Trial-on-Mount-Koya
Turn to Stone

An Ellie Stone Mystery

James W. Ziskin
  • 288 pages
  • ISBN 978-1-63388-552-3
  • Paperback
  • $15.95
  • September 2019

This 1960s-era locked-room mystery takes Ellie Stone to Florence, Italy--a seemingly idyllic setting, which in this case has sinister undertones.

Florence, Italy, August 1963. In Italy to accept a posthumous award for her late father's academic work, "girl reporter" Ellie Stone is invited to spend a weekend outside Florence with some of the scholars attending the symposium. A suspected rubella outbreak leaves the ten friends quarantined in the bucolic setting with little to do but tell stories to entertain themselves. Deciding to make the best of their confinement, the men and women spin tales, gorge themselves on fine Tuscan food and wine, and enjoy the delicious fruit of transient love. But the summer bacchanalia takes a menacing turn when the man who organized the symposium is fished out of the Arno. "Morto." As long-buried secrets rise to the surface, Ellie must figure out if one or more of her newfound friends is capable of murder.


"The lush settings and mouthwatering food will keep readers happy, if a little fidgety."

—Booklist

"Italy’s fascist period is presented in a multifaceted way that avoids assumptions about people’s motives. Turn to Stone is a thoughtful mystery that questions whether forgiveness is always possible."

—Foreword Reviews

James W. Ziskin is the author of the Ellie Stone mysteries. Winner of the Anthony award for Best Paperback Original and the Macavity Award for Best Historical Novel (Sue Feder Memorial), he has also been a finalist for the Edgar®, Barry, and Lefty Awards.

Photo © Juan Tallo

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