Dead in the Water (ISBN 0694518492)

Shallow 'Water':
Stuart Woods' gifts as a writer are primarily in storytelling. His writing style isn't particularly exceptional and his characters are woefully one-dimensional, but he can spin a tale that'll keep you turning the pages. His Stone Barrington series is sort of the literary equivalent of an enjoyable-but-mediocre TV detective series. With "Dead in the Water," though, he drowns his story in bland dialog and meaningless detail (glad I'm not the only one annoyed that Woods chronicles the making of a Caesar salad, which was slightly more exciting than Stone Barrington's adventures in an earlier chapter making linguine and clam sauce). Though the state of journalism has declined to a degree that I could believe reporters could be goaded by a PR firm into flocking to an island resort to cover the plight of a rich housewife, the journalists in "Water" are never believable as journalists. Or as people. In fact, it's hard to believe any of the people in "Water," with all the characters shallow and broadly drawn. I never pick up a Woods novel with high expectations, but "Dead in the Water" leaves readers splashing around in a wading pool.

My second Woods book:
The Margin When Stone Barrington isn't practicing law he usually can be found island hoping. This time Woods invites us to go with Barrington to St. Mark's. He's there to take a relaxing vacation with a friend Arrington Carter who is to arrive later. While Stone waits, a 45 ft. yacht arrives and docks in the slip next to his much smaller, leased boat. Local police arrive and escort the only occupant off the yacht to jail. Ordinarily this event would not have piqued his interest, but the lone sailor happened to be a beautiful woman. He follows up with an inquiry and finds out that the woman has been arrested on charges of murdering her very rich husband. He also learns that according to St. Mark's law, if someone is found guilty of a capital crime they are summarily hung in a public court yard. Well, being a gentleman and a lawyer he couldn't let this happen, particularly since the defendent was so attractive. The plot begins to unfold at this point--secret meetings, sleep overs for Stone on her yacht, disguises, bribery and the ever present double crosser. All this will tease the reader through the spiraling drama that unfolds. Dead In The Water, by Stuart Woods is well worth your time.

Excellent fast paced mystery with a surprise ending:
I'm really enjoying all of the Stuart Woods' novels with Stone Barrington. This one was a continuation of Stone's private life with a huge adventure into a hellish vacation in St. Marks defending a woman of murdering her husband. It's a fun ride. The only thing I'm always surprised at is Stone's avarice for bedding anything in a skirt. Of course they're all "beautiful" women with a voracious desire for sex, but it makes ole' Stone seem like a whore. Nevertheless, this book was a great read.

Jaw-dropping twists!:
After Stone Barrington is stood up by his girl during a trip to St. Mark's, he gets involved in a murder trial for a fellow American, a young woman whom the local governmental big-wigs are apparently intent on railroading into a murder charge whether she is guilty or not. Stone, desperate to find some way to pressure the St. Mark's government into backing off, starts a major media blitz in the U.S. and floods the island with reporters. Various twists and turns ensue, and the final couple of twists in the story will absolutely blow your mind. Woods had apparently been reading some L.E. Modesitt, Jr. around the time he wrote this, as he began paying very close attention to details about food for some reason, which I found quite wonderful. It's the tiny little day-to-day details in a book that truly bring it to life. I am not certain why more people do not enjoy this - I guess too many people want instant gratification and constant bang-bang action. I blame the television, and video and computer games for this. It has destroyed our capacity to enjoy details and the slow building of a story. Huzzah to Stuart Woods for going ahead and doing this anyway! He builds wonderful details into this book while still providing the action, suspense and thrills we have come to love from this series. I am hooked!

Dead in the Water:
I came across this while visiting my Mom and cruising her shelves I found this author and am now devouring every book I can get that he has written. A real page turner.