Rating: 
Summary: Hodgepodge of former characters -- just a light mystery
Review: We're Woods' fans, so were pleasantly surprised to see (Police Chief) Holly Barker and (Private Eye and playboy) Stone Barrington, Woods' newest and biggest stars respectively, hookup in NYC where Holly is chasing Trini Rodriquez, a leftover crook from her "Blood Orchid" novel. Her efforts are slowed down by both FBI and CIA connections, with whom Trini is currently affiliated in the witness protection program, making it difficult for Holly to nab her prey. That doesn't stop her or Stone, with help from cop buddy Dino, another regular, from getting assistance from mob connections and dining out galore while hunting around the city. Even Holly's father Ham, with dog Daisy in tow, gets in on the act. In the end, actually through some rather humorous developments, Holly more or less gets her man. In between, she gets as much of Stone as she wants, and we do mean in bed. Meanwhile, all sorts of other characters from prior stories, probably a dozen all told, make brief cameos.As other reviewers have surmised, it seems that Woods needed to get a book out. Rather than inventing his usual thriller, with complex plot twists and clever investigative developments, it seems he just dragged out almost all his prior characters except Will Lee; chased one bad guy around as just a token plot; and otherwise let sex and dinner at Elaine's provide the entertainment. We felt the book was more pointless than bad, but possibly just revisiting all the familiar people from earlier books wowed us more than it should have. Save it for the beach or just skip it, and we suspect it won't matter very much either way!
Rating: 
Summary: don't know what happened to this once great writer
Review: what happened to this writer? his writing is deteriorating so badly and almost become unbearable. why he has to put out the stone carrington and that female deputy police chief series? this guy and that lady is actually not interesting at all. like most of his books after the grass root, none of them worthed your time, money and your precious eyesight to read thru. please retire now, mr. woods, it's time to hang up your pen, your visionless imagination and do not, repeat, do not waste papers again and again. i am not a environmentalist, but to you, sir, i am definite a hard-core one. if i knew where you live, i might join the picket line to protest your any new writing. thanks for nothing.
Rating: 
Summary: A winner
Review: 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 novels Harriet Klausner
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