Double-Showcase: Review & Q&A | “Heart of Stone” (An #EllieStone #Mystery, No. 4) by James W. Ziskin Including footnotes on the series and a convo with the author!

Acquired Book By: I was selected to review “Heart of Stone” by JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm. JKS is the first publicity firm I started working with when I launched Jorie Loves A Story in August, 2013. I am honoured to continue to work with them now as a 3rd Year Book Blogger.

As a new reviewer for Seventh Street Books, I was quite intrigued by discovering another new author under this imprint for Prometheus Books, as thus far along I have found this imprint to be producing wicked good content for mystery enthusiasts! I requested if it were possible to receive the first book in the series, “Styx & Stone” as this series is in-progress and has a total of four novels thus far released.

I received my complimentary copy of Heart of Stone from the publisher Seventh Street Books in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Borrowed Books via my Local Library: I had the pleasure of seeking out the two books between ‘Styx & Stone’ and ‘Heart of Stone’ via my local library. ‘No Stone Unturned’ was available quite readily via my local library’s catalogue, however, I had use our ILL (inter-library loan) services to fetch a copy of ‘Stone Cold Dead’ which arrived quite timely, I must say! I was not obliged to post my reflections or reviews on behalf of these novels, as I sought them out for my own edification to understand the series and the character ‘Ellie Stone’ better as I read the first novel and the fourth installment of the Ellie Stone Mysteries. Likewise, I was not compensated for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

A few surprises awaited me as I read the Ellie Stone Mysteries:

[ Reflections on ‘No Stone Unturned’ ]

Part of what makes me think of Jesse Stone* as I am reading an Ellie Stone Mystery is how similar the two are in their habits. Ellie is never far from a hard drink (a habit that nearly cost Jesse Stone his life and career) nor a lit cigarette. Her mannerisms are a reflection of the former but with a bit more softness to her personality than a hardened edge like Jesse maintains. Although, truth be told, Ellie isn’t all roses either – the stories get to her on some level as does the direction of her life – she’s not as happy as she eludes nor pretends.

Ellie goes after stories – she doesn’t wait for the call to find them; if she did, I fear she’d never work as an investigative journalist. Her uphill climb against the men notwithstanding (she’s a bit anti-feminist) Ellie focuses on what she can do to charm the facts out of a scene. Hence why when she returned to a crime scene, she picked up a few clues no one else bothered to seek out. Especially since a bottlecap or a smudge of motor oil would not be at top of a detective’s list of ‘what to find’ on scene!

Yet, I felt pulled out of this novel straight from the beginning – I barely left the initial crime scene search, as I felt I was losing traction fast with the impression I had of Ellie Stone from Styx & Stone – she felt altered in this installment, almost as if the author had changed his writing style in presenting Ellie to those of us who loved her in her debut! Once I lose pace with a character and the manner in which she’s meant to be seen in a series, I become disillusioned. It is quite rare to happen to a series I get wholly enthused about in the opening act of a serial in-progress, but it has happened in the past. Sometimes, despite the joy of discovering a new series, something wans in the execution of successive installments – for me, Ellie felt harder and embittered more than usual in this exploit. I also felt the style was colder somehow – it’s hard to put into words – how I felt when I read this story was ‘off’ from the joy I had with Styx & Stone. I did not want to ‘put’ the original debut down whereas this time round, I was skipping forward to see if I could re-attach myself ‘somewhere’ but found it was impossible.

[ Reflections on ‘Stone Cold Dead’ ]

The plot rankled, however, I appreciated Norma’s entrance as a competent secretary who has a keen thirst for research to aide Ellie Stone! Unfortunately, Norma’s entrance as wonderful as it might be was not enough to anchour me into the story. There was something about the back-story and delivery of Ellie’s pursuing investigation that simply did not root me to the plot and thereby, I had no interest to know what became of the missing girl. Sad as that might be, I was simply not invested.

Part of the problem, too, is there is a certain way to highlight the downward spiral of a character – Ellie and Jesse (i.e. Jesse Stone, again) share this in common; they are both exhibiting self-destructive behaviour patterns, one sought help finally through psychotherapy but the way in which Ellie is being presented consistently through this installment, somehow it felt contrite and predictable. Almost as if she would succumb to this pattern of a lifestyle choice because of who she was and the version of herself she wanted to be most. Where you feel empathy for Jesse, you feel pity for Ellie; not quite the way I think she was meant to be portrayed?

*NOTE: All cross-references to Jesse Stone are based on the Jesse Stone Mystery Movies starring Tom Selleck as I haven’t had the pleasure of reading the book series.

