Affiliates
| Works by
Stuart Woods
(Writer) |
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Santa Fe Rules
(1992)
When successful Hollywood producer, Wolf Willett, reads in the
New York Times that a brutal murder has taken place in his Santa Fe house, he
knows that, whatever else may happen, he will be the principal suspect, and
that his life has changed forever. It will take everything he has to stay out
of prison and get to the bottom of this bizarre incident , including the help
of the Indian lawyer, Ed Eagle, one of the country's top criminal attorneys.
Wolf is arrested, and then another grisly murder further complicates his life.
Only with the help of a motley crew of characters, including a sociopathic
biker named Spider and a beautiful ex convict, do Wold and Ed Eagle unravel
the mystery of this intricate and astounding tour de force of a thriller.
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Short Straw (2006)
Set in the shimmering heat of the desert Southwest,
Short Straw marks the return of the six-foot-seven-inch tall,
take-no-prisoners Santa Fe lawyer Ed Eagle, in a complex thriller that
delivers the kind of sexy, fast-paced suspense that readers have come to
expect from Stuart Woods.
Ed Eagle, Santa Fe's pre-eminent trial lawyer, first introduced in Woods's
earlier novel, Santa Fe Rules, finds himself in extreme domestic difficulties.
On the morning of his fiftieth birthday, as he is about to open his elegant
new law offices, Eagle learns that he is in the sort of trouble usually
reserved for his unluckiest clients.
Quickly marshalling his resources, which include two private detectives, an
accused murderer and an ace ex-IRS agent, he begins a campaign to save his law
practice, his wealth, his reputation and his self respect from the astonishing
actions of the person closest to him.
The action takes his team across the southwest, deep into parts of Mexico
where no one can be trusted, least of all the police, and through the lush,
southern California world of the very, very wealthy, from the delights of
exclusive spas and secluded hotels to the ever-present dangers of the
U.S.-Mexican border, pitted against a wily and completely ruthless adversary.
Full of double-crosses and unexpected twists, Ed Eagle's life is one of
heightened risks--and pleasures. Witty, action-packed and compulsively
readable, it's the kind of story that only Stuart Woods could tell.
Orchid Beach (1998)
Smart, attractive, and
fiercely independent, Major Holly Barker, the army-brat daughter of a master
sergeant, has been forced into early retirement at thirty-seven as the
result of a scandalous sexual harassment case. With the help of her father,
she makes the move to civilian life, becoming deputy chief of police in
Orchid Beach, Florida, a small beach town.
But below the calm, sunny surface of this sleepy, well-to-do coastal island
city lies a web of evil and deceit that escalates when a colleague and
another associate are brutally gunned down. Holly is alone, a green outsider
with no clues to go on, and finding killers won’t be easy for her.
Surrounded by a staff of officers she neither knows or trusts, Holly finds
help from a most unexpected source – Daisy, a Doberman Pinscher of
exceptional intelligence and loyalty who quickly becomes her inseparable
companion and protector. But the closer she comes to unraveling the mystery
of Orchid Beach, the more dangerous Holly’s life becomes.
Orchid Blues (2001)
Stuart Woods’ widely acclaimed
thriller Orchid Beach introduced readers to small town Chief of
Police Holly Barker, a young woman who Entertainment Weekly called, “tough
and tight-lipped (and) fun to watch.” Orchid Blues presents an even
more complicated and dangerous case for Holly and her extraordinary Doberman
Daisy, as they track an unusually cunning and organized band of thieves.
Orchid Blues opens as Holly and her steady beau, lawyer Jackson
Oxenhandler, prepare for a very special celebration. However, a shocking and
brutal crime at a local business leaves an innnocent bystander murdered, and
forces Holly to completely change gears. Holly enlists the help of her
father, Ham, a former military man with a perfect record and a perfect shot,
and quickly finds evidence which leads her into the midst of a mysterious
clan that is obviously well-organized, powerful and extremely dangerous.
Holly is almost positive that she has discovered the perpetrators of not
only Orchid Beach’s recent crime, but of crimes far beyond the reaches of
her district. Harry Crisp, the chief of the FBI’s Miami office who helped in
her first Orchid Beach case, comes to offer his department’s full support
and quickly decides that he should stay in the area for further
investigation. What is this group up to? How large is it? And what are its
goals? Holly, Harry and their respective teams have their hands full with
this latest case – but are they outnumbered this time, and will they be able
to ask for help if they need it?
Blood Orchard (2002)
Holly is trying to get her life back together after the
shattering loss of her fiancé, Jackson Oxenhandler. With the help of her
wily Doberman, Daisy, and her father, Ham, she throws herself back into the
job with a vengeance.
