Book Review: Heart of Stone

Set in the Adirondacks in August of 1961, James W. Ziskin's Heart of Stone brings back the plucky reporter protagonist Ellie Stone for an unsatisfying instalment, a by-the-numbers offering from an author who's capable of better. The story, which is about the suspicious deaths of two men who appear to have fallen off a cliff, follows along predictable lines, and the action builds to a weak ending. Viewed in that light, Heart of Stone is less of a whodunnit and more an examination of the Jewish milieu of the early 1960s in upstate New York, while also shining a light on Cold War politics that defined the era. What's more, it's a little personal for Stone this time around, who finds herself drawn to a man she knew when they were both children, with the narrative devoting a good chunk of pages exploring her feeling of wanting to be belonged.