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Reviews of The Stone Girl by Dirk Wittenborn

The Stone Girl

A Novel

by Dirk Wittenborn

The Stone Girl by Dirk Wittenborn X
The Stone Girl by Dirk Wittenborn
  • Critics' Opinion:

    Readers' Opinion:

  • First Published:
    Jun 2020, 480 pages

    Paperback:
    Jul 2021, 480 pages

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About this Book

Book Summary

The Stone Girl is a riveting tale of deception, vengeance, and power set against the haunting beauty of the Adirondack wilderness.

Deep in the Adirondack Mountains lies a speck of a town called Rangeley. There isn't much to this tiny town, but it is at the crossroads of serene fishing streams off the Mink River, pristine hunting grounds in the surrounding mountains, and vast estates of the extremely rich. It is also the gateway to the Mohawk Club, which houses the Lost Boys, an exclusive group of wealthy and powerful men with global influence and a taste for depravity.

Raised wild and poor in the shadows of the Mohawk Club, Evie Quimby was a teenager when she first fell victim to the Lost Boys. Seventeen years later, she is now a world-renowned art restorer famous for repairing even the most-broken statues. After spending half her life in Paris, establishing her reputation and raising her daughter Chloé, Evie has come a long way from the girl who left Rangeley behind. But when Chloé receives a visit from an elegant stranger who claims to be an old friend of her mother's, the ghosts of Evie's past return in full force, pulling her back to the North Country of her girlhood and into the tangled, intricate web of the Lost Boys. Evie bands together with her formidable mother and an embattled heiress, both victims of the Lost Boys, in pursuit of an unusual and heart-stopping vengeance.

When Buddy and Evie got to Valhalla that Friday morning, the party tents were up. A pink- and- white- striped one for the dance that night, and virginal white for the wedding tomorrow. As caterers arranged gilt chairs around tables for ten, father and daughter set off into the lake once again. Knowing they had to check the traps and truck the dead beaver out before the guests started to arrive that afternoon, they had to work fast. Evie's decision to say nothing and hope for the best made her feel like an accomplice.

By noon, the mist had burned off, the sky was a cloudless blue, and they had nineteen beaver and four muskrat in the boat. Forty traps still to go, Buddy cranked up the Evinrude and they headed back across the lake to ice down the carcasses they had collected.

They hadn't gone a hundred yards when Buddy throttled back the outboard and turned the boat in a tight circle. "You see that? It's the sail to that Sunfish. Somebody must have tipped it over, gotten the mast stuck ...

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Reviews

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The Stone Girl intrigued me from the first page. It is the story of abuse, misogyny, the cruelties of humans... It is also a tale of survival, fortitude, friendship, family, resilience, generosity, determination and the fact that decisions often fall within those gray areas where there is no true delineation of black and white or right and wrong (Vivian H). I loved this book. It was a perfect dose of escapism and exactly the kind of fast-moving, not-terribly-deep novel I needed right now (Kim K). I would definitely recommend this to people who like a good mystery, and perhaps need a good beach read. I had the luxury of being able to stay up late reading to complete it rather quickly, which I did (Karen S)...continued

Full Review (623 words)

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(Reviewed by BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers).

Media Reviews

New York Times
Wittenborn writes seductive prose that juxtaposes the rugged glory of the Adirondacks against the ugly undercurrents of humanity.

Kirkus Reviews
Evie is a well-rounded, fully motivated character, but Lulu is a stereotypical good rich girl, and the Lost Boys are one-dimensional scoundrels. A fictional validation of the phrase 'more money than brains'.

Author Blurb Richard E. Grant, Oscar-nominated actor, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
A sprawling baroque thriller that had me in its grip all the way.

Author Blurb Susanna Moore, author of Paradise of the Pacific
Dirk Wittenborn understands that traditional male society is fragile and justifiably endangered. His vibrant female characters refuse to turn themselves into commodities or victims. Suspenseful, witty and wise, it is a compelling thriller.

Reader Reviews

MB Krumel

Best summer read!
Hands down this is the best book I have read so far this year!
Patricia W. (Homewood, AL)

Broken beauty, but restored
I really liked this book. It is about two women, who are very different, but bond in a lifetime friendship. They become obsessed with righting the wrongs done to other women and themselves. The story is very compelling and keeps the readers interest ...   Read More
Marybeth T. (Bellingham, WA)

This is so Good!!!
I loved this book. It is one of my best of the year. It's a slow burn type of book that gets better and better the further you get. I loved all the female characters and despised most of the men but a couple. This wasn't a page turner until about...   Read More
Molly B. (Longmont, CO)

A Topical Page Turner
What a fun read - no downtime, nothing boring, all fascinating characters and action and plot twists. Wittenberg has given us a creative story that is far-fetched but with some imagination, could maybe be plausible. The characters are all extremes ...   Read More

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Beyond the Book

Art Restoration and Conservation

Section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling In Dirk Wittenborn's The Stone Girl, the main character, Evie, is an art restorer who specializes in repairing statues. Art restoration is the professional process of repairing works of art that have been subjected to the effects of damage or age, including paintings, sculptures and architecture. The restoration of art is somewhat distinct from the conservation, or preservation, of it, but both processes seek to reduce the decay and damage inflicted on artistic creations over time by aging, human interference, nature and other factors. Art conservators, like restorers, repair and restore works of art, but often with the intent of providing a temporary fix or slowing their degradation. Art restorers are more concerned with returning works ...

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