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After a shocking loss, Stone Barrington is at loose ends, unsure if he wants to stay in New York and continue his work as a partner at Woodman & Weld. It comes as a welcome relief when he's summoned to Washington, D.C., by President Will Lee. The president has a special operation that calls for Stone's unique skill set, and it's a mission that will reunite him with his former partner in crime and in bed, Holly Barker.
Even elite lawyer Stone Barrington can't refuse a job request from the president. Called to Washington to take a second look at a problematic murder/suicide, Barrington and his NYPD buddy Lieutenant Dino Bacchetti soon discover that the FBI investigation was hopelessly flawed, which means, of course, that the killer or killers are still out there. A suspenseful thriller with an erotic subplot; now in mass-market paperback and NOOK Book.
Stuart Woods is the author of more than forty-five novels. He is a native of Georgia, and began his writing career in the advertising industry. Chiefs, his debut in 1981, won the Edgar Award. An avid sailor and pilot, Woods lives in Florida, Maine, and New York. You can learn more about Stuart Woods at www.stuartwoods.com.
However, despite his best intentions, Woods got sidetracked in Ireland. He was nearly 100 pages into a novel when he discovered the seductive pleasures of sailing. "Everything went to hell," he quips on his web site "All I did was sail." He bought a boat, learned everything he could about celestial navigation, and competed in the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) in 1976, finishing respectably in the middle of the fleet. (Later, he took part in the infamous Fastnet Race of 1979, a yachting competition that ended tragically when a huge storm claimed the lives of 15 sailors and 4 observers. Woods and his crew emerged unharmed.)
Returning to the U.S., Woods wrote two nonfiction books: an account of his transatlantic sailing adventures (Blue Water, Green Skipper) and a travel guide he claims to have written on a whim. But the book that jump-started his career was the opus interruptus begun in Ireland. An absorbing multigenerational mystery set in a small southern town, Chiefs was published in 1981, went on to win an Edgar Award, and was subsequently turned into a television miniseries starring Charlton Heston.
An amazingly prolific author, Woods has gone on to pen dozens of compelling thrillers, juggling stand-alone novels with installments in four successful series. (His most popular protagonists are New York cop-turned-attorney Stone Barrington, introduced in 1991's New York Dead, and plucky Florida police chief Holly Barker, who debuted in 1998's Orchid Beach.) His pleasing mix of high-octane action, likable characters, and sly, subversive humor has made him a hit with readers -- who have returned the favor by propelling his books to the top of the bestseller lists.
His first job was in advertising at BBDO in New York, and his first assignment was to write ads for CBS-TV shows. He recalls: "They consisted of a drawing of the star and one line of exactly 127 characters, including spaces, and I had to write to that length. It taught me to be concise."
He flies his own airplane, a single-engine turboprop called a Jetprop, and tours the country every year in it, including book tours.
He's a partner in a 1929 motor yacht called Belle and spends two or three weeks a year aboard her.
In 1961-62, Woods spent 10 months in Germany with the National Guard at the height of the Berlin Wall Crisis.
In October and November of 1979, he skippered a friend's yacht back across the Atlantic, with a crew of six, calling at the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands and finishing at Antigua in the Caribbean.
Madriver
Posted March 26, 2012
As always, this entry into the Stone Barrington series is easy to read and move quickly. It's also MUCH better than "Son of Stone," but then it would be nearly impossible to be worse. Get it from the library - don't spend any money on this.
This book has a plot, improbable as it may be, and even a secondary plot, also improbable. But that's why I like fiction - I can suspend my sense of reality for a while. And there's also a mystery that moves along amongst all the bed-hopping to keep your interest. The problem is that it's not a very good mystery - I picked out the murderer early on and, even when I thought Stone and Dino and Holly had reached the same conclusion it turned out they missed all the obvious clues. All of them. Maybe all the bed-hopping drained the blood from their brains, or maybe all the scotch and Knob Creek just killed too many brain cells.
I gave this 2 stars because it wasn't as bad as "Son of Stone" (which didn't even deserve 1 star), and like so many others here am wondering if Woods is just getting tired of the character or has been outsourcing.
