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"Dead in the Water"

 (Reviewed by Judi Clark MAY 15, 1998)

The best part about this book is that you figure it out (well at least most of it) before the narrator, Stone Barrington, ex-cop and lawyer.  I mean there are so many clues that he doesn't see, but then, he is physically involved with his beautiful, sexy client... You would think this technique would be annoying, but instead it makes it even harder to put down the book.

Central to the story is this tropical island's legal system.  Basically to save time and resources, presumed guilty is the name of the game with a fast trial and fast capital punishment.  Woods knows sailing and sailboats and has come up with a good story. This book is page turner, and if you don't get a chance to read it sooner, take it on vacation.  It's best to have set a solid day aside before you start to read it.

• Amazon reader rating: from 77 reviews

 

 

 

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"Dirt" 

(Reviewed by Judi Clark FEB 2, 1999)

I almost put this book down and started a different novel.  I don't know, it seemed trite:  this gossip columnist and her life.  Maybe it's because I had just finished Manhattan Nocturne and since that book is so well written that it made this book seem all the more shallow.  But I read on. And then in chapter five, Stone Barrington appears and I'm hooked.  Don't ask me why, but there it is.  I can't put the book down.

The premise of this book is that the very people who make a living by publishing dirt on other people are now the target themselves. Naturally, it turns out that they have a lot to hide. This book is OK, but I thought Dead in the Water was far better, but maybe I just liked the setting better.

Amazon reader rating: from 49 reviews

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Bibliography: (with links to Amazon.com)

Stone Barrington Novels:

• New York Dead (1991)
• Dirt (1996)
• Dead in the Water (1997)
• Swimming to Catalina (1998)
• Worst Fears Realized (1999)
• L.A. Dead (2000)
• Cold Paradise (2001)
• The Short Forever (2002)
• Dirty Work (2003)
• Reckless Abandon (2004) *
• Two-Dollar Bill (2005)
• Dark Harbor (2006)*
• Fresh Disasters (2007)
• Shoot Him If He Runs (2007)*
• Hot Mahogany (2008)
• Loitering With Intent (2009)
• Kisser (2010)
• Strategic Moves (2011)
• Son of Stone (2011)
• D.C. Dead (2011)
• Unnatural Acts (April 2012)
• Severe Clear (August 2012)

*Holly Barker joins Stone Barrington

Holly Barker Novels:

• Orchid Beach (1998)
• Orchid Blues (2001)
• Blood Orchid (2002)
• Iron Orchid (2005)
• Hot House Orchid (2009)

Will Lee Novels:

• Run Before the Wind (1983)
• Deep Lie (1986)
• Grass Roots (1989)
• The Run (2000)
• Capital Crimes (2003)
• Mounting Fears (2009)

Rick Barron, L.A. Detective:

• The Prince of Beverly Hills (2004)
• Beverly Hills Dead (2008)

Ed Eagle, Santa Fe Defense Lawyer:

• Santa Fe Rules (1992)
• Short Straw (2006)
• Santa Fe Dead (2008)
• Santa Fe Edge (September 2010)

Other Novels:

• Chiefs (1981)
• Under the Lake (1987)
• White Cargo (1988)
• Palindrome (1991)
• L.A. Times (1993)
• Dead Eyes (1994)
• Heat (1994)
• Imperfect Strangers (1995)
• Choke (1995)

Nonfiction:

• Blue Water, Green Skipper (1977; August 2012)
• A Romantic's Guide to the Country Inss of Britain and Ireland

 

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Book Marks:

• Official Website for Stuart Woods
• Writers Writer: A conversation with Stuart Woods (1998)
• Thrilling Detective comments on Stone Barrington
• First Chapter of Swimming to Catalina
• Review of Swimming to Catalina
• First Chapter of Orchid Beach
• Back Story on Orchid Beach
• Curled Up with a Good Book review of Orchid Blues
• The Mystery Reader review of Cold Paradise
• BloggerNews review of Two Dollar Bill
• Avid Reader review of Will Lee Series
• The Mystery Reader review of Santa Fe Dead

 

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About the Author:

Stuart Woods was born in Manchester, Georgia and attended the local public schools. He earned a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Georgia. In the autumn of 1960 he moved to New York, in search of a writing job and was trained at an advertising agency. At the end of the sixties, he moved to London and worked there for three years in various advertising agencies. He then moved to Ireland to start a novel, ended up distracted by sailing. Eight years after he started his first novel, he completed it; and Chiefs won the Edgar Allan Poe award, establishing Woods as a novelist. He has since been prolific author.

He is a licensed, instrument-rated private pilot, and currently flies a Jetprop, which is a Piper Malibu Mirage (a six-passenger, pressurized single-engine airplane) in which the piston engine has been replaced by a turboprop. He sails on other peoples' boats, owns a 28-foot power boat, and is a partner in a 85-foot antique motor yacht (Enticer), built in 1935 and recently restored to like-new condition.

After living in Connecticut and Vero Beach, Florida for years, he is now a "born again bachelor" and lives in Key West, Florida, Mount Desert Island, Maine and New York City.