Heart of Stone

Liked:

Grit, our hero. She's mixed race, does not hesitate to point out social injustices, and wants, desperately wants, to kick some ass. She has issues about being used for her race in cases where her class makes her other than the stereotype she's been cast as, but realizes that she, herself, plays on stereotypes when they will help her as a lawyer.

Grit's closest friends and roomies, Cole and Cam. Their friendship, how they support Grit, how Grit values it, pays it back, and desperately wants to cling to it even as she feels it slipping away as she becomes more and more involved with the Old Races.

Gargoyles and their role among the Old Races as preservers of history and memory. The way Alban holds himself apart from the gestalt. show more Alban's honor.


Disliked:

Of all the old races--dragons and djinn, selkies and gargoyles, and vampires--the vampires say they came from another world. They don't make a lot of sense to me in the context of the rest of the book's mythology. Why not choose a powerful race that fits with the rest of them?

The Big Bad. I didn't like that her motivations were so simple and so motivated by gender. I especially did not like the gender aspect of this. I understand that it was done to confuse the identity of the villain, but it still felt wrong to me.

The on-again, off-again relationship Grit has with Tony. I do like the reasons they break up, because job conflicts are a huge deal as are differing ideologies, but it seemed far too easy for Grit to either leave or return to Tony. show less

There seems to be an increasing trend in urban fantasy for writers to do something different. Supernatural beings who aren't vampires or werewolves. Heroines who don't literally kick ass. Enter Margrit Knight, a New York lawyer who's about to be sucked into a world existing alongside our own. It's a world which does, in fact, include vampires, but also gargoyles and a number of other 'Old Races' who aren't quite the norm in urban fantasy. Margrit herself isn't quite the norm either - aside from the occasional slap, she fights her enemies with words and intellect rather than violence.

As a consequence, Heart of Stone is somewhat slower paced than some urban fantasies I've read recently, though that doesn't equate to boring. Murphy show more executes a sense of rising tension skilfully throughout the book, both in Margrit's investigations and in her relationship with the gargoyle Alban Korund. It's this relationship which forms the core emotional impact of the story and it's a fascinating relationship, although it does mean that some of the other characters are lost by the wayside as the book progresses - Tony, for example, a key player in the first half of the book, is largely absent from the second half.

There are other problems too, although not huge ones. There are too many similar names, for one thing - Cam, Cole, Cara, Chelsea. I particularly struggled to tell Cam and Cole apart, as they're introduced at about the same time and often appear in the same scenes. One is male and one female, but both the names sound male to my ears, hence my problem. Then there are all the loose ends. It's clear that Heart of Stone is the beginning of a series, with many of the secondary characters feeling as if they'll be more important in later books. Personally, I felt there were a few too many of these secondary characters, some of which didn't really have enough to do.

Overall, Heart of Stone is probably best read by those who are already urban fantasy fans and those looking for a new series to become invested in. The characters here are strong enough and Murphy's writing skillful enough to keep the interest of any fan, but it's too clearly the start of series to work for a casual reader wanting only a single book. show less

Everyone has had one of those days when nothing goes right when you try to do right, and someone makes an idiot move that makes everything worse.

............................

I first stumbled over C E Murphy by accident: a ratty, tatty copy of "Thunderbird Falls" in the 50c box at a charity shop.

Joanne Walker was strong, intelligent, afraid and determined. Unusually, she was also a cop without delusions of righteousness or authoritarianism, but one who did her best to make the city of Seattle that bit better today than yesterday. She'd made mistakes, would make others, but kept trying to walk the path between the worlds and tasks she chose and those which were chosen for her. Joanne was the sort of character you grew to wish was real show more enough to be the person who stepped in when you were in trouble, or who lived an apartment or two over . . . the kind of person who'd be good friend. A _good_ one, yes. Comfortable? No.

I bought a new copy of the book a month later.

In 'Heart Of Stone' CE Murphy has created a new, and very human, character. Magrit is no less intelligent, strong willed, or determined than Joanne Walker.

A lawyer - a lawyer working for far too little in the way of money and fame but with a salting of cynicism along with the belief she CAN make things better for those she helps - Magrit finds herself trapped between her on-again-off-again cop steady-but-not-steady boyfriend and something wierd. Someone unthinkable. She looks past the skin of normality into the blood and bones of the world and finds herself fighting the same causes in a far different drama.

