Orchid Beach

Rating:
Summary: This book is not a lesser effort: it's no effort at all.
Review: Having recently read and enjoyed Stuart Woods's four Stone Barrington novels, I bought a discount copy of "Orchid Beach"... and let me first say how happy I am that I didn't pay full price. The book starts fairly well, with an intriguing enough premise, but Woods takes it nowhere. Holly Barker could have been an interesting character, but she's really no character at all. The book would have been far more compelling had Woods chosen to focus on her adjustment to Orchid Beach and her investigation into the shootings of Marley and Doherty, instead of the predictable nonsense about Palmetto Gardens. Somewhere along the way, Holly stopped being the focus of the book, cast aside in favor of Harry Crisp, the literary equivalent of a traffic cop. The book is very badly written; Woods's prose is both tired and repetitious. It's as if he dictated a first draft, and then rewrote only the first third. And the editing is almost profoundly sloppy: does Holly live at Riverside or Riverview Park? Is Goldman's name Howard or Frank? Woods doesn't seem to know, or--tellingly--to care. He's certainly capable of writing well. Why, then, isn't he?

Rating:
Summary: shallow but interesting
Review: This is not his best nor his worst. It was a fast read and I liked the heroine, especially her dog. The characters were not well developed and the plot was shaky. However, it kept my interest. Probably only a fan, which I am, would like it.

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing change of pace! Enjoy a breather from STONE
Review: Ok! She's no Stone Barrington, but Holly Barker and Daisy arrived just in the knick of time. I found Wood's new characters refreshing and look forward to having their personalities fleshed out even more in future novels. I enjoyed the fast read,new characters and local. If you are looking for a change of pace this is the book for you. It's ENTERTAINMENT!

Rating:
Summary: Great New Stuart Woods Protagonists!
Review: I've never stopped loving Stuart Woods novels, ever since I read Chiefs in the early 1980s, and I usually buy them the second they're out. This was well worth waiting for. While there were some illogical plot points in solving the murders, I liked the primary characters much more than those in his last few efforts, and hope that he will bring them back to cross paths with Will Lee, the hero in Chiefs. As usual, this was a quick read, finished in a long afternoon. I can't wait for his next and hope all Stuart Woods fans will join me in encouraging him to write about Delano, GA and its characters (from Chiefs) again!

Rating:
Summary: Hardly a page turner.
Review: Remarkably, this book is claimed to be a suspenseful mystery. Yet, the reader will learn after the first few chapters that there is little mystery and no suspense. Instead, Orchid Beach is a novel written at an elementary school reading level. It lacks no imagination and is predictable from the beginning. Woods attempts to grab the readers attention with a homicide and shooting but fails to hold on to the reader as he drags the story out with one dead end after another. Furthermore, the heroine, Holly Barker is hard to buy as the sharp detective Woods attempts to create. Woods tries to grab the readers attention by making her tom-boyish and sexual. But she just comes across as a naive tart who has a really smart dog.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: to read Stuart Woods latest novel. The plot was thin and I never managed to develop a relationship to the book and the characters. Compared with all his other fine novels, this one is a failure. Save your time and money. Leave this book on the shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I've come to expect from Woods
Review: I have to admit that reading Stuart woods is one of my more guilty pleasures. They are fast, easy, enjoyable reads, and I look forward to each new effort. Having said that, I was disappointed in Orchid Beach. It started out nicely and promised to be a quick read, but I slowly lost interest in finding out how it ended. The ending was somewhat muddled, and I was never really clear why the bad guys were in fact the bad guys because their crimes as well as their faceless remained a mystery. I am still a Woods fan, but I hope his next effort has more kick. Bring Stone back.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting, fast-paced read
Review: After reading some of the lousy reviews for this book, my enthusiasm was somewhat diminished. However, after reading the book I was pleasantly suprised. No, the characters aren't particularly well-developed, and perhaps some of their actions and decisions may not necessarily be completely believeable, but the bottom line is that the book is interesting, and a fun, easy read. I have read almost all of Woods' books, and I would say that this one is among his better efforts. If you enjoy his books, this one shouldn't dissapoint you.

Rating:
Summary: a better book than the last three
Review: Orchid Beach is the best he has written in a while. The plot has some meat to it and holds the reader's interest much more than the last two novels SW has written. His last couple of plots were entertaining, but shallow. Not so with Orchid Beach. The reader can guess but can't be too certain of the villain's identity until the end, and in a mystery novel, that is good

Rating:
Summary: A disapointment
Review: I have read all the novels by Stuart Woods since 'Chiefs' 1981 (which I consider as his best novel) and enjoyed them all more or less. This last book 'Orchid beach' is not even close regarding plot and characters descriptions. The plot is less than thin. The characters are simply not interesting. The style reminds me of some mystery books like 'The Hardy brothers solves a case' that I read as a kid. Though-out the book I repeatedly asked myself when the heroine was going to think or do the most obvious things and check-up, that every normal person would do in her situation... I don't expect Holly Barker to show up again in another novel after this fiasco.