianna. The man, Toby Squire, is the chauffeur for Dean Whitelaw.
This is a book, the reader won't want to put down, until the very end!!!
Me, I'm off to read the next book!!!
August 9, 2023
Will Finch is a reporter who gets involved with an ex female cop when a senator’s daughter he was seeing ends up dead. Eve Noon is the female cop who was terminated from the police force with a huge monetary settlement for blowing the whistle on harassment of female cops. This story is non stop turns and twists as it moves forward with deadly consequences. No spoilers here but I guarantee you will not be able to put this one down ! Great cast of characters, non stop action and a storyline that will keep you intrigued.
May 28, 2020
This book is the second in the Will Finch series featuring the exploits of the maverick San Francisco newspaper reporter. Fresh from his close escape from death up in Astoria, Oregon, Finch this time is drawn into trying to disprove that the drowning of a U.S. Senator’s daughter was not a Golden Gate Bridge suicide. Full of action, mystery and romance, “The Stone Eater” is every bit as good as D.F. Bailey’s first book in the series “The Bone Eater”. Check it out.
May 15, 2020
Fantastic
Action from the beginning. Since it's the second book, and the author is guessing you read first book you would have already been introduced you to Will Finch. second book picks up quickly and few characters are added So it really doesn't have a huge character build up getting you right into the story. Look forward to reading next book.
Action from the beginning. Since it's the second book, and the author is guessing you read first book you would have already been introduced you to Will Finch. second book picks up quickly and few characters are added So it really doesn't have a huge character build up getting you right into the story. Look forward to reading next book.
August 22, 2020
While I received an ARC of this book, I have made an independent decision to post this review. In this book reporter Will Finch gets a prestigious apartment in Nob Hill (San Francisco, California) - and investigates the death of a Senators' daughter, with a little help from ex-police officer Eve Noon. I really enjoyed this book!
January 16, 2022
Great follow up and a cliff hanger to the next book in the series, way to go Don. Bone Maker was good and this keeps up the pace with Will now having another case to solve involving the sociopathic Whitelaw family. Eve's future is safe but they will not rest till they find out what is really going on.
February 26, 2023
Stone Eater
This author tells a pretty good story but unfortunately this book has no ending. It is a definite "cliff hangar" that leaves the reader with no resolution to any portion of the saga. A bit frustrating. My rating would have been 4 stars with some resolution to at least this portion of the series.
This author tells a pretty good story but unfortunately this book has no ending. It is a definite "cliff hangar" that leaves the reader with no resolution to any portion of the saga. A bit frustrating. My rating would have been 4 stars with some resolution to at least this portion of the series.
January 29, 2024
As opposed to the first novel in the series, I really didn't like this novel.
Wlii's hormonal imbalance seems more appropriate for a 16-year-old boy rather than a man. The plot was thin. And, there was a no-escape cliffhanger at the end. Despite this, I will read the third in the series to see if measures up to the first.
Wlii's hormonal imbalance seems more appropriate for a 16-year-old boy rather than a man. The plot was thin. And, there was a no-escape cliffhanger at the end. Despite this, I will read the third in the series to see if measures up to the first.
September 27, 2020
Great mystery
This book kept you guessing until the end.. loved the main characters. Finch seemed like a little bit of a dipstick. Was a little disappointed that the ending left you hanging.
This book kept you guessing until the end.. loved the main characters. Finch seemed like a little bit of a dipstick. Was a little disappointed that the ending left you hanging.
October 20, 2020
This one was faster paced but the ending felt ridiculously abrupt and it really threw me off. Also feel like very little was answered and I’m left with more questions. In for a Penny, in for a pound, so guess I’m reading book 3 and hoping to find a conclusion.
August 4, 2022
Altho I really like the story, it cannot stand alone so the 3rd has to be read to tie up all of the loose ends. And there are many. Our library doesn't have it. Yes, I could buy it but not right now. 😢
February 25, 2023
Stone Eater
Impressive genius investigators to solve the mystery. Step by step, motive by motive researched for the truth. I loved it!!! For mystery thrillers always check out D. F. Bailey incredible author.
Impressive genius investigators to solve the mystery. Step by step, motive by motive researched for the truth. I loved it!!! For mystery thrillers always check out D. F. Bailey incredible author.
March 1, 2018
The story continues. Will still hasn’t found out what actually happened to Gianna. But there are other things beginning to come into focus. A Great read!
February 25, 2019
A suicide or murder?
Another death associated with the same family. Will sets out to find out the truth but will he live to get his story out.
Another death associated with the same family. Will sets out to find out the truth but will he live to get his story out.
March 4, 2019
His books are good enough for me to get the rest of the series on Kindle Unlimited
March 28, 2019
Likeable characters, plenty of suspense and action; I enjoyed this and will read more in this series. I rate it 4.5 stars.
May 1, 2019
Even better than the first in this series. I was gripped from the start. Beautifully crafted and written, the plot is intricate with twists and turns that kept me guessing. Excellent read.
June 16, 2019
Great story with some truly great suspenseful moments
July 7, 2019
will finch finds he must continue to follow the leads of gianna's family wrong doing. then everything goes wrong and will seeks justice and redemption for what he may have set in motion.
September 16, 2019
Good story
Good read
Good characters
Good twist at the end
Definitely worth a read
Good read
Good characters
Good twist at the end
Definitely worth a read
May 13, 2020
Finch and Eve pair up to solve the murder of a senator's daughter and the mystery is fast paced and perfect. Thrilling read.
May 18, 2020
Exciting novel. I would like to read the rest of his novels.
July 13, 2020
The book had a lot of twists and turns. The end of it was shocking so I'm off to read the next one because I want to know what happens
September 19, 2020
Have really enjoyed this author's books and will definitely be reading some more. Loved the complex character of Toby.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews