
Heart of Stone (Negotiator Trilogy/Old Races Universe #1)
Negotiator Trilogy by C. E. Murphy.
Genres and Sub-Genres[]
Urban Fantasy
Series Description or Overview[]
WHAT SECRETS LIE SHROUDED IN DARKNESS? Okay, so jogging through Central Park after midnight wasn't a bright idea. But Margrit Knight never thought she'd encounter a dark new world filled with magical beings—not to mention a dying woman and a mysterious stranger with blood on his hands. Her logical, lawyer instincts told her it couldn't all be real—but she could hardly deny what she'd seen and touched.
The mystery man, Alban, was a gargoyle. One of the fabled Old Races who had hidden their existence for centuries. Now he was a murder suspect, and he needed Margrit's help to take the heat off him and find the real killer. And as the dead pile up, it's a race against the sunrise to clear Alban's name and keep them both alive. ~ Goodreads | Heart of Stone
Lead's Species[]
- Lawyer, human
Primary Supe[]
- Gargoyles, Old Ones
What Sets it Apart[]
Narrative Type and Narrators[]
- Third person narrative.
Books in Series[]
Negotiator series:
- Heart Of Stone (2007)
- House of Cards (2008)
- Hands Of Flame (2008)
Shorts, Anthologies and Guides[]
Prequels:
- 0.1. The Old Races: Origins
- 0.2. The Old Races: Year of Miracles
- 0.3. The Old Races: Aftermath
- Baba Yaga's Daughter & Other Tales of the Old Races ~ Collection of shorts
Other Series and Writings[]
- Walker Papers series (10 books)
- Inheritors' Cycle series (2 books)
- Worldwalker Duology (2 books)
- Jane Yellowrock (with Faith Hunter)
World Building[]
Settings[]
- New York
- London
Places:
- Central Park
- Blue Room
- Ausra
Supernatural Elements[]
✥ Gargoyle, Old Races, Selkies, Dragons, Vampires, djinn, supe mob,
Glossary:[]
- Old Races: hidden their existence for centuries;
Groups & Organizations:[]
World[]
✥ Main character. She's a lawyer works at Legal aid. Likes to run everyday after sundown in Central Park
Protagonist[]
✥ Our protag isn't beautiful (well, she probably is; they all are), she isn't strong physically, mentally, psychically, or magically (although she has some cojones and she's in good shape as a runner). She's a lawyer, though, and her strength is being a negotiator who doesn't back down from a verbal fight and knows how to keep her fights verbal. She faces down dragons because she knows the dragon wants something from her client and she knows her client has it; she's there to deal and she acts like she has the winning hand even when she doesn't. She deals with murderers, arsonists, deadbeat dads, vile slumlords, and politically-minded rival attorneys on a daily basis. When she's facing a vampire and hasn't been killed immediately, she starts looking for the negotiating edge. The main character isn't tough-as-brass the whole time, fortunately. She has a complicated and conflicted relationship with her on-again/off-again boyfriend, some angst about her choice of job and some fear that it's a reaction to her race and her parents (she's from an upstate upper-middle-class black family and she works at Legal Aid), she's terrified of the beings she's dealing with, she isn't certain that her "client" is the good guy, and she has a lot to prove to herself about her ability to take care of herself--which comes out as the brinksmanship and risk-taking that drives the story. ~ Goodreads | Seth
Sidekick[]
- Name: / What: / Sidekick-to: / About: / Book First Seen:
Characters Chart[]
Characters resource: The Negotiator Trilogy Series ~ Shelfari
Characters | What | About |
---|---|---|
"Grit", Margrit Knight | Legal aid lawyer | |
Alban Korund | gargoyle, Old Race | Main suspect of Central Park's crime. Wants help from Margrit, claims he's not the one who commited the crime |
Tony Pulcella | Homicide Detective | Margrit's off-again lover according to Cole |
Cole | chef | Margrit's roommate |
Cameron | Cole's fiancée | Works at the gym as a Physical Trainer |
Russell Lomax | Margrit's boss | |
Luka Johnson | former client | Used to be one of Margrit's clients. She was given a twenty-year sentence, allowed to meet with her daugther once a week with supervision |
Nereida Holmes | Witness | Central Park Attack crime |
McLaughlin | Detective | |
Jason Webster | Sketch Artist | detective's office |
Holly Perry | Reporter | Channel Three |
Jenks | crime lord | Possible crime lord |
Cara | Young mother | comes to Magrit for help when it looks like her building is going to be torn down. |
Deirdre | baby | Cara's baby |
To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column. Or, in Source Mode: copy-paste rows.

