Publishers Weekly
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There's an adequate crime tale embedded somewhere among the excess of upscale home, fashion and dining commentary here. Woods's (Orchid Beach) new novel opens on a high note as series hero Stone BarringtonÄattorney and ex-cop, he of the large wallet and larger libidoÄsuffers a date from hell when his pickup, an attractive ADA, gets her throat cut while Stone is stepping out for Chinese food. The next night, Stone and a visitor, his former partner, NYPD Lt. Dino Bachetti, witness from Stone's window another woman getting her throat slashed. The murderer escapes, but the two men think they recognize him as a wife killer they put away 12 years ago. The problem is, Herbert Mitteldorfer is still in prison. Intrigue heightens as an old love reenters Stone's life, Mitteldorfer is paroled and the mysterious slasher attempts to kill Dino's wife. Dino's father-in-law, Eduardo Bianchi, a godfather-like philanthropist, ensure that Dino's wife and son are safe-guarded while he feeds Stone inside information. But Stone's romance isn't protected, and when the lawyer's girlfriend flees to England, he recklessly beds Bianchi's daughter, Dolce, even as the chase for the elusive killer heats up. This wan action is padded by much description of sumptuous meals (with lots of name brands), Stone's purchase of a luxury car and Connecticut retreat, and myriad scenes drawn from the society pagesÄElaine of the famed Elaine's restaurant even turns in an extensive cameo. Woods still can write smart dialogue and knows how to pace, but it's hard to believe that the man who began his career with the dramatic, Edgar Award-winning Chiefs is tossing off inane stuff like this. Author tour; simultaneous audio and large-print editions. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Erratic Woods, whose 18 previous thrillers make up perhaps the spottiest backlist in the business, nose-dives in this plush, absurd slice of Serial Killer Lite. The morning after cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington (Swimming to Catalina, 1998, etc.) returns from getting takeout Chinese for Susan Bean, the comely ADA who picked him up at a party, to find her throat cut, he learns that his secretary, Alma Hodges, has been killed on the street outside his place. Next, Stone's neighbor, bank VP Miranda Hirsch, is slain while he and his ex-partner, Lt. Dino Bacchetti, alertly watch her vacuum her apartment in the nude, and Dino's wife Mary Ann barely escapes with her life from another lethal attack. Clearly, the boys decide, somebody they put away once is out to kill everybody close to them. How does Stone feel about all this mayhem? ``I'm extremely well,'' he tells painter Sarah Buckminster the next morning on her return from Europe, and why not? After all, his immediate future holds impulse cash purchases of an armored Mercedes and a terrific little cottage in Connecticut, not to mention some fabulous sex with Sarah, who's inspired this shopping spree. And when Sarah, worn down by the rigors of the stalked life in New York, returns to her native England, leaving Stone to help Dino deal with the stalker, Dino's sister-in-law, Mafia princess Dolce Bianchi, is waiting in the wings to take up the slack in Stone's love life. Meanwhile, the presumed perp, wife-killing accountant Herbert Mitteldorfer, has been released from prison just in time to slow his murderous campaign to an adagio while Stone catches up on the finer things in life and, aided by Dolce's flashing eyes, fends off his ex-girlfriend Arrington Carter's tearful confession that she wants to leave her movie-star husband and baby son and come back to him. Male fantasy at its most narcissistic, with just enough mystery to substitute for foreplay.

Library Journal
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Best-selling author Woods (Dead in the Water) returns with his 19th novel and fifth Stone Barrington adventure. The Manhattan lawyer turned investigator faces an indictment for the murder of a woman he's just met. When other brutal murders quickly pile upÄall women connected to him or his best friend, Dino Bacchetti of the 19th PrecinctÄStone knows that one of a cop's worst fears has been realized: a con with a grudge is bent on vengeance. While trying to save the lives of the women he cares about, Stone struggles to track down the killer and head off a DA who's out to get him for murder. With sharply drawn characters, a plot that's satisfying to the last dirty deed, and a story that flows with the effortless grace attained only by a master, this seductive novel will have readers twitching with suspense. Highly recommended for all public libraries. [A Mystery Guild main selection and Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club featured alternate selection.]ÄRonnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

It's a cop's worst nightmare: a felon he or she sent to prison harbors a grudge, and when released, goes after the cop to extract revenge. That's exactly what happens to cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington when Herbert Mitteldorfer comes after Stone, his ex-partner, Dino Bacchetti, and their families and close friends. Somehow Mitteldorfer manages to disappear after every attack, and no one can find his hidey-hole or stop the victim list from growing longer and bloodier. Adding to Stone's problems are his romantic troubles--his longtime British girlfriend leaves in a huff, and the beautiful, sexy daughter of a Mafia don is panting to get him into bed. Woods' Stone Barrington series continues to offer solid escapist entertainment, combining the sophistication of a Nick and Nora Charles plot, the macho charm and tongue-in-cheek humor of a James Bond flick, the crisp dialogue of a Spenser mystery, and the slam-bang action of a Schwarzenegger film. --Emily Melton

Publishers Weekly
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Woods's breezy and irreverent brand of detective fiction, full of mischievous asides, plays especially well as audio drama. He's in top form here, having returned to his popular hero, Stone Barrington, a retired cop-turned-investigator who works in tandem with his ex-partner, Dino Bacchetti. Barrington, a lady-killer, is the ultimate smoothy, while Bacchetti, streetwise and jaded, is a rough diamond. Together, the two track a killer on a wanton Manhattan murder spree. He's left a trail of beautiful women with their throats slashed. What's more, the killer is waging a personal vendetta against the investigators, holding a grudge from a long-ago case they worked. Barrington, ever the flirt, gleans essential knowledge by wooing well-placed ladies along the way: amorous hijinks play against murderous mayhem. Narrating is veteran Broadway actor Roberts (he has read several previous Woods titles for Harper Audio), who spiritedly pushes his characterizations to the hilt. For Barrington, however, Roberts reserves a world-weariness befitting the fatigue of a lifelong dick who has seen all too many murders. Simultaneous release with the HarperCollins hardcover. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved