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Summary: Cold Paradise
Review: "Cold Paradise" is the latest Stone Barrington novel by Stuart Woods. Stone is hired by rich man Thad Shamus to find a woman named Liz that he met in the Hamptons and wanted to see again. Stone travels to Palm Beach, Florida and finds Liz Harding rather quickly. Liz is actually Allison Manning, Stone's former client with whom Stone had a brief affair. Allison (Liz) retains Stone to do some legal work, and the rest of the book is devoted to finding Allison's husband, Paul Manning. For Stone Barrington readers, Stone once again beds a beautiful woman, Callie Hodges, Thad's girl Friday. This novel is not bad, but I expect better from Stuart Woods.
Rating: 
Summary: Is Stone losing his touch?
Review: (I mean, he only conquests one lady this time!) OK, so maybe this is not a literary masterpiece, but it's a great read. Stone Barrington manages, yet again, to thoroughly complicate a simple (well, not so simple) I-met-this-girl-and-I-want-to-see-her-again-but-I-don't-know-her-name-or-address case and make an amusing mess out of it, implicating some of the characters from his previous cases. Amusing read, a page turner, more or less neat finish. I can't wait for to read what happens next!
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Summary: I'm pretty disappointed
Review: I love Stone Barrington as much as any Woods' fan. I have enjoyed all Stone's many escapades with Arrington and the gang, but I really think it might be time to let Stone take a much needed and uneventful vacation. Woods needs to invent a new character -- maybe revise that wonderful woman from ORCHID BEACH -- with new adventures. I found several editing errors in this new release and I thought the short chapters were proof positive that Woods has retreated to the comfort zone of writing just a bit a day and not staying with the storyline long enough to see it develop other than in fits and starts. Woods has talent with great stories to tell.....he shouldn't be wasting them on jaded themes. Let's hope he turns his pen to more interesting work next time around.
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Summary: Another super-read by Stuart Woods!
Review: A writer I have had my eye on for quite sometime, Stuart Woods spins another entertaining adventure for his many loyal fans (myself included.) Fast-pace action, interesting characters, and a wonderful page turning plot is what he is offering with his newest novel "Cold Paradise." A story I would be most proud to recommend! John Savoy
C.E.O. & Financial Advisor
Savoy International
Motion Pictures Inc.
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Summary: A fun read, but not the best Barrington novel
Review: After having read Wood's latest Stone Barrington novel, "Dirty Work" (and loving it) I wanted to go back and read the earlier novels in the series, which brought me to "Cold Paradise". It's a very fast-paced story, and definitely keeps you entertained for all of its 300+ pages. Here are some thoughts to help you make up your own mind. Though this is I think the sixth book in the series with his main character Stone Barrington, I did not feel at a loss at all for not having read the first few. That alone impressed me, but then add on top of that a story that grabs you and does let go. Unfortunately, of the ones I have read, this one seemed the least plausible. A real suspension of disbelief is required while reading. While I usually have no problem with that, I don't want to recognize while reading that I am having a difficult time thinking the story is realistic. Still, it is a fun read if you take it with a grain of salt and just allow yourself to be entertained by it. Woods combines characters that are cops, ex-cops, lawyers, hit men, international thieves, and mafia and does it all masterfully. Pick this book up and you likely won't be able to put it back down until its over.
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Summary: Murder among the beautiful people
Review: Although I began to feel it with the previous Stone Barrington novel (LA Dead), it was with this novel that I definitely realized that the series is ready for either retirement or revival. There is a scene early in the book that introduces a woman named Callie. As soon as she is mentioned, along with her incredible beauty, I just knew that she was going to wind up with Stone. Why? Because every woman in this series is (a) beautiful and (b) winds up sleeping with Stone. The interesting thing in this book at least is that Stone begins to see the repercussions of all his romances as three other women from past books come back into his life and his friend Dino explains why Stone is doomed to the single life. Nonetheless, there is a predictability to this book that I know Woods can transcend. In addition, the subplot regarding Stone's ex-wife Dolce contributes nothing to the main story. The Barrington books are getting more and more like a soap opera filled with shallow romances among the rich and beautiful. While Woods is good enough that even his so-so stuff can rate three stars, he can certainly do better than this.
