This fascinating and gripping portrayal is the only book-length account ever written about criminal mastermind Clarence Ray Allen, the last man to be executed in the state of California Even hardened detectives were shaken by the scene at Fran's Market in rural Fresno County that night in 1980: four young people lay on the market's concrete floor, bloodily murdered by a killer without mercy or remorse. Then a grim investigation became even grimmer when the evidence led to the prime suspect--a convicted murderer already behind the stone walls of Folsom. A true crime story that reads like an intricately woven mystery, the book depicts the chilling scenes of murder, a dogged investigation, and the true story behind the Fran's Market murders and their psychopathic mastermind. Written by former prosecutor James Ardaiz, who was one of the first investigators on the scene at Fran's Market, Hands Through Stone provides an insider's view of the tortuous, multiyear investigation that brought a killer to justice. "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 "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 "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 " 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 James A. Ardaiz is a former prosecutor, judge, and Presiding Justice of the California Fifth District Court of Appeal. Ardaiz graduated from the University of California Hastings College of Law in 1974 and was admitted to the California State Bar the same year. In addition to writing Hands Through Stone , Ardaiz is also the author of Fractured Justice and Shades of Truth , the first two novels in Ardaiz’s Matt Jamison mystery series. And in 2021 he published Tears of Honor , a sweeping novel which follows the lives of two Japanese American soldiers who fought against Nazi tyranny in Europe, while their families were imprisoned in America. Ardaiz resides in Fresno, California.