James W. Ziskin

WINNER OF THE 2017 ANTHONY AWARD FOR BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

WINNER OF THE 2017 MACAVITY SUE FEDER MEMORIAL BEST HISTORICAL NOVEL AWARD

2017 EDGAR® AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

2017 LEFTY AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST MYSTERY NOVEL

Heart of Stone
“Gravity unleashed is a risky proposition at best.”

Heart of Stone is a finalist for the 2017 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Shot in Detroit by Patricia Abbott (Polis Books)
Come Twilight by Tyler Dilts (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
The 7th Canon by Robert Dugoni (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)
A Brilliant Death by Robin Yocum (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)
Heart of Stone by James W. Ziskin (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)

January 18, 2017

Heart of Stone is a finalist for the 2017 Lefty Award for Best Mystery.

January 5, 2016
Best of 2016 honors for Heart of Stone:

Top Twelve Novels of 2016, Andrew Gulli, The Strand Magazine
https://strandmag.com

InStyle (UK) The 9 Most Unputdownable Books Of 2016
http://www.instyle.co.uk/fitness-wellbeing/best-books-of-2016

The Reading Room’s Favorite Reads of 2016
http://www.readingroom-readmore.com/2016/12/favorite-reads-of-2016-so-far.html

Meike’s Top Ten Mysteries of 2016 (MysteryPeople)
https://mysterypeople.wordpress.com/2016/12/27/meikes-top-10-mysteries-of-2016/

The Wise Acre Top Reads Thriller Crime Novels 2016
http://www.thewiseacre.net/2016/12/2016-top-reads-us-crime-thriller-novels.html

Don’t Need a Diagram Top Books of 2016
https://markhstevens.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/2016-top-books/

Bookish Devices Favorite Reads of 2016
https://bookishdevices.com/2016/12/29/lb16/

Praise for Heart of Stone

“Ziskin recounts with his extraordinary love of language the times of the mid-20th century when Jewish groups of like souls gathered in mountain camps to celebrate music, literature and politics. It is a little-explored time of American East-coast history, and fascinating to read. As with the earlier Ellie Stone books, James Ziskin writes in a prose reminiscent of Raymond Chandler and his era: taut plotting combined with read-aloud language.”—Susan Courtright – S.E. Shirley

James Ziskin has written another great read, imbued with a rich cast of characters and a tight plot that bristles with tension. Ellie Stone is the perfect protagonist—extraordinary but with enough girl-next-door charm in her that she instantly becomes a friend. This is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors, and it belongs on every mystery lover’s to-be-read list.”
—Allen Eskens, USA Today-bestselling author of The Life We Bury

“Heart of Stone is the best Ellie Stone mystery yet, and that’s saying something. The plot rockets along, fueled by colorful characters, intriguing clues, and Ellie herself, who is witty, vulnerable, and one of the finest and most fun amateur sleuths in crime fiction. I’ve read every Ellie Stone mystery, and I can’t wait for the next.”
—Mark Pryor, author of The Paris Librarian

“Armed with her camera, wits, and a reporter’s persistence, Elle Stone navigates through 1961 Adirondacks and does what she does best: Ask questions and digs up the truth whether anyone likes it or not. When two strangers plunge to their deaths, and a prisoner escapes from a nearby prison, time on the lake quickly turns from pleasure to a mystery that demands to be solved. Elle Stone has quickly become one of my favorite sleuths as she careens into the modern world, demanding her rightful place—and getting it—no matter how hard anyone tries to deter her or how much jeopardy she puts herself into.”
–Larry D. Sweazy, award-winning author of See Also Deception

“This is the second James W. Ziskin mystery I’ve read (there are four so far) and what stands out to me is the character of Ellie Stone. Her independent spirit is ahead of her time (early 1960s) and her dogged persistence (which makes her a talented reporter) is most admirable. Sometimes I tend to pigeon-hole mystery writers. James W. Ziskin is someone I can recommend to anyone who likes good mysteries. He has universal appeal.”
–Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

Cover Reveal of HEART OF STONE

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, just a few feet short of the water of a dangerous diving pool. A tragic accident, it seems. But the 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 her elderly cousin’s station wagon parked twenty yards from the edge of the cliff.

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. 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.