Rating: 
Summary: Reckless Writing
Review: After reading Blood Orchid, Holly Barker's last caper before she joined up with Stone Barrington, I held out some hope that she would continue as a half-way decent series character. In Reckless Abandon, all hope of that is abandoned as Stuart Woods has turned her into a cartoon in one of the silliest books I have read in a long time.
The characters, the dialogue, the situations portrayed, are all disappointments, the more so because Woods was once a great writer. I have credited Woods with getting the characterization of federal agents right but this time he went so far overboard that the story line was totally implausible.
As usual, Woods puts together a plot with great potential. Then he peoples it with characters who are familiar. But they have also over the years become silly and irrelevant. He tosses in mindless dialogue, much of it taking place in his favorite restaurants. The use of sex and violence is routine for these books but this time it a bit too much. Especially with Daisy the Rottweiler on the bed with Holly and Stone.
There are just too many good books and good writers to waste any more time with Stuart Woods. I have to admit that his next one, The Prince of Beverly HIlls, looks interesting. But what will Woods do with that plot? I shudder to think.
Rating:
Summary: Who are you and what have you done with Holly?
Review: After the last Stone Barrington novel, I swore I would never read another book in the series again. However, when I saw that he'd teamed Stone up with Holly Barker, I decided to give it a final shot. Big mistake.
Holly had always come across as a smart, no-nonsense cop. In this book she came across as just another of Stone's bimbos. She wants to nail some guy for murder, and we're really not sure why she's so hung up on this. She and Stone get kidnapped out of their car and almost killed until, as usual, Stone tosses out a few words of wisdom and stops a professional killer from putting bullets in their heads...after the obligatory sex romp in the cellar with the killer listening in.
Stone has been deteriorating for awhile now, but I was really disappointed that Holly was portrayed as a stupid reckless bimbo who never stopped to think through her actions or take appropriate cautions, but rather seemed intent on two things -- killing her perp and getting into Stone's pants.
I still wonder how much Elaine is paying to get her name mentioned in every book. And how is it that Dino can eat in this restaurant with Stone and his floozy-of-the-week so often while he has a wife and baby at home?
Basically, this is the same garbage Stuart Woods has been churning out for Stone for awhile now, only this week's bimbo was given the name Holly Barker to try to hold onto his dwindling audience. I feel cheated and deceived, and I will never read another thing from this author. I only wish I had the ability to give it negative stars.
Rating: 
Summary: I was so looking forward to this book....
Review: As an avid reader of Stuart Woods, I was really looking forward to this book, where both of his series characters would meet up. Overall, the plot of the story was great, but there were too many incidents that it all too unbelievable. Stone and Holly managed to escape death too many times, and their personal relationship with each other was a little too hard to believe. I have to give it 3 stars, however, for the good plot, and also the great continuation of characters, interlocking all the books together. I really love that quality about Woods' writings, that he always brings back past characters. However, I am still waiting on Arrington Carter to make an appearance in a Stone Barrington novel. So if you are a reader of the series of Stone and Holly, then you definitely need to read this book to keep up with these characters. If not, then I wouldn't recommend this book, because you would be completely lost in the history of the storyline involved.
Rating:
Summary: Barrington back in "Reckless Abandon" by Stuart Woods
Review: Every so often, one has to clean out the refrigerator and the freezer. Dinner becomes "leftovers" with a little of this or that. No one is thrilled with the resulting hodgepodge of foods, but it has to be done from time to time. Occasionally, an author will do the same sort of thing by winding up various storylines and interspersing characters from other series. Stuart Woods certainly used the technique in his latest shallow Stone Barrington novel titled "Reckless Abandon."While the title could easily relate to the always studly Stone Barrington's way with women (usually several over the course of the novel) in this case it refers to the actions of Holly Barker, Police Chief of Orchid Beach, Florida. Coming over from the Orchid series, she is on the trail of a fugitive. She is chasing Trini Rodriguez and has a mass murder warrant for him. The problem is that the FBI has placed him in the Witness Protection Program because he is helping them with an investigation into a terrorist cell with links to the Middle East. Trini is a member of the Mafia and Holly believes that he is hiding out in New York City. Stone takes her to Little Italy for lunch and within minutes; Holly spots Trini walking by and gives chase. She loses him almost as quickly and vows once again to get her man, one-way or the other. That becomes the primary theme of the novel. Holly, with Stone and his longtime ally, Dino, and occasionally others, pursue Trini across the country and back to New York, nearly having him before losing him again and again thanks to the FBI and/or the Mafia. There are numerous side storylines in this novel as well and far too many to be mentioned here. Suffice it to say that several which have lingered from previous novels are solved and neatly tucked away while the novel also serves as a launching road for a new storyline and possibly a new series. As such, since those storylines are covered in detail, for those readers who start with this book, there will be no need to read earlier ones from the last couple of years. This is typical Stone Barrington. He gets the beautiful lady, routinely exhausts himself in the bedroom or elsewhere in the process, and runs around New York driving expensive cars and eating fine foods. Thanks to his connections, he always outsmarts everyone and unlike Bond, there are no fussy superiors to deal with. Life is good.