In regards to the style of the Ellie Stone Mysteries – the original version was represented again in short bursts but faded as quickly as it resumed. Leading into my readings of Heart of Stone, I can honestly say I was betwixt and between my final thoughts on how I felt about Ellie Stone.

Heart of Stone
Subtitle: An Ellie Stone Mystery
by James W. Ziskin
Source: Direct from Publisher

On a summer day in 1960, two men dive off a lakeside cliff and plummet to their death on the rocks below. By all appearances, this is a tragic accident. Or was it? Ellie Stone jumps in with both feet to investigate, risking her safety, and her heart. “Heart of Stone” is the fourth installment in Ziskin’s Ellie Stone Mysteries.

Two men fall to their deaths from a cliff near a lake in the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. Police rule this to be a tragic accident, and that the two victims – one, a stranger to the lake and, the other, a teenage boy from a nearby music camp – didn’t know each other. Stranger than that, Ellie notices her elderly cousin’s station wagon parked 20 yards from the edge of the cliff.

These details cause Ellie to investigate. She sticks her nose where it’s unwanted, rattling nerves and putting herself in jeopardy. Wading into a slippery morass of left-wing, Jewish intellectuals, rabid John Birchers, and charismatic evangelicals, Ellie must navigate old grudges and Cold War passions, lost ideals and betrayed loves.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to Riffle

ISBN: 978-1-63388-183-9

Also by this author: Styx & Stone

Also in this series: Styx & Stone

Genres: Crime Fiction, Noir Crime Drama, Thriller

Published by Seventh Street Books

on 7th June, 2016

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 290

Ellie Stone Mystery series:

Interesting Trivia: this series has been optioned for a television series!

“Stone Cold Dead” – received a nomination for the 2016 Lefty Award for Best World Mystery Novel. “No Stone Unturned” received a coveted Anthony Award nomination for Best Paperback Original in 2015.

Styx & Stone | No.1 (review)

No Stone Unturned | No.2 | Book Synopsis

Stone Cold Dead | No.3 | Book Synopsis

Heart of Stone | No.4

Published By: Seventh Street Books (@SeventhStBooks)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #EllieStoneMysteries OR #EllieStoneMystery

Read an Excerpt of Heart of Stone on the author’s site!

My Review of Heart of Stone:

What a way to enter into a story – a hauntingly chilling little paragraph echoing the poems on the coffins of the Living Dead Dolls! Part cautionary, part bone chill of a forethought towards danger and equally terrifying in the simplicity of how it evokes such a sense of a moment caught in time! Found underneath a map outlay for Prospector Lake, New York! Of which I readily presumed is a wink and a nod towards Ellie Stone taking a breathier of a break from her regular affairs, settling into some holiday hours and never thinking she’d find a curious mystery needing resolved?

Further still, the opening scene of such a shocking near-smirk on Ellie’s face as she caught her Aunt Lena emerging out of the lake (in the same fashion Lou first met Doc Stone in Doc Hollywood) was quite classic as given the nature of Ellie’s lifestyle choices. I totally agreed with Aunt Lena, “Really! Ellie!?” She’s also ensnared herself with a two-bit small towne Sheriff who doesn’t hold his discontent for women in men’s careers too well; not to mention he likes to size you up if you will from a less than stellar perspective! Ellie charms her way into viewing the rest of the crime scene, as sure as you please, she’s found one just after having her Aunt shock the moxie right out of her sensibility!

Her dear old Cousin Max has gone lost right around the time the crime scene was discovered; a painter who liked to disappear into the woods to work on his creations, Max wasn’t the type to stay aloof for long. Her Aunt Lena had mentioned his preference to choose a spot close to where he parks his car was only hindered by the fact there were things inside his car that linked him to the crime scene. A thrilling hunt and chase scene with an unknown threat elusive in the shadows, gives you a bit of a lurching in your throat – as Ellie’s fears are resounding out of her flight from the treeline! Ziskin isn’t wasting time setting up the suspenseful bits in his fourth installment and thankfully he’s returnt to the original styling of an Ellie Stone Mystery as well! Each page turn leads you a step closer to understand what is being set-up for you to find, but it’s how Ziskin manages to disappear the thickening plot behind narrative that weaves it’s charm on your mind that is most fitting to find. Suspenseful and poetic in a way that nudges you along with the hopefulness of finding Ellie renew her earnestness in carving together a story no one wants her to solve.