Murders spread over two centuries in New York Central Park.
Cara: homeless, with a baby.
Alban: a murder suspect, a protector, an outcast, and a gargoyle.
Janx: a ... broker, a middleman, an arranger who just might atrrange more for Magrit that she fears.
Eliseo Desani: the sort of businesman you never trust even if you still have all your fingers after shaking hands.

Just how do these connect? And how can she sort out the mess and survive the 'White Knight' impulse that got her into it in the first place?

The same things that are her strengths in the courtroom - stubborness, determination, an understanding of people and how they 'work' - have a good chance of getting her killed (or making her wish she was). Magrit makes a good ally against the woes of the world - if you can resist the temptation to occasionally lift both fists to the heavens and scream 'WHY!?!!' (in a friendly/exasperated way). Still, without that walk into the lair she wouldn't be who she is, and its that willingness to go there that makes Margit the defender she is.

By the time Magrit has almost worked out what she thought what is happening isn't what is actually going on, she's owing people who value debts, knows too much to allow her to step away their attentions, and most importantly, 'Grit has proven herself to be too much of an amusing/skilled adversary/tool to be forgotten.

She may consider her work with the Old Races finished, but somewhere, sometime, when a human lawyer or new eyes or careful words are needed, one name is going to come up.

Magrit Knight. Someone to keep an eye out for in the future.
Tags: fiction, urban paranormal show less

Well written and enjoyable urban fantasy, with a surprising take on the whole supernatural element.

Magrit is an active impulsive person, hardly the sort of controlled logician you expect in a lawyer, but that's what you get. New York isn't the cheapest city to earn a living, but an on and off again relationship with a cop helps focus the mind on her Legal Aid clients. Mid-celebration from her latest victory, Magrit is approached by her newest client - squatters wanting help in staving off an eviction. The evictor happens to be one of the biggest names in the city, and will be a hard case for Magrit to win given the opponents vast financial clout. The very next day she's almost the victim of a hit-and-run, and only the intervention of show more her very own stalker saves her - and opens her eyes to the strangeness that lives on around us. Her rescuer is a shape-shifting, telepathic, gargoyle - one of five Old Races surviving the advent of humanity. It turns out that he too is looking to Magrit for help - in a case which, as Magrit rapidly discovers, involves the same players as her existing one.

I wasn't totally convinced by Magrit as a character - the silliness of this name didn't stop grating the entire way through. Her attitude never quite befits the professionalism of a lawyer. Her intuition is relied upon too much, without any effort to at least try and confirm her hunches, and it's also unfailingly correct, which is just stupid. She's also very very accepting of something altogether out of her experience. That said, she's feisty fun, fully of energy, almost witty a few times, not afraid to challenge anyone, and sparks with life throughout the text. Unfortunately being a very much plot centred story, none of the other characters really get much of a chance to shine. Magrit does at least have some reasonable interactions with her flatmates, and the arguments with her boyfriend were also well scripted.

I very much enjoy the world created - the five Old Races and their elemental ties. Hopefully the future books will flesh out a bit more about why those five, and why those elements, and exactly what powers they all have - and their vulnerabilities. I was quite impressed with how Albun was introduced to the reader, and how we gradually learn about the other Old Races. There are several ways to do this and Murphy has chosen to allow us to experience them through a 'normal' human gradually realising the world isn't what she thought it was. It's a tricky style to pull off, but Murphy has done so well - it's probably the best part of the book.

Apart from one or two disconcerting jumps to Albun's POV the writing was fluid and mostly gripping. The plot was well shaped without significant holes, and those details left unexplained I'm hoping will be filled in during the subsequent books. I'm glad that Murphy managed to keep the police involvement reasonable, unlike too many similar novels where the police happily hand over confidential information. Likewise other small details were mostly thought about - although I'm not too sure about the probabilities of finding a small carving amongst all the towers of a cathedral! The romance scenes are well handled, both the arguments and the making up, without the gratuitousness that frequently pervades urban fantasy. There’s a good sense of menace from the bad guys, and a reasonable explanation of their actions, rather than the all too common, “hey they’re evil” approach. I wasn’t totally convinced about the plot twist at the end – but again there is scope for further explanation in the next book.

