Wood Desk Chair

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Woods’s tepid 12th Stone Barrington novel finds the New York lawyer taking a much-needed working vacation after the deadly trials and tribulations of the action-packed Two-Dollar Bill (2005). Stone has inherited a house on the island of Dark Harbor, Maine, from his first cousin Dick after Dick and his family have been shot in what the local constabulary thinks is a murder/suicide. Of course it isn’t, and Stone, along with series regulars NYPD Lt. Dino Bacchetti, CIA agent Lance Cabot and lover Holly Barker, goes to Maine to look into the deaths. Stone is never in real danger, though once again it becomes clear that women who sleep with him run a good chance of being captured and held hostage until Stone and his posse can ride to the rescue. Fans will be happy to learn that Dino is finally free of his problematic wife; Holly is still crazy about Stone; and Arrington, the mother of Stone’s son, brushes off a scary domestic plot twist introduced in Two-Dollar Bill. One hopes that a well-rested Stone will spring back into more serious action in his next adventure. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Stone Barrington and Holly Barker, Woods’ busiest heroes, pair up again, this yarn finding Stone traveling to Dark Harbor, Maine, after his cousin, Dick Stone, and his family are found murdered at their house. The local police think it was a murder-suicide, but when Stone learns from his CIA contact, Lance Cabot, that Dick was working covertly for the CIA and had just received a big promotion, Stone decides to look into matters himself. Accompanied by Lance, Holly, and Dino Bacchetti, his trusted former NYPD partner, Stone heads up to Maine. When he gets there, he’s greeted by Dick’s brother, Caleb, who is none too pleased to learn that Dick has cut him out of his will. The more Stone examines Dick’s house and learns about his life, the less convinced Stone is that Dick killed his family and himself. When a teenage girl who was Dick’s daughter’s good friend and two women are murdered, Stone believes a serial killer may be operating in the quiet Maine town. Stone’s worries increase exponentially when Holly disappears after going out jogging, and Stone fears Holly may be the killer’s next victim. Fast pacing and an involving mystery make Woods’ latest novel his best in quite a while. Kristine Huntley
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