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Summary: contractual obligation
Review: Although Stuart Woods has written several excellent stories (Chiefs, Grass Roots), this latest book strikes me as a contractual obligation. Stone Barrington continues to fancy himself a ladies man and the sequence of events seem as likely as me winning a lottery. I sense that Mr. Woods, now that he has achieved a measure of success, has lost some of his creative story telling talents. An unfortunate occurance as he has shown a flair for telling a story. His readers, in my humble opinion, will disappointed by this latest effort.
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Summary: Although I love Stuart Woods
Review: As well as the Stone Barrington character, this was not my favorite of his Barringtong books. While most Woods books aren't very predictable, this one was easily figured out too early in the plot. While there are twists and turns, the main idea was too obvious. Be sure to read ALL the Stone Barrington books before you read this one though...while not neccisarily a "series" this book does built tremendously on events that took place in previous Barrington books.
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Summary: A STELLAR READING OF A SENSATIONAL THRILLER
Review: Broadway, film and television actor Tony Roberts offers a sensational reading of the latest thriller by Stuart Woods. With a skill born of confidence and experience he easily segues from character to character in this suspense riddled mystery. With "Cold Paradise," lawyer cum private investigator Stone Barrington returns - this time to the gilded streets of Palm Beach where he eventually confronts old friends and foes. Mega rich Thad Shames has asked Barrington to go to this playground for the wealthy to trace a woman Shames met at a party. There are a few perks on what initially appears to be a routine assignment, including a yacht stateroom and Shames' beguiling assistant, Callie. Barrington locates the woman in short order but is surprised to find that she is Allison Manning, now known as Liz, the same person he defended against a murder charge on a Caribbean island in "Dead In The Water" (1997). Allison is in almost as much trouble now as she was a few years back. She turns to Barrington for protection and to help find a mysterious man who is stalking her. Never mind the insurance fraud charge she's trying to outrun. Barrington calls in his partner, Dino, for help as they track the elusive stalkert from Manhattan to the luxurious manses dotting the Gold Coast. What a page-turner, what a setting, and what a reading!
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Summary: Stone Barrington in Miami
Review: Cold Paradise by Stuart Woods is another chapter in the life of Stone Barrington, ex-cop, lawyer, and super hunk who is hired by Thad Shames, a billionaire Bill Gates clone, to find the love of his life. Shames knows only her first name, Liz, and absolutely nothing else about her. Stone flies to Miami and finds more than he bargained for, a woman he knew and thought was dead. But Callie Hodges, Shames' assistant, eases those pains by jumping into his bed. Insurance fraud, stalkers, and a slippery writer keep mysteries popping up like unruly dandelions in a well tended Florida lawn.
Stuart Woods has delighted his readers for eleven years with the cavorting forty-four year old's adventures in and out of bed. He is a prolific writer and has been popular with readers since his first book, Chiefs, was published.
Descriptions of Thad Shames' life style, Stone's traps for the bad guys and unexpected twists keep the reader riveted and committed to perpetual page flipping. Cold Paradise is a fun bash for anyone wanting a fast read and a visit to Palm Beach where the very rich shop for Armani clothes at the drop of a Gucci shoe and other glitzy characters live life with as much gusto as their bank accounts allow. It's like eating one of Stone's exotic gourmet meals. You want more and more.
In Stone's world, happy coincidences line up like dominoes. Events fall into miraculous place. For example, after Thad Shames, the billionaire, commissions Stone to find the love of his life, it's accomplished on the first night of his search. However, this event sets off a fist-full of twists and turns that pilot the reader through a fast paced reading experience. Could the women who inhabit Stone's world have been a little more restrained without slowing the book down? Wood's fans would yell a resounding, "No!"
Stuart Woods has written dozens of novels and has a vast audience of readers who wait impatiently for his two new novels published each year. Orchid Blues, L. A. Dead, The Run, and Dead in the Water are some of the titles that new readers of Stuart Woods' books will enjoy.
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