Rating: 
Summary: Read Dead in the Water first
Review: A sequel to the outstanding Dead in the Water, this book is much more enjoyable when you know the background -- the story of Stone's unhappy romance with the oddly-named but delectable Arrington. If you've followed Stuart Woods' career, you'd know that his very first book was a sailing memoir (Blue Water, Green Skipper); it's a joy to see this author return to his boating roots in this and the preceding book. (You won't believe the scene in which Stone is thrown overboard with an anchor tied to him.) Even if you don't care beans for boats, cancel your appointments -- Dead in the Water and Swimming to Catalina aren't to be put down!!! (The title, incidentally, is a quote from Raymond Chandler: "Oh sure, I do something you don't like and I'll be swimming to Catalina with a streetcar on my back." What a combination -- an adventure/mystery writer at the top of his form, putting his appealing character on the same streets once prowled by Philip Marlowe. Stuart, THANK YOU! MORE!
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Summary: A real page turner!
Review: After reading "Dirt" I was disappoined. Stuart Woods latest is great. I couldn't put it down. Keep the Stone Barrington books coming!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: All I can say is read this book if your are looking for a book you can't put down. I have read fourteen Stuart Wood's books and this was one of my favorites. Stone Barrington is very cool.
Rating: 
Summary: another page-turner from the MASTER of page-turners
Review: As usual, Stuart Woods writes at a furious pace and keeps you enthralled. This pretty much concludes the Stone Barrington saga begun in "Dirt" and continued in "Dead in the Water". Although I caught a plot mistake that was at best implausible and (really, for a major novelist) quite indefensible, I enjoyed the ride.
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Summary: Good plot w/sense of humor.
Review: I did this one in audio form.Laughed out loud when Stone & Barbara spied on Vance's house. Well thought out plot.
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Summary: A Very good Mystery
Review: I found the story a bit laborious but generally a good read. Stone's "escape scene" defies reader credibility. Perhaps the author could have thought of a slightly more plausible set of circumstances that would have been no less credible. After all, this is not a Superman episode, but a simple lawyer ("How do you describe a lawyer dead on the ocean floor?") who does complicated things.Having spent some of my teenage years in and around the area of this novel I can relate very well to the scene painted here. I think it is very well done indeed. But, I think it's not as good as "Dead in the Water." This is a good book to take on a business trip: not too cumbersome, not too taxing, and absorbing when you need to be absorbed (like when waiting for a plane connection).
Rating:
Summary: Not what I first thought but super nonetheless!
Review: I listened to the audiocassette version and, while I was surprised, I was not disappointed. Protagonist Stone Barrington goes in search of his former fiance Arrington at the behest of her new husband... she's been kidnapped amid a deluge of Wise Guys and assorted other Hollywood peccadilloes. My surprise was in terms of "title versus story." Having recently listened to "Dead in the Water" (also on audio) by the same author I had wrongly anticipated the author's setting and theme in his Catalina mystery. No mistake about it, though, this work is right up to par and is sequential to "Dead in the Water" for those who are interested in such trivia. This story combines an effective blend of shady charcters, dark humor and good sub-plots all rendered in a comprehensible saga in a great setting. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because "Dead in the Water" was slightly more riveting!
Rating: 
Summary: Must've been a lousy edit job
Review: I listened to the book on tape, which might have been my first mistake (if buying the tape wasn't). I got a view of a man with zero personality whom women throw themselves after. Maybe it's a guy thing, being entertained by such tripe. Maybe it was poor editing, I don't know. I just couldn't understand how you can have a guy who's looking for a missing person. He already knows that the bad guy does criminal activity on his boats. Well, wouldn't you think that before you chose to sink one of his boats, you'd check to see if the missing person might be on it? Struck me as entirely too stupid.
Rating:
Summary: Stone Barrington Rides Again!
Review: I love Stone...rather reserved, modest, seemingly a hopeless romantic. But he has a good head on his shoulders and always delivers. Stuart Woods has created a great leading man in Stone, and I hope he continues the "tradition". This foray didn't quite measure up to his previous two, especially "Dead in the Water", but it was a great read nontheless. Will Arrington be out of his life forever now that she has Vance's child? Or will Stone charge to her rescue the next time she calls? Stay tuned...(we hope!)
Rating:
Summary: really bad
Review: I picked this book up in an airport, thinking I would get a decent crime novel to read on the plane. But it was terrible. The writing is generally poor, and the characterization is completely awful. The style seemed very similar to books written for 12-year olds, although the content was filled with unnecessary sex, needless references to (allegedly) fine wines, and very little in the way of wit. This trash doesn't come anywhere near the level of Raymond Chandler or Jim Thompson.
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