Book Title: Cast The First Stone
Author: James W. Ziskin
REVIEWED BY: CHELSEA
Series: Ellie Stone #5
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Detective
Goodreads
Date Read: 06/02/17
Pub Date: 06/06/17
5 STARS
February 1962: Tony Eberle has just scored his first role in a Hollywood movie, and the publisher of his hometown newspaper in upstate New York wants a profile of the local boy who’s made good. Reporter Ellie Stone is dispatched to Los Angeles for the story. But when she arrives on set to meet her subject, Tony has vanished. His agent is stumped, the director is apoplectic, and the producer is dead.
Ellie is on the story, diving headfirst into a treacherous demimonde of Hollywood wannabes, beautiful young men, desperately ambitious ingénues, panderers, and pornography hobbyists. Then there are some real movie stars with reputations to protect. To find the killer, Ellie must separate the lies from the truth, unearthing secrets no one wants revealed along the way. But before she can solve Bertram Wallis’s murder, she must locate Tony Eberle.
How fitting is it that my 100th book of the year turned out to be a 5 star read? I couldn’t have timed it better myself; while I’ve enjoyed the previous 4 books Ziskin has written immensely I had no idea the treat I was in for when number 5 came my way. Historical Fiction is by no means my go-to genre, but I do like to dabble in it from time to time as I’ve found some real gems that aren’t set in a contemporary world. The real appeal to the Ellie Stone series is how it defies genre barriers; while the themes are classically tied to the 1950’s and 1960’s, the writing feels so fresh and current that you almost forget it isn’t set in a modern time period. Ellie is charm and class all wrapped in a tight bundle of independence and feminism, and I dare you to not be completely taken in by her humor and wit. While each Stone novel contains one or more mysteries to be solved, they also deal with important issues surrounding the era, namely the mistreatment of women, racial minorities, and the GLBT community. This one focuses heavily on the latter and felt more timely and urgent than anything Ziskin has written before.
Ellie Stone is my number one pick for a fictional best friend; this girl feels like my soul mate and it pains me to think that even if she were real, somehow we would miss each other like passing cars due to a generational age gap. No matter, I’ll just continue to pretend I’m tagging along as her sidekick on these cases she seems to fall into. Up until CAST THE FIRST STONE, I really enjoyed books 1 and 4, but 2 and 3 were my favorites. After finishing #5, I feel like this might be in the running for my favorite Ellie Stone novel now! The plot was extremely well executed, the characters were as real as my family sitting next to me, and the atmosphere was simply divine. I loved following Ellie and the crew all over California and could practically taste the salt on my lips and smell the rain that plagued most of her trip. I don’t want to say too much about the plot, but you should know going in that there isn’t ever just one “big twist” in a Ziskin novel. Even if you figure out certain parts, you likely won’t solve the entire story before all is revealed. This is the type of mystery where you can close the book, sit back, and appreciate the sheer depth and complexity of the plot that is multi-layered and rich beyond other forgettable mysteries.
I tend to have a hard time hanging on to series past the third book; don’t ask me what it is, but somehow it’s the make-or-break point for me. It seems that is the point where the author either loses steam or tries to come up with a change of plot that causes me to lose interest; not so here. I feel the author only gained traction from the dreaded three book mark and continues to produce novels that draw me in completely. Needless to say, this is one of the handful of series that I have continued along with and will do so for as long as the books keep coming. If you aren’t wanting to start a new series just yet, don’t fret; this is easily read as a standalone and is one of the few series where I feel you don’t have to particularly read them in order. Highly, HIGHLY recommended for fans of traditional, whodunnit mysteries. Even if you aren’t a fan of historical fiction, I would implore you to pick up a book featuring Ellie Stone. This is one of the few series of books out of the hundreds I read per year that is worth your time, money, and energy to support; Ellie is a firecracker and I’m so glad we haven’t seen the last of her.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my copy; it was a pleasure to provide my honest thoughts here.
Check out the first 4 books in the series and see what Ellie has been up to!
Okaaaaaaaaaay, I added this to my neverending TBR. Love the sound of the main character and the fact that it’s set in the 60s
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YAY! Annie I could really see you enjoying these! ❤️
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Man, there are some amazing books with tropical themed covers coming out right now, and I LOVE it! Also, this book sounds great. That’s awesome that you are able to connect with the MC like that. That is the best! 🙂
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Oh I love historical fiction and mystery so this sounds great! I’ve never heard of this series (I love a good series too!) so I will definitely check it out. Thank you!
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Yay! Please let me know what you think Steph! 👏🏼
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Nice review Chelsea! I’ve passed these by several times at the library but I may have to now give it a try, I like the sound of Ellie and I’m always on the lookout for traditional whodunnits
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Oh I’m so glad to hear it Renee! The first one was a bit slower than the rest, just as a heads up. I think mainly because of all the setting up it had to do. I just had to be in the mood for a slow burner. The others are much faster.
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Wow, 100 already! Good job!
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A pretty convincing review, Chels, I may have to give this series a try!
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Thanks Christine! I think you would like this particular book especially!
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You know me, Chels, it’s book 1 or bust! LOL!
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Bahaha that’s true!! 😂😂😂 we are kindred spirits. To be fair, they are rather short books. All under 300 pages I believe 😉
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Great review! Like you, I don’t read much historical fiction either, but I absolutely adore this series. I always choose Ellie Stone as my answer for the question “Which fictional character would you like to have a drink with?” I’ve read every single one in the series and I think, like you, that this one is my favorite so far. (Even though I seem to always say that when I finish the next Ellie book. #4 was my last favorite). I loved how timely it was (despite the 1960s setting), especially the way Ziskin handled Ellie’s mixed feelings about alternative lifestyles and the LGBTQ community. What a fantastic read! Not to mention the gorgeous covers. 🙂
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Thank you Sarah! I agree; I think his writing was enlightening, both to the era and Ellie’s struggle with how she felt of the LGBT lifestyle and what changed over time.
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