Rating: 
Summary: I AGREE
Review: I agree with an earlier reviewer, the bigger some of these authors become the worse the writing gets. It drives me crazy as Mr. Woods used to be one of my favorites!!!! In the this story the plot is thinly deveolped, the characters are transprent and the conversations trite. May I recommened "A Tourist in the Yucatan" fun thriller that reminded me of early Stuart Woods!
Rating:
Summary: The Careless Mystery Writer
Review: I am trying to decide whether to finish this book or not. It is a big disappointment. Mr. Woods has put together two of his great characters in this new book. It does not work. It is as if he needed a new book to publish and threw this story together. Alone these characters are great but together it just doesn't work. I think that I will not finish this book - life is not long enough.
Rating:
Summary: Please Bring Back the Plots!
Review: I don't even know where to start with this one, Stuart. Okay, so you've written a bunch of other books. Do I really need to be reminded of that every few pages with little asides that add nothing to the plot of this book? That just got me off to a bad start with this book. Second, I do not find the character of Stone Barrington to be even remotely likable; to me he comes off as a pompous ass with too much money and time on his hands. Third, the plot of this book seems very thin. It relies too heavily on plot lines from Woods' other books. This quote on page 236 sums up my whole experience with this book:
Holly: "...You think we're near the end of this?"
Stone: "God, I hope so. I'm not sure how much longer I can do it." I'm going to go reread Palindrome - now there's a book which showcases Woods' ability for telling a great story. NOT this one.
Rating:
Summary: Seems to be missing something...
Review: I recently finished Stuart Wood's latest, Reckless Abandon. While I like the Stone Barrington series, there seemed to be something missing in this one... Wood brings together Stone Barrington and Holly Barker, the character from the Orchid series. She's up in New York, tracking down a mobster who has committed a series of murders in her jurisdiction. He's still a killer, but now he's being protected by the feds under the witness protection program. She wants to somehow break that protection and see him brought to justice. Barrington is helping her out since she's staying with him and he's got the hots for her. I'm not sure what it is that's missing. Not enough action? Not enough mystery? Light on plot? I don't know. I just can't put my finger on it. It's an OK read, but I expected more...
Rating:
Summary: Barrington and Barker double header
Review: In "Reckless Abandon," Stuart Woods brings together two heroes from his previous series, lawyer Stone Barrington and police chief Holly Barker. They work as a team along with Dino Bacchetti of the NYPD to track down and arrest a mob hit man. Things get complicated because the killer also happens to be helping the FBI on an Arab terrorist entrapment, is in the Witness Protection Program, and is under protection of the Mafia. Soon Stone and Holly are in danger, but it is unclear if the FBI, the mob, or the terrorists are after them... perhaps it is all three. There are additional side plots involving the FBI, the CIA, and a thickheaded photographer that caused Stone problems in an earlier novel. Not only are Stone and Holly together in this story, with the requisite romance on the side, but almost every other major character from Wood's previous books (with the glaring exception of Stone's old flame Arrington) is either part of the action or peripheral to it. It seems like Woods is running out of ideas and is delving into his previous books for material. As a result of the reintroduction of so many previous characters and cases, there are a lot of brief recaps of old story lines, and this distracts the reader from the current plot. This latest novel is not one of the author's better ones. First, it appears to be a patchwork production into which Woods only put a mediocre effort. Second, some of the plot details are so unbelievable and the reasoning so naive that they are laughable. But in many ways, it is typical Woods: lots of glib and comical dialog, five-page chapters, meals at Elaine's, romps in the bedroom, chases, narrow escapes, and fast-paced action. I don't recommend this for readers new to Stuart Woods because of all the references to past adventures, but for the knowledgeable Barrington/Barker fan, this is an entertaining and light, though mildly lacking, read. Eileen Rieback
Rating:
Summary: One star is more than generous
Review: It's a shame this author continues to even try to write, while riding on his former reputation and talent. Or is he even trying? But who can blame him-- as poorly written as they are, his books still climb to the bestseller charts. It's hard to believe Stuart Woods was once capable of writing such good books years ago. By continuing to buy his newer books, we are only encouraging him to write such pathetic dribble.
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