Rating: 
Summary: Stylish tale of art and murder in up state New York
Review: Bill Smith returns in another winner by Shamus-winning S.J. Rozan,who takes three seemingly unrelated events (the murder of a local gangster, the disappearance of a millionaire's daughter and the theft of a local artist's early paintings), adds the tension of Bill and Lydia's complex relationship and creates a terrific whodunit sure to please fans of Chandler and Hammett. The subtext of the story is unconditional love, for family, for lovers, for the land. This is fresh territory for Rozan and a strong addition to a consistantly entertaining and evolving series. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Stylish tale of art and murder in up state New York
Review: Bill Smith returns in another winner by Shamus-winning S.J. Rozan,who takes three seemingly unrelated events (the murder of a local ganster, the disappearance of a millionare's daughter and the theft of a local artist's early paintings), adds the tention of Bill and Lydia's complex relationship and creates a terrific whodunit sure to please fans of Chandler and Hammett. The subtext of the story is unconditional love, for family, for lovers, for the land. This is fresh territory for Rozan and a strong addition to a consistantly entertaining and evolving series. Don't miss it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wholly average
Review: By reading the hype written by a lot of my favorite authors of mysteries and thriller about S.J. Rozan's latest book, "Stone Quarry, I expected a lot from it. What I found though was somewhat entertaining, not at all informative, and wholly average.Bill Smith, private detective, and his on-again/off-again partner, Lydia Chin, are the stars of this current installment of an ongoing series. While vacationing in his deceased uncle's cabin in upstate New York, Smith becomes engaged in a what appears on the surface to be a simple burglary involving a reclusive artist who wants to remain anonymous but still recover some valuable paintings that were stolen from her. The situation devolves quickly into a fight to the death with local crooks who may-or-may-not have mob ties, along with some bought-off cops on the local force. While Rozan does an able job with telling this story, it follows a well-trodden path and ends in a place we've all been many times before. By the end of the story, I found myself being able to skip ahead without missing anything, which to me, says a lot about a book. While it appears that Rozan may have a huge following, she didn't gain a new one with me.
Rating:
Summary: Wholly average
Review: By reading the hype written by a lot of my favorite authors of mysteries and thriller about S.J. Rozan's latest book, "Stone Quarry, I expected a lot from it. What I found though was somewhat entertaining, not at all informative, and wholly average. Bill Smith, private detective, and his on-again/off-again partner, Lydia Chin, are the stars of this current installment of an ongoing series. While vacationing in his deceased uncle's cabin in upstate New York, Smith becomes engaged in a what appears on the surface to be a simple burglary involving a reclusive artist who wants to remain anonymous but still recover some valuable paintings that were stolen from her. The situation devolves quickly into a fight to the death with local crooks who may-or-may-not have mob ties, along with some bought-off cops on the local force. While Rozan does an able job with telling this story, it follows a well-trodden path and ends in a place we've all been many times before. By the end of the story, I found myself being able to skip ahead without missing anything, which to me, says a lot about a book. While it appears that Rozan may have a huge following, she didn't gain a new one with me.
Rating:
Summary: Wholly average
Review: By reading the hype written by a lot of my favorite authors of mysteries and thriller about S.J. Rozan's latest book, "Stone Quarry, I expected a lot from it. What I found though was somewhat entertaining, not at all informative, and wholly average. Bill Smith, private detective, and his on-again/off-again partner, Lydia Chin, are the stars of this current installment of an ongoing series. While vacationing in his deceased uncle's cabin in upstate New York, Smith becomes engaged in a what appears on the surface to be a simple burglary involving a reclusive artist who wants to remain anonymous but still recover some valuable paintings that were stolen from her. The situation devolves quickly into a fight to the death with local crooks who may-or-may-not have mob ties, along with some bought-off cops on the local force. While Rozan does an able job with telling this story, it follows a well-trodden path and ends in a place we've all been many times before. By the end of the story, I found myself being able to skip ahead without missing anything, which to me, says a lot about a book. While it appears that Rozan may have a huge following, she didn't gain a new one with me.