Ziskin is re-approaching the critical heartache and prejudicial issues he originally broached in Styx & Stone except from a different point of view within Heart of Stone. Judaism is a fundamental part of Ellie’s life (even if her own spiritual life is more agnostic) as her family’s roots are Jewish and they had had their share of difficulties by those who would take issue against them. This played out previously but what is interesting to note, is how even when she’s amongst her fellow peers, there is discourse against her intellectualism – as I found it rather interesting how she was dismissed out of hand for not understanding music when her father was a proud scholar. It speaks to how those who are self-learned and self-taught over the score of their lives are never fully accepted by those who are more classically trained. Why this becomes such an issue, I’ll never understand; as what could have been true in the Sixties is still true in the millennium.

Ellie’s an expert photographer of whom can process and develop her own film (a goal I aspire to myself; except for green printing practices for still photography) which we get to observe first-hand. Her appreciation for photography also aides her as a journalist; as she has a sharper eye than most when she’s investigating, as she tries to see what others consistently overlook. Photography has a way of enveloping your sensory skills to include a wider frame of thought than traditional observations; which can attribute why Ellie has such a keen sense about what a scene is trying to get her to understand.

The complexities of this case, stem over the fact Ellie’s childhood holiday friends are involved to a certain degree in the conspiracy against the dead. Their conjoined history makes it hard for Ellie to stay impartial, but at the same time, she digs out the truth wherever it may lead her; irregardless of potential consequences. She tries to find a way to speak for the dead, to give them a measure of peace and to let the truth be free from remaining secreted out of record. Throughout her stay at the lake of her youth, she found that her memories and her friends’ memories were a bit disjointed on the level of what each of them remembered most about the past. Even in the present day, some of them had hardened a bit against the tides of change which can take their toll.

Meanwhile, Ellie is investigating a crime befit an episode of Law & Order: SVU, to which her composure to handle the emerging details fluctuates quite a bit as I think she’d prefer cut and dry cases to investigate rather than the grittier edge of humanity. Yet, even this was not fully preparing her for the fuller truth of what had befallen those who had died at Prospector Lake that Summer.

For me, Heart of Stone is a direct sequel to Styx & Stone as you can exit the first novel and enter the fourth with such an alacrity of continuity as to feel there is a seamless transition between the two stories; where the other left off, this one continues to grow on those thoughts, feelings and ideals. Everything you hoped to learn more about (regarding Ellie; her innermost turmoil and her redemption of the past) is well placed and revealled; including firming together the leftover hiccups of where she left off with her father. I am unsure why the two between these stories were a departure from this central thread of narrative, but this is the Ellie Stone I can be a book cheerleader of: this is the Ellie Stone I love to read!

I would love to see a fifth installment of this series, if it carries forward the vein of thought both in voice, style and mannerism extending out of Styx & Stone and Heart of Stone. IF Mr Ziskin resumes where he took us in the other two stories, I must confess, I shall depart the series as to me, this is the best example of who Ellie Stone is and who she has become.

Concluding thoughts on behalf of my introduction to the Ellie Stone Mysteries:

I knew on page one of Heart of Stone what was missing from novels two and three of this series: Ellie’s connection to her family! She’s a different girl when she’s reminiscing about her family or attached to her family even in a smallest of ways; if Ellie is anchoured to her family (in some capacity) she’s softened just a smidge towards revealling her humanity without being ever so on the brink of icing her heart before it blackens completely against the world. This is the Ellie I loved originally – the girl who was trying to sort out what she wanted in life, trying to resolve her angst with her father and never quite ready to embrace the world for it’s edgy presence in her life but resolute in her determination to make it as an investigative reporter. She always had something to prove, the sad bit is that the only person she needed to convince of her own worth was herself.

I like Ellie when she’s recollecting her thoughts, lost in memory or trying to sort out what comes next when there is no one left to ask for directions. Not when she’s constantly muddled down in excessive drink and causal relationships; where you start to worry more for her state of health than you accept her reckless nonchalant attitude to ‘live in the moment’. I understand character growth and the difficulties of a character hitting rock bottom – the only thing that rankled me most, is I never thought Ellie had reached that chasm of ill-return. She was teetering on the brink of it, but something pulled her back from dissolving inside it completely; except for the two books in-between this one and Styx & Stone which would have you convinced otherwise. I think it’s simply a matter of how my impression of Ellie Stone differed from the direction Ziskin wanted to take her as we followed her journey past the death of her parents. In her world, her parents acted as a rudder and a guide-mark on a broken compass; without them in her life, she was simply cast ‘adrift’.