C.E. Murphy

C.E. Murphy
Author[]
C.E. Murphy
Bio: C.E. Murphy is a writer of fantasy novels and short stories. She also writes "action-adventure romance" novels under the pseudonym Cate Dermody, which was her grandmother's maiden name. ~ Goodreads
Cover Artist[]
Artist: Chris McGrath — source: Bibliography: Cover: Heart of Stone
Awards[]
Publishing Information[]
- Publisher: Luna
- Author Page:
- Bk-1: Paperback, 416 pages, Pub: Sept 1-2008, ISBN-0373802706
Book Cover Blurbs[]
✤ BOOK ONE BLURB—Heart of Stone: WHAT SECRETS LIE SHROUDED IN DARKNESS? Okay, so jogging through Central Park after midnight wasn't a bright idea. But Margrit Knight never thought she'd encounter a dark new world filled with magical beings—not to mention a dying woman and a mysterious stranger with blood on his hands. Her logical, lawyer instincts told her it couldn't all be real—but she could hardly deny what she'd seen and touched. The mystery man, Alban, was a gargoyle. One of the fabled Old Races who had hidden their existence for centuries. Now he was a murder suspect, and he needed Margrit's help to take the heat off him and find the real killer. And as the dead pile up, it's a race against the sunrise to clear Alban's name and keep them both alive. ~ Goodreads | Heart of Stone
✤ BOOK TWO BLURB—House of Cards (2008): Margrit is summoned to negotiate a peace treaty amongst rival factions in the Old Races, but even as she does so, her own mortal world threatens to fall apart. Caught between a ruthless vampire mobster, a dragonlord who won’t take no for an answer, a group of subversive selkies, she finds herself alone—because the gargoyle who brought her into their world won’t return her calls. ~ Goodreads | Hands of Flame (Negotiator Trilogy/Old Races Universe #3)
✤ BOOK THREE BLURB—Hands of Flame (2008): War has erupted among the five Old Races, and Margrit is responsible for the death that caused it. Now New York City's most unusual lawyer finds herself facing her toughest negotiation yet. And with her gargoyle lover, Alban, taken prisoner, Margrit's only allies: a dragon bitter about his fall, a vampire determined to hold his standing at any cost and a mortal detective with no idea what he's up against—have demands of their own. Determined to rescue Alban and torn between conflicting loyalties as the battle seeps into the human world, Margrit soon realizes the only way out is through the fire. ~ Goodreads | Hands of Flame (Negotiator Trilogy/Old Races Universe #3)
First Sentences[]
- Heart Of Stone (2007) — SHE RAN, LONG strides that ate the pavement despite her diminutive height.
- House of Cards (2008) — Humans would call it a catch-22.
- Hands Of Flame (2008) — Night+mares drover her out of bead to run.
Quotes[]
- C.E. Murphy Quotes (Author of Urban Shaman) ~ Goodreads
- Heart of Stone (The Negotiator Trilogy 1) by C. E. Murphy ~ Shelfari
Read Alikes (similar elements)[]
Gargoyles:
- Entwined Realms series
- Spellmason Chronicles series
- Hellequin Chronicles series
- Black Wings series
- Cainsville series
- Allie Beckstrom series
- Alex Craft series
- Dreg City series
- Hollows series
- Tess Noncoire series
- Shaede Assassin series
Dragons:
- Anya Kalinczyk series
- Stormwalker series
- Fangborn series
- Fly by Night series
- Heartstrikers series
- InCryptid series
- Pax Arcana series
- Sarah Beauhall seriesv
- Skindancer series
General:
See Category links at bottom of page
Awards[]
Trivia[]
Lists:
- Lists That Contain Heart of Stone (Negotiator Trilogy/Old Races Universe #1) by C.E. Murphy
- Lists That Contain House of Cards (Negotiator Trilogy/Old Races Universe #2) by C.E. Murphy
- Lists That Contain Hands of Flame (Negotiator Trilogy/Old Races Universe #3) by C.E. Murphy
Notes[]
See Also[]
- UF Book Release Schedules
- List of Sidekicks
- List of Vampires of Urban Fantasy
- Characters (category)
- List of UF Anthologies
- List of PNR Anthologies and Collections
- List of Cover Artists
- Urban Fantasy Links
Category links at bottom of page
External References[]
Books:
- C. E. Murphy: Bibliography - The Essential Kit ~ Author
- C. E. Murphy: Excerpts & Short Stories - The Essential Kit ~ Author
- Goodreads | Negotiator Trilogy/Old Races Universe by C.E. Murphy ~ Goodreads
- C E Murphy - FF
- The Negotiator - Series Bibliography ~ ISFdb
- The Negotiator Trilogy Series ~ Shelfari
- Old Races Universe | Series | LibraryThing ~ LibraryThing
- Negotiator series by C E Murphy ~ FictFact
- ~ ISFdb (author)
Other UF series:
- Walker Papers series
- Goodreads | Walker Papers series by C.E. Murphy
- Worldwalker Duology
- Goodreads | Worldwalker Duology series by C.E. Murphy
World, Characters, etc:
- The Negotiator Trilogy Series ~ Shelfari
Reviews:
Artist:
Author:
- C. E. Murphy: CEMurphy Archives - The Essential Kit
- The Essential Kit | website & blog of author c.e. murphy
- The Negotiator Trilogy Series
Community, Fan Sites:
- Friends ~ Live Journal