But before Holly can settle into her routine again, bullets crash into the
home of a friend and a floater is found bobbing in the Intercoastal
Waterway. Holly connects these developments to mysterious goings-on in
Miami, but she can’t imagine how such violent events could be related to her
own quiet, unspoiled town of Orchid Beach. Holly joins forces with an
undercover FBI agent, and together they track the clues straight to the
source, only to find a scam more lucrative and more dangerous than any this
idyllic town—or Holly—has ever seen.
Reckless Abandon (2004)
Cop-turned-lawyer
Stone Barrington
tracks a mobster hiding deep within the witness protection program in this
new thriller in the New York Times bestselling series-with a little help
from beautiful Florida police chief Holly Barker.
Iron Orchid (2005)
Teddy Fay, the ex-CIA technology wizard introduced in Capital Crimes,
apparently blew up his own airplane while being hotly pursued by the F.B.I.
and U.S. Navy pilots. But now a series of attacks on a new kind of
victim—terrorists with diplomatic immunity—make some in the government—up to
and including the President of the United States—believe Teddy may be back.
And Holly finds herself in the thick of the hunt.
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The Prince of Beverly Hills
(2004)
Rick Barron, a sharp, capable detective on the Beverly
Hills force, finds himself demoted after a run-in with a superior officer, but
soon lands a job other cops only dream about: the security detail for
Centurion Pictures, one of the hottest studios in the midst of Hollywood’s
Golden Age of the late 1930’s. As the protector of the studio’s interests,
Barron looks after the cream of the crop of filmdom’s stars--Clete Barrow, the
British leading man with a penchant for parties; and Glenna Gleason, a peach
of a talent on the verge of superstardom. Rick’s easy charm has society
columnists dubbing him “the Prince of Beverly Hills,” the white knight of
movie stars, until he uncovers a murder cover-up and a blackmail scam that
threatens the studio’s business and may have origins with some unsavory
characters. When two suspicious deaths begin to look like a double-murder, and
an attempt is made on someone who has become an intimate friend, Barron knows
he is up against wise guys whose stakes are nothing less than do-or-die. A
dicey war of nerves is on.
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Beverly Hills Dead (January 2008 release)
New York Dead (1992)
With New York Dead
Stuart Woods delivers his most exciting work, this one set on the meanest
streets of New York City, the canyons and avenues of the posh Upper East
Side.
Everyone is always telling Stone Barrington that he's too smart to be a
cop, but it's pure luck that places him on the streets in the dead of
night, just in time to witness the horrifying incident that turns his life
inside out.
Suddenly he is on the front page of every New York newspaper, and his life
is hopelessly entwined in the increasingly shocking life (and perhaps
death) of Sasha Nijinsky, the country's hottest and most beautiful
television anchorwoman.
The pressures from the press are exceeded only by those from the N.Y.P.D.
brass and city hall. No matter where he turns, the case is waiting for
him, haunting his nights and turning his days into a living hell. Stone
finds himself caught in a perilous web of unspeakable crimes, dangerous
friends, and sexual depravity that has throughout it one common thread:
Sasha.
A gritty, high voltage novel, packed with interwoven story lines and
surprising twists, New York Dead draws the reader into its stunning
tale of intricate suspense and leads to a heart stopping climax you won't
soon forget. Dirt (1997)
What's more, the following day a fax arrives on her office machine, a
scandal sheet called, of course, Dirt, revealing all about her to
the world. Yes, she even discovers that the fax has been sent to opinion
makers throughout the city. Now Amanda has to attend the usual openings
and parties and face everyone who hates her, everyone who has now seen a
photograph of Amanda performing a deliciously vile act upon her lover.
Amanda does not like this.
Enter Stone Barrington, who you will remember from Stuart's earlier novel,
New York Dead. Stone is an ex-aop, now a lawyer and sometime
investigator, and Amanda's lawyer puts them together. Stone finds himself
hunting a wisp of smoke, a person who sends faxes from a series of copy
shops around New York City, never using the same one twice. Inspite of
nearly impossible odds, Stone and a couple of ex-cop buddies begin to make
some progress in their investigation, and Stone's new girlfriend,
Arrington Carter ("Stone, you and I must NEVER marry."), seems to be right
in the middle of the whole thing.
Amanda gets madder and madder and crazier and crazier and, by the time
Stone works the whole thing out, she and everybody else in the book gets
his just desserts, some more than others. Dead in the Water (1998)
Evidence is what fascinates Stone Barrington, and before many pages have
turned, he is all that stands between the apparently innocent Allison
Manning and the patently evil intent of Sir Winston, whose motives are
unclear. What is clear is that the St. Marks system of justice bears
little resemblance to the American courts to which Stone is accustomed,
and that his smallest error could prove fatal to his client.