I caught sight of a writer on Twitter mentioning something I believe sums up my struggle with Ellie Stone quite well; she truly felt like she was ‘out of character’ for me until Heart of Stone! (see Tweet)

I am unsure why I kept pursuing reading Ellie Stone – generally, if I get a bad taste for a character, story or series, I simply put it down. In this particular case, I felt so strongly about the opening of the series where it had such a positive foot forward towards giving us a new niche of suspense to enjoy reading; part of me had trouble reconciling it could be my ‘one book wonder’ for serial fiction! I am very thankful I stuck with Ellie, whilst giving Ziskin the time he needed to flesh together a story-line I could start to rally behind once more! I truly felt Elie wasn’t being quite herself for awhile (hence why I referenced that tweet!) and now, I feel as though she’s shining like a bright star awaiting you to get behind her story, rooting for her to prove the point quite eloquently about women whose sharp wit and ability to sleuth should be celebrated. Even if they are a work-in-progress in regards to having their act together, their lives sorted and some sort of non-wayward approach to bumping through life!

To accompany my reviews of the #EllieStoneMysteries, I wanted to ask a few questions on behalf of the creative direction Mr Ziskin has been taking with his book series. I enjoy getting the chance to ask questions of authors I am recently discovering as their stories alight on my shelf to read inasmuch as I find it most curious how series can be created and finely crafted to paint such realistic portraits of characters who are solving mysteries.

How did you conceptionalise a Classic Noir styled suspense series and elevate it to a sophisticated level where it became a refreshing different ‘take’ on what is generally expected?

Ziskin responds: I set out to create a series that embraces elements of classic mystery with a healthy dose of noir. I like to call the result “gris.” Not quite black, but definitely not white. Now, with four Ellie Stone mysteries under my belt (Styx & Stone, No Stone Unturned, Stone Cold Dead, and Heart of Stone), I think it’s easier to build a “realistic” setting and believable plots and characters by writing “gray.” Neither noir nor cozy. I strive to paint a world and a protagonist that rings true, all the while creating some interesting, exciting, sticky situations for her to wriggle out of.

There’s not much new under the sun, but I wanted to take a stab at writing a different kind of character: a young woman (Ellie Stone) trying to forge a career as a newspaper reporter when few such opportunities existed for women (1960). I also intended to challenge the stereotypes and commonplaces associated with female characters in crime fiction. Molls, Jezebels, and victims to the left, meddling spinsters and socialites to the right. In recent years, however, well-rounded, tough female detectives have shattered the old mold, carrying guns and kicking bums and taking names. But my heroine, Ellie Stone, falls somewhere else on the continuum. She’s the least physically imposing figure you could imagine. She relies on her wits, charm, and persistence to overcome sexism and solve cases. That’s not to say Ellie isn’t tough inside. She certainly is.

And then there’s Ellie’s liberated—if not libertine—attitudes. She breaks the “nice girl” mold in an era before feminism and the sexual revolution. Sometimes I wonder if someone passed a law that fictional heroines must remain pure to be worthy of admiration. Why can’t we like a female character who occasionally slips into bed with a man? Or one who regularly (over-) indulges in drink? Ellie calls Scotch whiskey her “personality in a bottle.” And she describes herself as a “modern girl” in the relatively straight-laced world of 1960. Some readers will find her behavior unexpected, even risqué. But they seem to care about her the way one cares for a loved one who sometimes misbehaves. At least I hope they do.

Until you presented this viewing of Ellie Stone, I had approached her through a different lens entirely as she ‘read to me’ a bit differently. Part of her yes, is quite addicted to that cavalier lifestyle but also, in certain moments she’s seen reflecting why she’s dulling herself into oblivion and how if she were sober she’d have a completely different attitude about whom she spent her nights; ergo, for me, she is at a bit of a crossroads in her life; where she’s questioning her true motives and sorting out how she wants to toy the line she’s been walking for so long now.

I agree – women can play roles (in fiction, stage, screen, etc) where their muddled beyond repair, flawed to a serious fault and have to take a growth of a journey through the transitions they face in their lives; that’s compelling fiction irregardless of the genre. However, I wouldn’t want to see Ellie become stagnant – where she never dreams more for herself, or refuses to change certain parts of her behaviour which truly are reckless and self-harming. Personal wellness being a harbinger of future obstacles for one,… having said that, I took Ellie right as she was in ‘Styx & Stone’ whilst finding her coming back just as strong through ‘Heart of Stone’. I only took issue with the two stories in the middle where she appeared against ‘type’ and felt out of step with herself.

I think her behaviour is also a vindication of the era she was growing up inside and out of as well; there was a potboiler happening all around her where people were liberating themselves; shattering their own sense of stereotypical lifestyles and re-setting the standard for what they could be or how they could live within a new line of barriers without rules. Part of her comes across as someone acting out in ways that go against her own spirit; other times, she really is just embracing the ambiance of the moment & fully given herself to where it leads. She’s paradoxical as much as she’s multi-layered with a complex sense of self-preservation.

