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Summary: 4 hours later...
Review: This is my first novel by Stuart Woods and I have to say that I enjoyed it very much. I sat down Saturday night at 10:00 to read a few chapters only until my husband came in from the garage with the intention of then watching a movie that I had taped. Needless to say 3 cups of coffee and 4 hours later I finished the book and we never did start the movie.The novel moves quickly and there is no unnecessary detail to skim over.It has lots of plots twists and I had fun trying to figure them out(even though I was only partially right)My next book is "Swimming to Catalina" which is where this novels ends. I look foward to it and I hope it is as enjoyable as this one has been.
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Summary: Top Notch Thriller
Review: A lawyer from New York by the name of Stone goes vacationing on the small island of St. Marks when he finds himslef caught up in a murder trial. Stone is set on helping out the beautiful damsel in distress. The young woman, Allison Manning, has been charged with the murder of her husband. She claims to have buried him at sea after a sudden heartattack but is that the true story? While working on the case a love affair blossoms between Stone and Allison. The case is taken to trial and Allison wonders if she will ever be seen as an innocent woman again.
This book is the perfect suspenseful read. Someone who loves to curl up in bed and read a novel that they don't want to put down will find this book a complete delgiht! If you enjoy a murder thriller then this book is for you. Let your mind go on a rollercoaster ride with this exciting read!
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Summary: What a vacation for Stone!
Review: Stone Barrington, who is supposed to be on vacation, finds himself trapped in a murder trial. He has to learn to keep his professional and personal lives separate in this suspencful novel. I recomend starting with New York Dead. It is the first in the series, and you can then get the entire picture, and learn the background of Stone Barringon. Thank you for anther great book Mr. Woods! Please, keep them coming!
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Summary: Fast-Paced and Filled with Twists
Review: The version I read (listened to) was an unabridged audio version, and I'm glad. The story flowed smoothly and didn't need any abridgments (except maybe the trial) to be entertaining. This is my first encounter with a Stuart Woods novel, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.Allison Manning, young wife of millionaire writer Paul Manning, arrives in St. Marques under mysterious circumstances - her husband is missing from their yacht. Her story is that he died from a heart attack and was buried at sea. What follows are the quick paced details as she is charged with murder, investigated by police and the Ministry of Justice, and defended by a vacationing American attorney. Many questions arise, such as did she kill her husband and was he even dead at all. I found my opinion quickly changing as new elements were introduced into the plot. One exciting factor is the setting - the court system is far different on this tropical island compared to the American courts. In America, she would have never been charged. In St. Marques, she is facing an uphill battle. The part of the book that faltered was the trial itself. The evidence and testimonies had been thoroughly researched and presented to the reader throughout the rest of the book, so the majority of the trial was repetitious. Fortunately, Woods managed to throw a few new details into the trial, and the pace of the remainder of the book resumed. Some of the conversations sounded a bit stilted, but most of the dialog was snappy and well-written. The ending of the story appears to be leading to a sequel, but at least he didn't resort to including the first three chapters of his next novel, a cheap trick so many other authors seem to resort to these days.
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Summary: I Thought I was the only one!
Review: I was very pleased to see someone else comment on the slow dim dialogue in this book - it was PAINFUL. Page after page was spent on such exciting things as preparing a Caesar salad and other exciting tangents. The story moved slooowly and the plot, characters and ending were all terribly lacking. None of these lacked as much as the motivation for ANY character. I was so moved by how poorly this book ended that I had to come here and "warn" others! I am not a tough critic, but this book was a stinker.
