No Stone Unturned
James W. Ziskin
Seventh Street Books
trade paper, 285 pp., $15.95
ebook $11.99 Kindle Nook
The first Ellie Stone mystery (Styx and Stone, reviewed here) introduced us to the young journalist as she investigated an assault on her father. I found Ellie to be a delightfully flawed protagonist, one who drank and slept around as much as her male counterparts, and with little to no thought of the consequences.
In that inaugural volume of what I hope will be a long running series, all the action took place in New York City and revolved around academic intrigues as Ellie’s father was a respected Dante scholar. For No Stone Unturned, Ellie is back in the small town in upstate New York where she’s been working as a reporter for a few years.
It’s been less than a year since the events in Styx and Stone, and Ellie is still dealing with the emotional wounds she suffered as a result of the events in the first book. When a hunter discovers the nude body of a prominent judge buried in a shallow grave in the woods over Thanksgiving weekend, it could be Ellie’s big break.
If she can survive the investigation, that is.
Ziskin continues to develop Ellie as a character, and unlike the previous novel, we see what is most likely to become her supporting cast. The owner of the diner across the street, an obese man who is probably in love with Ellie and won’t hesitate to help her out if her investigation calls for assistance. The sheriff, who tolerates her and begins to grudgingly respect her as she becomes an asset to the investigation, and the son-in-law of the newspaper’s owner and her chief rival at work.
Ellie drinks quite a bit and sleeps around, not exactly things that respectable single young ladies did in the early 1960s. And more than one person mentions this. While I’m not exactly expecting this series to veer into Matthew Scudder territory, I’m hoping that the consequences of some of these choices will play a greater role in later volumes. It’s this bad behavior that makes Ellie an intriguing character, and I read the book with as much interest in her as in the mystery.
The mystery here is complex and twisty. The young lady in question wasn’t the angle some people thought she was, although there are hints her mother knew because, well, like mother, like daughter. Small town secrets and high school grievances are very much at play, as are more political maneuverings in academia.
It seems the dead girl was having an affair with one of her professors at the college she attended in Boston.
And it’s here that I wonder just which direction this series is going to take. One of the strengths of a mystery series like this one seems to be shaping up to be is the recurring cast of characters. As I mentioned Ziskin seems to be heading in that direction introducing us to some folks of importance in Ellie’s life.
There’s also often a certain tone to a successful mystery series. So far we’ve had two volumes that deal with academic infighting as a large portion of the plot. I’m not sure if Ziskin can pull that off a third time with Ellie being where she is in upstate New York. Although I will be one of the loudest cheering for him if he manages a hat trick. The synopsis of the third volume, Stone Cold Dead, doesn’t sound like Ziskin will be going the academic route.
Mystery series often take several volumes to really find their tone and voice. I’m not sure this one is there yet, although, to my mind at least, it’s almost there. Don’t let that stop you from reading it. This is a well put together mystery with plenty of red herrings. I think one more volume will do it, and then Ellie Stone will be off and running. I’m looking forward to it.