How did you first realise you had given Mystery readers a wholly new character to become endeared by in Ellie Stone?

Ziskin responds: I knew that I loved Ellie from the start. And I wanted readers to feel the same. I can’t say when exactly I realized that readers were taking to Ellie, but they seem to enjoy her sense of humor, her daring, and her brains. Ellie works with the boys, drinks with the boys, and beats the boys at their own game. But that’s not what readers respond to. I think it’s her underlying vulnerability that appeals to people. We all have our pain, our demons. And we like characters who confront those demons and soldier on. That’s Ellie.

Yes, exactly so – this is what I loved about Ellie in both the novels I am cheering for on my blog – her methodology of picking herself up, dusting off her bootstraps and going forward even when she feels she has nowhere left to go. Her transparency to show just how vulnerable she is beyond what is presented to the outside world on a regular basis is what grounds you to her character’s journey. She has a lot going on all at once and seeing how she can carry-on with everything weighing on her is quite compelling.

What was guiding you as you set-up her back-story?

Ziskin responds: In Ellie Stone, I wanted to create an ambitious young woman with high expectations for herself. I saw her as an educated, cultured person who is ready to take the next hill at a time when women were boxed in by society’s constraints. In order to achieve that, Ellie needed to come from a remarkable family who set their sights high. Think about it. Today, Ellie Stone would not be all that remarkable. Women can succeed in 2016—not as easily as men, for sure—but nothing compared to the world of 1960. So I wanted to give her the education, the culture, and expectations to make it in a man’s world. But more than that, I wanted Ellie to have the skills and intellectual curiosity to stand out among women and men.

I’m not sure if I would say women have it easier in today’s world – if anything, I would say there are still hidden battles we’re facing to rise above the expectations of living in a world run by men. In some ways, the stereotypes Ellie faced are still in place today – we’ve come a long way for sure, but considering I’m in my mid-thirties I can attest, we have much further yet to go! Especially in regards to living alternatively to the traditional (I’m library educated, a singleton and a Prospective Adoptive Mum who aspires to be an entrepreneur and Indie Author.) ergo, I feel Ellie Stone has hit a chord of interest for all women (even if our lifestyles differ from Ellie) who are daring to create their own path in which they can thrive pursuing their dreams. Even today, if your intellectual and your a woman, it’s not an easy road to trek; trust me on that score. I hate to tell you how oft I’m told not to disclose I’m a voracious reader as that would be off-putting to most. And, no, I’ve never taken that advice!

This book review & author Q&A is courtesy of:

JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm

I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary! Especially if you read the book or were thinking you might be inclined to read it. I appreciate hearing different points of view especially amongst bloggers who picked up the same story to read.

Find out why I felt @Jameswziskin redeemed my love of the #EllieStoneMysteries! Click To Tweet

Happily read this #Mystery Author #Interview feat. @Jameswziskin about his #EllieStoneMysteries! Click To Tweet

{SOURCES: Book Cover Art for “Styx & Stone”, “No Stone Unturned”, “Stone Cold Dead” and “Heart of Stone”, author biography, author photographs of James W. Ziskin, book synopsis, and reviewer badge were provided by JKS Communications and used with permission. The book trivia facts were provided by Seventh Street Books via the Press Releases they sent me with the books for review (Styx & Stone and Heart of Stone); used with permission. Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin. Tweets are embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Comment Box banner made by Jorie in Canva. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2016.

Comments via Twitter:

.@ohhelloleah I was resolving my final thoughts on #EllieStoneMysteries which you can find on my #bookreview & Q&A: https://t.co/y5gK959l4I

— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) June 8, 2016

Double-Showcase: Review & Q&A | “Heart of Stone” (An #EllieStone #Mystery, No. 4) by James W. Ziskin Including… https://t.co/eKHp14Obr0

— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) June 8, 2016

.@KathyBReel How lovely we're both featuring #EllieStone on our #bookblogs! :) I just released my #bookreview & Author Q&A! Cheers to you :)

— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) June 8, 2016

.@SeventhStBooks #BookReview
of #EllieStone Heart of Stone
feat. @Jameswziskin Q&A#Mystery https://t.co/y5gK959l4I pic.twitter.com/39qHFC09P5

— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) June 8, 2016

#BookReview of "Heart of Stone" & author #interview with James W. Ziskin #amreading https://t.co/FzxJqVxbBa via @joriestory

— Christina Philippou (@CPhilippou123) June 8, 2016