Inextricably caught in a swirling storm of island madness and murder, made
worse by a hurricane of sensational press coverage, Stone can hardly find
the time to indulge in his usual romantic inclinations, while learning
that, even under the intense illumination of a Caribbean sun, nothing is
what it seems to be, and no one can be trusted.
Dead in the Water is a rollercoaster ride, teeming with the plot
twists that have made the novels of Stuart Woods New York Times
bestsellers and international hits.Swimming to Catalina (1998)
Then Stone gets a phone call from Calder: Arrington has vanished, and
Calder refuses to call the police. The film star believes that only Stone
can find her. Within the hour, Stone is on a studio jet to L.A. Alarmed by
Arrington's disappearance and baffled as to why Vance Calder would want
her former lover looking for her, Stone is pitched head first into the
Hollywood maelstrom - a business he doesn't understand and people he can't
trust, whose motives are so carefully concealed that Stone doesn't even
know who wants Arrington back and who doesn't.
The assignment to find Arrington turns out to be the most dangerous of
Stone's checkered career. Powerful people are gunning for him, and the
women, although beautiful, are treacherous. Where is Arrington? Why did
she disappear? Does her husband really want her back? Stone learns the
answers, but he doesn't necessarily like them.Worst Fears Realized (1999)
Stuart Woods brings back one of his most popular
characters, Stone Barrington, in his fifth novel of the life and times of
the former cop turned lawyer turned investigator. Stone is in a position
that every ex-policeman dreads - all around him people are dying, and he
suspects the killer may be someone he'd put in prison years before.
Dino Bacchetti, Stone's ex-partner, now the head of detectives in the 19th
Precinct, is not immune, either, and the two men must pool their resources
to protect those close to them.
Stone's former love, Arrington, now married to movie star Vance Calder, is
back, too, and nose to nose with a new woman in Stone's life, one with a
Mafia bloodline who may be as dangerous as she is beautiful.
Stone and Dino begin to trace their tracks from years before looking for
clues that might lead them to the brilliant killer. From a premier table
at the legendary Elaine's to dark back alleys where Armani-clad mobsters
with the latest lethal accessories dwell, this nail-biting suspense tale
takes Stone on a life-and-death hunt that twists and turns till the very
end; a gripping thrill ride that will test him as no case has ever done
before. Racing to find a killer, Stone can only pray that his worst fears
won't be realized.L.A. Dead (2001)
With his former NYPD partner, Dino Bacchetti, at his side, Stone plumbs
the depths of Hollywood society, and dredges up enough dirt to end the
careers of some and send others to prison. The novel climaxes in a court
trial that will either condemn or set free an old love, with the hounds of
the tabloid press baying at the courthouse doors. Cold Paradise (2001)
Cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington has the street smarts, dry wit, and
debonair charm his fans love, and Palm Beach, the setting of his new
adventure, is his most glamorous scene-of-the-crime yet. In Cold Paradise,
he becomes reacquainted with a case he thought was buried years ago, and
must settle romantic entanglements that haunt him still.
Allison Manning, the beautiful and enigmatic woman Stone defended against
a murder charge in Dead in the Water, mysteriously reappears to request
his help with a set of problems she has never resolved, which involve
millions of dollars. She fears, too, that somebody might be stalking her,
but she’s not sure who—or why. She knows of no one better than Stone, who
has both the legal experience and the investigative instincts to guarantee
her safety today and make sure she survives tomorrow as well.
Stone is happy to enjoy a few days of paradise in the sun—and to have left
frigid New York and the tempestuous Dolce Bianchi behind—but before he can
dig into this latest case, he comes face to face again with Arrington
Calder, the one woman who still holds a key to his affections.
Stone and his partner, Dino, comb the glittering streets of Palm Beach and
begin to suspect that more than one person might be after Allison: one so
clever he manages never to show his face, but even more frightening,
another man everybody has long forgotten. In a search that ranges from the
boardrooms of Manhattan to the sumptuous villas that line the Gold Coast,
Stone uncovers the sly and greedy plan to steal millions of dollars—and
reveals the crafty killer behind it—in this electrifying new thriller.
The Short Forever (2002)
Stone Barrington is back! This time, Stone is paid a visit by
a new client, who has an unusual request. The man is well-recommended, so
Stone takes on the job, which involves traveling to another country, ruining
a man's reputation, having him jailed, if possible, and bringing someone
else back with him. Not the sort of thing Stone usually does, but the money
is good and the destination interesting, not least because an old love lives
there.
