Stone Kiss

By: Faye Kellerman

Narrated by: George Guidall, Julia Gibson

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Faye Kellerman delivers a riveting thriller starring LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker. Murder hits close to home as the brother-in-law of Decker’s half-brother is found dead in a seedy hotel room. Missing from the scene is the dead man’s 15 year-old-niece. Pete finds the girl in the last place anyone would think to look, and soon devastating family secrets emerge.

©2002 Faye Kellerman (P)2002 Recorded Books

Change in Narrator was a disappointment

Once I got used to the first narrator, it made the story harder to follow because it took a good while to know who was speaking at times. Story line good as usual but narration ruined a bit of the enjoyment.

Why Change a Good Narrator

What made the experience of listening to Stone Kiss the most enjoyable?

The story.

What didn’t you like about George Guidall and Julia Gibson ’s performance?

This was hard to listen to as Mitch Greenberg has done such a good job reading the Decker/Lazarus books. I know many people like George Guidall, I don't. I avoid books that he reads as his voice is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Julia was fine, but not sure why they added her for the short time she was in the book.

Any additional comments?

Only 2 more books with Guidall reading, will listen to them but with reluctance. I will keep telling myself it is the story that counts....but when listening the reader is so important. Mitch Greenberg is Decker and Rina to me.

As always a great read

This was another page turner by
Faye Kellerman. I am always depend on her for my summer reading.

The Series Shifts Gears

The first two books of this series were great mysteries and a great introduction to a lifestyle--that of an orthodox or Torah Jewish community--that many of us are unfamiliar with. Those two ("Ritual Bath" and "Sacred and Profane") portray a community of gentleness and peace (although not necessarily acceptance) broken only when outsiders invade.

With the marriage of orthodox Rina to L.A. Police Detective Peter Decker (a non-observant Jew who embraces the orthodox life along with Rina), the couple and the series moved outside the closed community but maintained their observant identity. In "Justice," one of the later books of the series (and one of the best), Kellerman downplayed the Jewish milieu and introduced a fascinating new character, the amoral killer Chris Whitman Donati.

"Stone Kiss" takes a new direction in the series' portrayal of orthodox life and brings Chris Donati and his world of organized crime into improbable but fascinating juxtaposition. Peter and Rina are called on to intervene in a crisis within the New York City branch of their orthodox family, one of whom has been murdered under shocking and scandalous circumstances. The orthodox community depicted here is neither peaceful nor gentle, but it is certainly closed and definitely unaccepting--and some of its members are not exactly toeing the line of the Torah. Religious observance can hide a dark side.

"Stone Kiss" was written shortly post 9-11, and those events are both spoken of and seem like unspoken players in Kellerman's worldview here. Of all the books in this long-running series, I recommend this one along with the three mentioned earlier as by far the best. Each is engrossing in itself, and taken together they display a healthy evolution of both author and characters.

"Stone Kiss" is narrated by the eminent George Guidall, who is absolutely perfect for it.

page turner

I really like this story line and cant wait to read the next one. Chris and terry is a great substory to the decker series

Planting Seeds

I’ve been delinquent in my review-writing for this book… and this won’t be worth the wait. Sorry.

I like the series as you know, and presumably you do too if you’re up to book 14, and I found this installment particularly interesting because it pulled on some strings in the back-ground story as well as planting some new seeds for future developments in later books.

On to book 15!

Love Faye Kellerman's Books

I was listening to the Decker/Lazarus series through my library and they did not have this book or the next one. I am so glad I decided to activate my trial membership with Audible to listen to this one. I had wondered if Christopher and Terry would ever be brought back. after all, that was never resolved. and will it be in this one? You will need to read to find out.

A great story a great narrator

What made the experience of listening to Stone Kiss the most enjoyable?

George Guidal is simply the best narrator. He gives life to the written word. When coupled with a great story~magic....

What other book might you compare Stone Kiss to and why?

The Rabi slept late on Friday,

Have you listened to any of George Guidall and Julia Gibson ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

George Guidal is my favorite narrator. BAR NONE!

Any additional comments?

Looking forward to the next two installments

Ok but not great

Not a particularly exciting story line.

More emphasis could have been placed on the story as opposed to describing what everyone was wearing.

Complete ignorance, by author, of the description and operation of anything mechanical and firearms. The editors should have caught those glaring mistakes.

Narration was perfect.

Love the series, wish Greenburg was narrating

I love this series, but Greenburg is the only person who should narrate! He is able to do different voices much better than other narrators. I enjoy the Donatti/Whitman stories when they are part of a story, as well as learning more about Jewish religion and culture.