L.A. Dead (Stone Barrington)

Whodunit? We're all left not quite sure at the end . . . but we have a great deal of fun getting there. Stone, determined to complicate his life as much as possible (and forget the love of his life, Arrington, who is married to the movie star Vance Calder) has traveled to Venice, Italy to marry Dolce, Eduardo Bianci's daughter (and his best friend Dino's sister-in-law). He is informed that for the marriage to be properly realized in Italy, there must be both a civil and religious ceremony - however, only the civil ceremony has been performed before he receives a frantic call from California. Vance Calder has been murdered and Arrington is asking for him. He arrives to find that she appears to have a form of amnesia that had originally wiped out all memory since their ill-fated planned trip to St. Mark's a couple years earlier; finally she remembered enough to get her up to the day before Vance's murder, but she never could, she says, remember the murder itself. Stone finds himself locked in a battle against forces that seem to have the evidence stacked against Arrington as the killer while ignoring any evidence that seems to point away. To complicate matters, he realizes that he still loves Arrington and decides to call things off with Dolce, which doesn't sit well with her, and she begins to stalk him and cause lots of trouble for him. Woods' descriptions of Hollywood are amusing and his descriptions of the lifestyles of the rich and famous are fun for us looking from the outside in. Although the story doesn't wrap up with a nice neat bow (like many of the Barrington novels, we're left with a bit of a question mark at the end), it is nonetheless a satisfying story with a lot of great twists, turns and suspense. I read it in an afternoon. Definitely a recommend from me!

wow, this book was fantastic...from the very beginning I couldn't stop turning the pages...i'm not sure why this book had a lower average rating, but I thought it was fantastic.. there's lots of things going on in this book, but that's one of many things Woods is good at: having multiple sub plots but using them in such a way that the reader doesn't get lost trying to keep track of everything....everything flows really well.. if I had to pick a gripe about the book it would be the ending...it's one of those 'did they or didn't they??' type of endings....which is cool, but if you're like me and you need to know everything, it'll drive you nuts! =) as with the other books in the Barrington series, i'm sure the events of this book will impact stone's later adventures.. gripping and fast paced.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery or action book. This book has a strong plot with twists and turns that kept me reading. If you have read other Stuart Woods books, it has the same main characters, cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington, his side-kick friend and cop Dino Bachetti, Dino's wife Mary Ann, and Arrington, Stone's old flame. The story starts with Stone nearly marrying Mary Ann's sister, Dolce Bianchi. Then he gets a call from Arrington's doctor that she is in the hospital after her husband, Vance Calder, a famous movie star was shot dead in his home. Stone runs to Arrington's aid in L.A. and ends up at her defense, she is the main suspect in the murder. During all this, Stone decides Dolce isn't the woman for him and she gives him troubles through the entire book, desperate to be married to Stone.

Good followup from previous Stone Barrington novels. In this one Stone corners himself in a possible marriage and coming to grips with other aspects of his personal life. Interesting turn of events in his life in the end, and certainly an open door for his next novel. I enjoyed this latest adventure and look forward to the next.

Former NYPD homicide detective turned attorney Stone Barrington travels to Italy to marry his fiancée Dolce Bianci. Her father happens to be a rich and powerful capo with ties to both sides of the law as well as to the Vatican. In Italy, for Roman Catholics to be considered married they must have civil and church eddings.The civil ceremony occurs, but before they tie the knot in church, Stone receives a phone call concerning Arrington, the woman he loves, who is married to famous movie star Vince Calder. In their home an unknown intruder killed Vince while Arrington was taking a bath. Arrington is placed in a psychiatric hospital demanding that Stone come to help her. Stone immediately leaves Italy to be at Arrington's side. He also agrees to represent her with the police and the probate court. Arrington cooperates with the police, but they arrest her on a charge of second-degree murder. Stone goes out of his way to protect the woman he still loves.The sixth Barrington mystery is the best novel in the series. Stone is an honest, intelligent, but beleaguered individual, who goes the extra mile and a half for those he cherishes. As Stone muddles through his relationships with females, the climax to L.A. Dead remains outstanding even as many questions about the hero's personal life remain unanswered. With an exclamation point, Stuart Woods makes it evident that he is a force in the mystery genre.Harriet Klausner