Reckless Abandon

First, last and only book I will read by Stuart Woods. There is not one thing I can even think of to say.

Herbie Fisher, the annoying little twit with a million dollars, gives Stone Barrington more than just headaches in this mix of humor, tragedy and mystery. It's a can't-stop-reading saga with characters we've already met as well as a couple of new friends.

A couple of Stuart Woods recent novels had caught my eye as I was looking for something sort of similar to Robert Parker's Spenser series. This being the first of those two eye-catchers which I read, I can say I enjoyed the easy opening of the main characters from separate series making a slow jazz, "no problem" connection. The situation, setting, and dialogue were refreshingly, realistically simple and natural. Even with periodic shocks of abrupt overturnings of a flow of events, the plotting clicked along with no reading-resistance from moi. Chief Holly Barker was clever with her quips and guts, dancing through nonchalance; and Stone Barrington was so smitten and intrigued by Holly, the two melted like butter on a hot day, sliding right into a business mixing pleasure thing based from his home. I noticed that a few reviews don't recommend this novel as a "starter kit" for readers who haven't read most of Woods's other novels, due to the fact that this story uses a sort of patchwork quilt of past plots. So, I wondered, would I be lost? I was carried without effort by the interaction and dialogue among characters and didn't find the brief recaps of the past to be any different than what would be necessary in any novel. No plot works without a past, and segments of that history have to be plugged into an ongoing action. Loved the way Woods stitched the title into the book as a true and actual THEME, becoming obvious with chapter 10, in which Stone interviewed his client-from-hell, professional photographer, Herbert Fisher. Of course Herbie was not the only character for whom Woods used "reckless abandon" as an identifier of personality traits. Feel free to buy and read the novel to do this thought-provoking discovery of for whom, what, where, when, and how this "reckless abandon" plays off, from the simplest, to the most symbolic, to the most legal of meanings. This book had more "live in" capacity than most, like a world was opened and I could simply step in each time I opened the pages. The relationship between Stone and Holly continued the flow established in the novel's opening, and grew easily and naturally, without the usual blocks in romance novels or other P.I. persona series. The sex scenes were simple and gutsy and were slipped within the daily doings without much difficulty or unnecessary production. It was interesting to see how a man like Stone reacted to an aggressive partner like Holly. He was just there, and certainly had no trouble enjoying the ride, taking Holly at face value, which was refreshing both ways, with the blessed absence of the usual emotional games. Jealousy was toyed with on both sides, with a realistic touch, and like everything else, the two rambled through those glitches without over concern, no growing roots for those bleeps of green. Given the way most of us live out our days, this novel might seem unbelievable. But, having worked and lived several years on the inside of criminal justice sys

Another typically fast and skillfully written book from Stuart Woods. Not easy to put down. Fans of this genre will love it!

Stuart Woods' characters Stone Barrington and Holly Barker are amazing forces to be reckoned with independently, but when meshed together in another riveting novel in the Barrington series, they just unglue the seems of sizzle... I mean, awesome! I love these characters together, and I was hoping for this ever since the Stone cameo appearance in Barker series. Way to go, Stuart Woods!

When Holly Barker, Chief of the Orchid Beach Police in Florida travels to New York to apprehend a fugitive, she contacts Stone Barrington who invites her to stay at his home. They met when Stone witnessed a bank robbery in which Holly's fiancé was killed. Trini Rodriguez, who is part of the Mafia, is wanted in the murder of over a dozen people after he bombed a church. Holly couldn't keep him behind bars because Trini was a very important informant who the FBI put in the Witness Protection Program.Holly hopes to find him in New York City and arrest him on a fugitive warrant but the FBI wants her to hold off on serving it until Trini's infiltrates an Arab terrorist cell so the government can arrest them on information the thugs delivers. After the cell is broken up the FBI spirit Trini away with Stone and Holly trailing them all over the country to hand down the warrant. While perusing Trini and company, Holly and Stone begin a hot and steamy affair that gets her mind off of her obsessive need to find her criminal.In RECKLESS ABANDON, the FBI comes across as bumbling idiots who can't shake a tail or keep their informant hidden. The fact that they are willing to protect him after he killed over a dozen innocents will enrage readers as much as it does Holly. The teaming up of the protagonists from Stuart Woods' two series works so well together, it is to be hoped that they will pair up in future novelsHarriet Klausner