Imperfect Strangers

Rating:
Summary: Well below par!
Review: Apparently you folks havent read Stuart Woods early novels. Try Chiefs, Grassroots, White Cargo, Palindrome or Heat. He's definately not writing the kind of book he used to! Dead Eyes was good but Imperfect Strangers, Choke and Dirt dont quite live up to my expectations of a novel by such a super writer

Rating:
Summary: Fun Read but disappointing
Review: Book starts out with good intrique... it moves along and keeps your interest as you try to figure out where things will go. So, for the most part, it is a fun and quick read BUT the ending was boring and too disappointing - Mr. Woods could have done so much better if the ending had some surprize. Oh well.

Rating:
Summary: Best Woods Book
Review: I enjoy reading most Stuart Woods books. This book is no exception. The short chapters and quick character development make this book a quick read. If you are looking for a book to take on a trip to pass the time this is the one for you. With the exception of Dirt and What Lies Beneath, I think you will enjoy this exceptional quick read author.

Rating:
Summary: Best Woods Book
Review: I enjoy reading most Stuart Woods books. This book is no exception. The short chapters and quick character development make this book a quick read. If you are looking for a book to take on a trip to pass the time this is the one for you. With the exception of Dirt and What Lies Beneath, I think you will enjoy this exceptional quick read author.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Book but Two Glaring Errors
Review: I enjoyed this book, having found and bought it on sale at a local bookstore. The concept begins simply enough - two men meet on a trans-Atlantic plane flight, both of them are in unhappy marriages, and they end up making a deal to kill each other's wives. The protagonist of this book, Sandy Kinsolving, decides to back out of the deal, but the other man has something else in mind and goes ahead with his part of the bargain and kills Sandy's wife. The story spirals from that moment on and is, for the most part, quite interesting.
There were two editorial errors though. One: Sandy's wife is killed while he is waiting in a limo for her. While waiting, he takes a mobile phone call from his brother-in-law, but is OFF the phone at the time of the actual killing. However, he and his bro-i-l both tell the police that they were talking at the time ("I was still talking to him [his bro-i-l] when...the doorman came to get me") and that was simply not the case. I thought at first he was trying to cover himself but that was also not the case.
Second error: Sandy states later in the book that his wife had told him that she had pictures of him [commiting adultery]. Well, that never happened, at least in the conversation written in the book regarding why she wants a divorce and I would think that that would certainly be mentioned.
The book is typical Stuart Woods material, meaning certainly enjoyable but nothing worthy of any awards or high praise. I read this one in about 3 hours on a rainy Sunday. So if you enjoy Grisham-ish books and have a few hours to kill, this is certainly for you.

Rating:
Summary: MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE
Review: I have found that Stuart Woods' books vary widely in their readability, sometimes skimming across the surface of the plot in a most unsatisfactory way -- and other times he gives us a book like Imperfect Strangers. During the first few pages of your read, the book will reach out to you and give you a congenial, isn't-this-fun pat on the back. Later, it will rest its hand on your shoulders in a warm and yet clingy way. And then, as you make your way through the book, page by page, it is going to tighten its grip with suddenly cold fingers. You will not put this book down. So before you start it, be sure you are comfortable, the dog has been fed and the bird cage covered, because you are going to be there for awhile.

Rating:
Summary: MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE
Review: I have found that Stuart Woods' books vary widely in their readability, sometimes skimming across the surface of the plot in a most unsatisfactory way -- and other times he gives us a book like Imperfect Strangers. During the first few pages of your read, the book will reach out to you and give you a congenial, isn't-this-fun pat on the back. Later, it will rest its hand on your shoulders in a warm and yet clingy way. And then, as you make your way through the book, page by page, it is going to tighten its grip with suddenly cold fingers. You will not put this book down. So before you start it, be sure you are comfortable, the dog has been fed and the bird cage covered, because you are going to be there for awhile.

Rating:
Summary: Worth Reading
Review: I've already read around 10 other Stuart Woods books and can't get enought. Imperfect Strangers kept me reading and in suspense as usual, however I found the ending to be a little disapointing.

Rating:
Summary: Edge of your seat who done it ????
Review: If only this one would be made into a movie, I would be the first in line to see it !!!
Stuart Woods at his best !!

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable - quality but still easy, fun reading
Review: Picture yourself in the aftermath of a moment in which, after feeling frustrated to the point of believing your life to be doomed after someone plans to screw you over, you give in to a nasty temptation seeking revenge, but just as you realize how stupid you've been, you are suddenly in too deep to escape. That is what happens throughout this book and it makes for an interesting read.

I think this is a great Stuart Woods book and understand why it was nominated for an award.
The fundamental plot is disturbing, but perhaps more disturbing is the lack of moral awareness (at least much of the time) of the two main characters in the book (Sandy and Peter) - Sandy thankfully decides not to proceed with the plot until he is essentially blackmailed into fulfilling his end of the bargain, but Peter goes from being merely a suspicious character to outright diabolical. I think the book is interesting because it features a flawed hero dealing with an array of nasty problems created in part by his wife but also by his own actions which inevitably come back to haunt him. You never really "like" Sandy 100%, or even 80%, but you perhaps become sympathetic to his desire to escape from this situation.
Woods' writing and imagination in this book are very good, better than in some recent novels (see Reckless Abandon). I enjoy this book a lot and would recommend it to anyone heading to the beach.