It's engrossing, well written and enjoyable. The only major negative is that the publisher harlequin released this e-ARC as a timelimited copy, so in two month's time I'll be unable to read this again - which is likely to put me off seeking out the rest of this otherwise thoroughly enjoyable series.
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Remembered it well enough that I've bought a copy and the sequel. Found it pretty much as above, an enjoyable re-read.

Stands up very well a decade on - I came across the conclusion and so am re-reading the series. Only mobile phones have really changed since it was released! Still enjoyable and clever. show less

Posted to my Livejournal in April 2008, saved here for posterity:

I really enjoyed Heart of Stone. I liked the mixture of crime drama and supernatural romance, though I see it appealing more to women then to men. Lawyer Margrit Knight tests her mettle by running through Central Park after dark each night, aware but uncaring of the danger. There is someone watching her, however, every night she runs, and he's been watching her for years -- not to hurt, but to protect. His name is Alban, and he appears to her one night in the park just to speak with her out of curiosity, an act that ends up getting him accused of murder when a women is found murdered in the park the same night (scant hours after Margrit returns home from her run). Alban show more appears to Margrit again, proclaiming his innocence, and asks her to help him avoid the police while they hunt for the real killer. At first she wants to refuse, but there's something about him that she can't ignore -- and once he lets her in on his real secret, she's drawn into a world she didn't even know existed.

Alban, it turns out, is a gargoyle, one of the five Old Races who have hidden among us for centuries. And now that Margri's takes his case, gargoyles aren't the only of the five Old Races that she has to contend with -- there are also djinn, vampires, selkies, and dragons, all masked as human and walking among us.

Despite its wandering beginning (it takes a while to get to the real action), I got drawn in pretty quickly. Margrit is a scrappy, smart-mouthed, tough woman, and she pretty much carries the book where it needs to go. Alban is moody and gentle, yet capable of being dangerous, which are always appealing characteristics for the supernatural romantic lead. Other characters -- her roommates; her on-again, off-again cop boyfriend Tony; and the various members of the Old Races that she runs into -- are colorful enough to be interesting while keeping the focus on Margrit and Alban. (Though I have to confess that Janx, the dragon, is my favorite out of the entire book.) The murder plot is strong enough to exist side-by-side with the romance, making this book a great blend of genre. The urban fantasy/supernatural romance genre is hot right now, and adding a murder mystery makes it even better. I've got the sequel, House of Cards, on my pile. show less

Speed and wariness - and an unseen watcher - keep Margrit (Grit) Knight safe on her late night runs through Central Park. But when a serial killer begins targeting women in the park and her protector steps out of the shadows, Grit is thrust deeper and deeper into a twilight world where vampires, dragons and things more dangerous yet pass as human, and blood ties and memories last longer than death. Can one legal aid lawyer make a difference? Margrit doesn't know, but she's willing to die trying.

As quick with a comeback as she is on her feet, Grit is appealing and spunky with a penchant for running straight at trouble that makes the several strong men in her life quake. Murphy's latest heroine is a handful, but it sure makes reading her show more adventures a treat. show less

Margrit Knight is a lawyer in New York City. One evening she is approached by a strange man named Alban who claims to need her help. He believes he is under suspicion for the murders of several women in Central Park but he can’t go to the police and clear his name because of his condition. Alban is a gargoyle, one of the Old Races. Margrit helps Alban avoid the detectives that are persuing him, including her on/off boyfriend. As she searches for the truth behind the killings she becomes entangled in the affairs between a Vampire and a Dragon, helps a Selkie whose pelt has been stolen and has a run-in with a really nasty Djinn. And that’s not even the worst of her troubles.

I devoured this book. I probably should have read it in two show more sittings but I didn’t want to, so I stayed up late and finished it. It’s a little slow in the beginning but picks up the pace quickly. Definitely a page turner.
I got a Beauty and the Beast (TV series) vibe off of this book. The hotshot lady lawyer, the “monster” who watches over her from a distance, the balcony scenes, the underground tunnels. It’s all there.
I loved the flying scenes. They were beautiful and engaging. I also enjoyed the book’s discussion of racism.
My least favorite parts were the political negotiations between Daisani, Janx and Malik. I guess I’m still traumatized from LKH’s Anita Blake series As I was reading those scenes I was pleading please, please don’t go there. Luckily, Murphy didn’t quite sink to that level and I hope that’s true of the rest of the series. I will definitely read the sequel.

Some language.
Definitely recommend for fans of urban fantasy. It’s a good one. show less