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 6, 2012
I rarely give up on a book, but this was an exception. The characters are wooden, the prose leaden, the dialogue plodding, and the setting is one-dimensional.
4 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 27, 2011
Classy... giving away plot details in the review. Sad how many douchebags are out there.
4 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 4, 2012
I will finish this book, but it will be the last Stuart Woods book I purchase. The last four have been way below par. Also I have always thought his comment in the back of the book was rude, arrogant and uncalled for.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 8, 2013
That's lovely, now the truth?
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Posted May 2, 2013
Cal i think its best that we...break up. I love you, but i dont think you love me back. Dont ever talk to me again, kay? You never wanted me sexually and thats ok with me. Now you lost me. Bye for ever because im killing myself to be with viper.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 29, 2013
I am trying to find out what happened to Elaine. I have read all of the Barrington series and in one book she is there and the next book she is dead & the restaurant is closed. What happened to her?
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Posted March 10, 2013
I used to love the Stone Barrington books. The last couple of books I've read I found to be predictable. As if the author was just going through the motions. This will be the last book I buy from this author.
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Posted February 17, 2013
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Anonymous
Posted January 30, 2013
Whats with all the bad reviews, is it pile on time or something
You buy the book you should know that it's lit reading and not to be taken that seriously these novels aren't classics and
shouldn't be taken that way, I don't see it as much different then
the other Stone novels it was pretty good, with some problems
but I liked it
Anonymous
Posted January 21, 2013
Im glad you guys dont like my book..
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Posted November 20, 2012
This is the first book by the author I have read. I enjoyed it. It is a very fast read. I found the story predictable, but that may be because I am so used to detective novels that I can name the guilty within the first couple of chapters. I would recommend this book.
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Posted November 12, 2012
I was so disappointed with this book. Stuart Woods used to be my favorite author and Stone Barrington my favorite character. They pretty much gave up three quarters of the way through the book and even though the characters didn't believe it, they were just going to blame it on someone so that they could go see their sons play. At one point, they also blamed a murder on a suspect that was already dead at the time of the crime. I cannot believe that a book this poorly written was even published. I was embarrassed reading it. Stuart Woods may not want to be contacted about typos in his book but how about COMPLETE PLOT ERRORS????
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Posted July 21, 2012
Different
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.DC Dead is actually a good story with some actual crime solving. A bit of a departure from the last few books that to me have been disappointing.
Stone and Dino are invited to the White House at the request of the First Lady. Stone's former partner, Holly Barker works in the White House and their has been a murder. She calls in Stone and Dino for the investigation. All the usual escapades ensue as their embark on solving the murder. Fans of any Stone Barrington story know that there are several evenets that always occur. Here is my best count of said events.
Dinners at Elaine's: 1
Knob Creek Drinks: 3
Sexual encounters (Stone): 6
Differet Sex Partners for Stone: 3
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 2, 2012
Have been a big fan of Stuart Woods until "son of Stone", really bad, "D C Dead" is a little better, but it feels like Stuart is phoning it in.
I will not buy another of his books as I feel cheated, I will still check a new one of his out, but from the library, where it does not cost me anything.
Anonymous
Posted January 22, 2012
This particular Stone Barrington story is so predictable I feel.like yelling at the characters that they keep falling behind the bad guys. One to many crossover characters for my taste. This Stone is gathering moss
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Posted January 12, 2012
Nedoc
0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 8, 2012
Loved seeing all three characters in one book. Awesome
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Posted December 30, 2011
Normally I read a Stone Barrington book in 1 day. This one is not like the others. I've had it for 3 days and I'm only half way through it. In the book there's too much talking and not enough doing.
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Overview
After a shocking loss, Stone Barrington is at loose ends, unsure if he wants to stay in New York and continue his work as a partner at Woodman & Weld. It comes as a welcome relief when he's summoned to Washington, D.C., by President Will Lee. The president has a special operation that calls for Stone's unique skill set, and it's a mission that will reunite him with his former partner in crime and in bed, Holly Barker.