Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Manhattan attorney Stone Barrington’s adventures continue under veteran Battles, who handles the franchise at least as well as the late Woods. Accompanying his billionaire client and friend Trenton Sidney on the maiden voyage of Sidney’s new yacht, Stone awakens from a drugged stupor to find theAmanda Jae sinking. He miraculously survives the disaster (duh) along with three members of the crew, but Sidney doesn’t, and soon the quest is on for clues about what happened to sink the yacht. Why would anyone want to sink it? Well, Sidney’s estate is well worth fighting for, especially since he recently discovered a long-unknown daughter and changed his will accordingly. On the international front, moments after Stone hears that his old friend/sometime lover Dame Felicity Devonshire, the head of MI6, has been killed by a car bomb, she pops up to assure him she’s not really dead but would love a safe place to shelter for a bit. There’s some bad news on the romantic front: Stone’s current girlfriend, tech officer Tamlyn Thompson, is devoting too much time to Strategic Services to leave room for Stone. The good news is Stone’s introduction to actor-turned-director Josie Hale, who’s just as interested as he is. The surprising news is that Stone doesn’t want to rush things, so fans will have to wait for the next installment for the consummation. It all ends with Stone’s gracious remark to Dame Felicity—“It’s not the first pool of blood this house has seen”—and a promise that MI6 will be underwriting his next big purchase. No real suspense, but all the low-level thrills of an amusement park. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.