Heart of Stone

Set in the Adirondacks in August of 1961, Ziskin’s solid fourth Ellie Stone mystery (after 2015’s Stone Cold Dead) 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. Larger-than-life characters entertain but fail to ring true. Terwilliger’s oafishness strains credulity. And Ellie reads more like a man’s idea of a strong woman than a flesh-and-blood one; whiskey-soaked, frequently naked, and lusted after by every man she meets, she’s outspoken until it comes to defending her intellect and accomplishments. [em]Agent: William Reiss, John Hawkins & Associates. (June) [/em]