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Summary: This Book Reeks
Review: As a mystery "junkie," I'm always looking for new authors and titles to feed my "habit." I stumbled across Stuart Woods's name... read some rave reviews of his work, and decided to order "Dead in the Water." I wish I hadn't. To put it bluntly, this book reeks. It stinks. To call the storyline improbable, as another... reviewer did, is to be kind. Mr. Woods has no idea how to plot, so instead he aims for a laughable and artificial breathlessness in his prose that wears thin after a few chapters. I'm also puzzled to see other reviewers praise his "snappy dialogue." The dialogue in this book was the worst I've ever read: "Hello, Tom," said Stone. "Why, hello, Stone," said Tom. That's "snappy"? Why even document these sort of mundane banalities? I've read better dialogue in the "plays" my six-year-old niece writes, and she churns out thousands per year! One would think that Mr. Woods, a "professional" writer who must produce only a single book per year, could do better, but instead we get insipid and unrealistic exchanges like the following: "You're man enough for any woman, Stone," said Allison. "Why, thank you, Allison," grinned Stone. Has this conversation ever taken place in the history of human interaction? I think not. I could go on, but merely thinking about "Dead in the Water" has begun to nauseate me. Suffice it to say that I won't be reading any more Stuart Woods novels, and I urge other intelligent and discerning readers to save their money, too. What's most puzzling to me, though, is how this drivel ever got published in the first place. The back jacket informs us that Mr. Woods is a New York City area attorney, and I smell connections--along with the reeking stench of "Dead in the Water."
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Summary: Murder, Suspense, Love and more¿
Review: "Dead in the Water" was very entertaining...filled with enough humor, intrigue, interesting characters, action and sex to keep me turning the pages rapidly. Stone Barrington, a New York City lawyer and former cop, finds himself stranded on the tropical island of St. Marks when his girlfriend is unable to join him for a long-awaited cruise on a rented yacht. But there's no time for loneliness or boredom to set in because of the arrival of Allison Manning. Allison sailed her yacht into harbor and was immediately accused of the murder of her husband while they were at sea. Her story of his fatal heart attack and burial at sea is plausible, but the authorities don't believe her. She is accused of murder even though there is no body, no murder weapon and no motive. Stone immediately takes pity on Allison and agrees to represent her; however, since he is not qualified to try a case in the British legal system, she is also represented by an aging local barrister. The bizarre legal system assumes that she is guilty, and the penalty is death by hanging, so the stakes are very high. The local authorities are also corrupt and are eager to make an example of her. Stone knows that the case must receive lots of public attention in order to focus the eyes of the world on the grave injustice about to be done, so he calls a press conference and obtains exclusive interviews with "60 Minutes" and other news shows. Right from the beginning, there are plenty of reasons to doubt Allison's motives and alibi, and Stone pursues some independent investigation into her background. He also falls head over heels "in lust" with her and they spend most of their time together in bed. There are plenty of plot twists and surprises right up until the end of the book, and just when you think you've got it figured out a new angle surfaces. You'll be kept in suspense until the end of this entertaining, interesting novel.
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Summary: If you read "Choke", don't read this one
Review: If you don't want to know the ending of this book then don't read the review. Suffice it to say that the ending to this book is almost identical to "Choke" by the same author and that really annoyed me. I thoroughly enjoyed "Choke" by the same author, so I was very much looking forward to reading another novel by Stuart Woods. Overall, I found the book to be very well written. Solid story lines with twists here and there, good dialogue, and interesting characters. Once Woods hooks you he doesn't really let go. However, as I read this book, I kept thinking that it was highly likely that the ending of this book would be essentially the same as the ending of "Choke." In "Choke" the late husband of the main female character isn't really dead after all and the main character ( I don't remember his name) was set up by the two of them. In this book, the main female character is accused of killing her husband in the middle of the ocean. Surprise!! He isn't dead. If Woods could have been more original in this book, which was published after "Choke", I would have given this book 4 or 5 stars. Very disappointing. This will be my last book by Mr. Woods unless I know he come up with a different plot twist.
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Summary: A Tropical Trip To Terror!
Review: Stuart Woods takes readers down to the Caribbean with Stone Barrington. Stone has to help prove the innocence of a beautiful woman, Allison, who is accused of murdering her husband. Throughout the trial, Stone tries to defend her reputation and his own. Overall a good book, but a depressing ending.
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Summary: Very entertaining.
Review: Stuart Woods delivers again. Well written with enough twists and turns to keep my interest. Fast paced enough so I didn't get bored, and when I read the last page I didn't feel like I had wasted my time. Looks like we may end up seeing more than one of the characters in the next book. Keep them coming Mr. Woods.
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