Rating: 
Summary: Rozan is the rare female author who cannot write about males
Review: I didn't like this book at all. Rozan cannot write about macho males, though there are many good female authors who certainly can. In addition, her attempt to put some mystery into the relationship between Chin and Bill Smith is weak--what is the relationship between them all about? Is Rozan uncomfortable trying to suggest it is sexual as well as business(private eyes). In addition, the character of Jimmy, Smith's nearly adopted charge, is terrible. Jimmy is the most obnoxious character I have seen in fiction in some time--and that's saying something. Every sentence he speaks has the expression (hey man!!) and two or three expletives included, regardless of who is around, and regard- less of the fact that Smith is breaking his back get him out of a jam. I was hoping against hope that he would be found guilty of all the crimes that were suggested he might have been involved in but, alas, to no one's surprise, he was clean!! WHAT A JERK!! Maybe Rozan should stick to female characters.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story set in a romantic and mysterious place
Review: My introduction to the work of S.J. Rozan took the form of a short story. After reading one or two of her novels, I was telling friends on the internet that this writer was a major talent, someone I believed would be a strong voice in mystery. With the publication of STONE QUARRY, the sixth book in Rozan's Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series, St. Martins Press has proved me right - but then, I knew that about the time that CONCOURSE, won the Shamus Award back in 1995. Rozan has not only developed a continually fascinating series, with fully developed characters, well-described settings (mostly in and around New York City), but she has successfully created a series with two distinct voices. In books one, three and five, Lydia Chin takes the narrative. She is a young, optimistic Chinese-American private eye who tries to balance the needs of her family and her own need to declare her independence and intelligence. The older, far more cynical private eye Bill Smith takes the lead in the other books. STONE QUARRY is, technically a "Bill Smith" book, while Lydia still participates. While Smith seems to fit the mold of he standard white guy p.i., he is anything but typical and is as interesting as his more "exotic" partner. In this dark mystery, Bill is in upstate New York where he's had a house for years - a place he retreats to. He's in town primarily to assist Eve Colgate, a somewhat reclusive resident who wants him to check out a theft, without reporting that theft to the police. He is as well known as anyone in the area, but still seen as an outsider; even when he helps someone, he's somewhat resented. There is corruption, there's the arrogance of wealth and small-town attitudes for Bill to deal with. He calls Lydia, who is clearly out of her element in this rural setting, but still insistent on helping her friend and some-time partner. STONE QUARRY continues an excellent series. It tells you more about Smith and Chin, two of the most intelligently drawn private eyes in modern day. Rozan, who won the Anthony for best novel for A COLDER PLACE, writes as effectively about this dark place as she does the bright lights of Chinatown and the upper west side and Brooklyn. The conflicts between Lydia's fairly upbeat attitudes and Bill's world-weariness only serve to highlight the way the two characters care for each other and keep each other balanced, keep each other from going off the deep end in either direction. This is truly one of the best mystery series available today - never a disappointment, cleanly, sharply written with warmth and wit and compassion, but the author never forgets to tell the story.
Rating:
Summary: A fine book by one of the best writers in mystery today
Review: My introduction to the work of S.J. Rozan took the form of a short story. After reading one or two of her novels, I was telling friends on the internet that this writer was a major talent, someone I believed would be a strong voice in mystery. With the publication of STONE QUARRY, the sixth book in Rozan's Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series, St. Martins Press has proved me right - but then, I knew that about the time that CONCOURSE, won the Shamus Award back in 1995. Rozan has not only developed a continually fascinating series, with fully developed characters, well-described settings (mostly in and around New York City), but she has successfully created a series with two distinct voices. In books one, three and five, Lydia Chin takes the narrative. She is a young, optimistic Chinese-American private eye who tries to balance the needs of her family and her own need to declare her independence and intelligence. The older, far more cynical private eye Bill Smith takes the lead in the other books. STONE QUARRY is, technically a "Bill Smith" book, while Lydia still participates. While Smith seems to fit the mold of he standard white guy p.i., he is anything but typical and is as interesting as his more "exotic" partner. In this dark mystery, Bill is in upstate New York where he's had a house for years - a place he retreats to. He's in town primarily to assist Eve Colgate, a somewhat reclusive resident who wants him to check out a theft, without reporting that theft to the police. He is as well known as anyone in the area, but still seen as an outsider; even when he helps someone, he's somewhat resented. There is corruption, there's the arrogance of wealth and small-town attitudes for Bill to deal with. He calls Lydia, who is clearly out of her element in this rural setting, but still insistent on helping her friend and some-time partner. STONE QUARRY continues an excellent series. It tells you more about Smith and Chin, two of the most intelligently drawn private eyes in modern day. Rozan, who won the Anthony for best novel for A COLDER PLACE, writes as effectively about this dark place as she does the bright lights of Chinatown and the upper west side and Brooklyn. The conflicts between Lydia's fairly upbeat attitudes and Bill's world-weariness only serve to highlight the way the two characters care for each other and keep each other balanced, keep each other from going off the deep end in either direction. This is truly one of the best mystery series available today - never a disappointment, cleanly, sharply written with warmth and wit and compassion, but the author never forgets to tell the story.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best this year!
Review: Rozan keeps getting better with every book. Stone Quarry is beautifully written with well-realized characters, and an engaging plot. I couldn't put it down. She's one of the few "mystery" writers whose books should be counted as literature. Can't wait for the next one!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best in this exceptional series.
Review: S.J. Rozan gets better with every book. I can't think of many writers with a more vivid sense of place: whether it's the kitchen of a dim sum palace in Chinatown, or a roadhouse in upstate New York, the settings of Rozan's novels, like her protagonists, are engaging and original. Bill Smith and Lydia Chin are rarities in the mystery genre: heroes with evolving inner lives, moral conflicts, and intelligent and humorous voices. Stone Quarry is Rozan at her best: it is wonderfully written and impossible to put down.
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