Overview

Even hardened detectives were shaken by what they found at Frans Market in rural Fresno that night in 1980. Three young people lay in their own blood on the markets concrete floor, executed by a merciless killer, while a fourth victim barely held on to life. Then a grim investigation became even grimmer when the evidence led to the man who ordered the killings a convicted murderer already behind the walls of Folsom Prison. Hands Through Stone reveals the true story behind the Frans Market murders and their psychopathic mastermind, Clarence Ray Allen, the last man executed in California. Written by James Ardaiz, one of the first investigators on the scene and the prosecutor who built the case against Allen, Hands Through Stone gives the reader an insiders view of the tortuous, multi-year investigation that brought Allen to justice. Charismatic, controlling and terrifying a mystery even to those who knew him well Allen posed as a respectable businessman while running his private security company as a front for his burglary gang. Convicted in 1978 of the murder of accomplice Mary Sue Kitts, Allen orchestrated a bloody revenge while serving a life sentence, even ordering the murder of his own son. Ardaiz takes the reader step-by-step through every gritty, down-and-dirty piece of police work that painstakingly built the case against Allen, giving readers an unparalleled feel for what its really like to work a professional murder investigation. A true crime story that reads like an intricate mystery novel, Hands Through Stone dramatizes chilling scenes of murder, dogged investigation, and a gallery of quirky real-life characters no novelist could invent: cops, witnesses, victims, villains, and, above all, the enigmatic evil that was Clarence Ray Allen.

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9781610353991

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Reviews

Ardaiz's writing about police work is in depth ... The final chapter was thought provoking and put a different perspective on the death penalty for me ... had me thinking about the book long after I had finished it. --Rachel EC, truecrimereader.com Goes inside the room at Fran's Market and gives not only the events on the infamous night but the feelings of the horror of the seasoned investigators. A must read for readers and writers of mystery books. Highly recommended! --Terell Byrd, The Poison Pen Hands Through Stone tells a frightening story with all the tension and color of a first-class mystery novel ... a revealing insider's view of the investigation. --Denise Noe, CrimeMagazine.com A fascinating and engrossing book. Ardaiz handles the story sensitively and with a gentleness one doesn't expect from a 'hard-nosed' prosecutor. I highly recommend reading it. --Diana Bulls, Kings River Life A recommendation for general-interest, biography and true crime collections alike, but of special interest to any California history holding. A riveting true crime account any California library will find engrossing! --Midwest Book Review In this true-crime investigation, written in narrative style, [Ardaiz, the prosecutor in the case against Allen] brings general readers along as he builds his case piece by piece from the investigation to the eventual trial. --Reference and Research Book News

Author Information

James A Ardaiz is a former presiding justice of Californias Fifth District Court of Appeal. From 1974 to 1980, Ardaiz was a deputy district attorney prosecuting homicide cases in Fresno County. He served as a California State judge from 1980 until his retirement in 2011.

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