Loitering with Intent

February 23, 2009
Never one to avoid a glamorous vacation spot, Stone Barrington travels to Key West, Fla., in this easygoing entry in bestseller Woods's long-running series (Hot Mahogany
, etc.) to feature the New York cop turned lawyer. Stone is supposed to track down Evan Keating, a young man whose signature is needed on documents allowing his father to sell the family business, except that Evan doesn't want to be found and when he is, doesn't want to sign the papers. Meanwhile, there's always time to enjoy good food and romance. Stone and Dino Bacchetti, his former NYPD partner, eat a lot of conch, while a beautiful Swedish doctor, Annika Swenson, learns the hard way that being involved with Stone is the most dangerous job in America. Woods handles the proceedings with dispatch and good humor, the pages fly by, and contented readers will sit back and eagerly await the next installment. Author tour.

February 15, 2009
Beneath the excruciatingly apt title lurks a welcome return to detection, more or less, for jet-setting New York attorney Stone Barrington.

Offered a hefty sum to sell the family business, chemist Warren Keating has already won the reluctant blessing of his ancient father Eli. But company rules require him to get the permission of his son as well. That's a bit awkward, because Warren hasn't seen Evan since the boy's college graduation five years ago, and a recent postcard Evan sent from Key West doesn't sound as if it's laying the groundwork for a reunion. Deputized to fly to Key West and get Evan's signature on the appropriate documents, Stone (Shoot Him If He Runs, 2007, etc.) packs light—an easy job since his girlfriend, Tatiana Orlovsky, has just returned to her unworthy husband. With the help of his ex-partner Lt. Dino Bacchetti and Dino's old buddy Lt. Tommy Sculley, who retired from the NYPD to police Key West, Stone quickly traces Evan to a convenient barstool, makes his pitch and gets decked for his trouble—not by Evan, but by his enterprising girlfriend Gigi Jones. Stone awakens to find comely Dr. Annika Swenson bending over him. Since she doesn't have any American hang-ups about sex, she's soon putting Stone through his paces, leaving him panting for sleep and another round of conch fritters. Meanwhile, Evan's schoolmate Charley Boggs has been identified as a likely drug mule, then becomes a murder victim, and Evan has accused his father of poisoning his later brother Harry, who ran the company, and trying to hire a hit man to kill Evan. For a while everything seems confusing and uncertain. Luckily for Stone's legion of fans, the guilt is swiftly fixed to a professional killer you just know is going to be left free at journey's end to decimate the casts of future Stone adventures.

Middling for this wildly uneven series. Readers who quit halfway through won't miss a thing.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 15, 2009
After a less than thrilling turn in Hot Mahogany (2008), Stone Barrington is back in top form with this twist-filled page-turner. Stone is at his favorite New York hangout, Elaines, when Bill Eggers brings himWarren Keating, whos hoping Stone can track down his 26-year-old son, Evan. Warren wants to sell the family business, but he needs Evans signature to do so. Stone agrees to goto Key West to hunt for Evan, and takes perennial sidekick Dino Bacchetti along for the ride. When he finally tracks Evan down, Stone is surprised whenhe refuses to sign the contract, whichis worthmore than$20 million. Before Stone can press the issue, hes knocked out by Evans zealously protective girlfriend, Gigi. The experience isnt all bad: Stone ends up falling for Annika Swenson, the beautiful Swedish doctor who examines his head wound. Stone continues his increasingly dangerouspursuit of Evan, nowquestioning Warrens intentions. Sure enough, Evan believes his father is up to no good, and Stone agrees to help Evan, unaware that the decision will cost him dearly. An exciting entry in prolific Woods long-running series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)