But what the NYPD detective-turned-lawyer discovers on arrival is not what
he expected, and neither, in fact, is his old love quite the same. Almost
immediately, he is drawn into an intrigue which includes a possible murder,
terrorism, kidnapping, industrial espionage and the attention of the local
police, plus the intelligence services of at least three countries. As one
character puts it, "Someone is selling something he shouldn't be selling to
someone who shouldn't be buying it."
What transpires could cost Stone his reputation and a great deal of money,
not to mention his life, and he faces it all with the help of his intrepid
former partner, Dino Bacchetti.
Dirty Work (2003)
Back in New York City after the
London adventure of The Short Forever, cop-turned-lawyer Stone
Barrington is approached by a colleague at the firm of Woodman & Weld who
needs help with a celebrity divorce case. Elena Marks, a department store
heiress, must have proof of her layabout husband's infidelity before she can
begin divorce proceedings. But when the undercover work Stone sets up turns
dirty - and catastrophic - leaving the errant husband dead and the mystery
woman gone-without-a-trace, Stone must clear his own good name and find a
killer hiding among the glitterati of New York's high society.
Carpenter, the beautiful British intelligence agent introduced in The
Short Forever, arrives in New York to begin an investigation of her own,
one she refuses to discuss with Stone. When he suspects that her case is
strangely connected to the dead husband's, Stone knows that he and Dino, his
former NYPD partner, are about to face the most bizarre and challenging
assignment of their very colorful careers.
Reckless Abandon (2004)
Cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington tracks a mobster
hiding deep within the witness protection program in this new thriller in
the New York Times bestselling series-with a little help from beautiful
Florida police chief
Holly Barker.
Two Dollar Bill
(2005)
Stone Barrington is caught between a clever con
man-who's just become his client-and a beautiful prosecutor in this stylish
thriller in the bestselling series. Two-Dollar Bill delivers all the
storytelling twists and whip-smart banter readers have come to love in
Stuart Woods's thrillers. In this latest, Stone Barrington, the suave
Manhattan cop-turned-lawyer, is back on his home turf facing down a
brilliant Southern flimflam man. The fun-and action-begins with what Stone
believes will be a quiet dinner with his ex-partner, Dino, but they are
interrupted by Billy Bob, a filthy rich, smooth-talkin' Texan, who strolls
in and parks himself at their table. He's in town ""to make money,"" he
says, unwrapping his wad of rare two-dollar bills, and in need of an
attorney-namely, Stone-though he won't say why or when such representation
will be necessary. As they leave the restaurant, however, an unknown
assailant shoots at Stone and his cohorts-and the wily Southerner has spread
his two-dollar bills around to everyone like confetti. Against his better
judgment, Stone offers Billy Bob a safe haven for the night but almost
immediately begins to suspect that he's made several precipitous
misjudgments-for the slippery out-of-towner has gone missing and someone has
been found dead-in Stone's town house no less. Stone is now caught between a
beautiful federal prosecutor and a love from his past, a con man with more
aliases than hairs on his head, and a murder investigation that could ruin
them all.
Fresh Disasters
(2007)
Stone Barrington embarks on his most
dangerous adventure yet when he takes on a job as a lawyer for a sleazy and
clueless con man-and ends up getting embroiled in the underworld of the New
York mafia. It started out as just another late night at Elaine's, where
Stone was eating a porterhouse steak and enjoying the company of his
friends. But when Herbie Fisher, a notoriously not-so-sharp swindler, walked
in, the pleasant atmosphere turned to ice.
Herbie convinces Bill Eggers, the managing partner of Woodman & Weld, to
sign him on as a client-with the goal of taking down the infamous mafia boss
Carmine Datilla. And even though Stone doesn't want to have anything to do
with Herbie-or the mafia, for that matter-he is soon coerced into being
Herbie's lawyer.
With the help of his ex-partner, Dino, Stone investigates "Datilla the Hun,"
and the rest of the mob family, encountering intrigue and danger at every
turn. Will Stone finally take a stand, or will he end up at the bottom of
Sheepshead Bay?
With the swift action, razor-sharp characters, and crackling dialogue that
are Stuart Woods's hallmarks, Fresh Disasters is Woods at the very
height of his storytelling powers.
Shoot Him If He Runs (October 2007
release)
Teddy Fay, a rogue agent last seen escaping an
imploding building in Iron Orchid, has been considered dead for some time
now. But President Will Lee thinks Teddy may still be alive. In a top-secret
Oval Office meeting, Stone learns that he and his cohorts, Holly Barker and
Dino Baldachetti, are being sent to the beautiful Caribbean island of St.
Marks, courtesy of the CIA, to track down Teddy once and for all.
St. Marks is a vacationer's paradise, but its luxurious beach clubs and
secluded mountain villas are home to corrupt local politicians and more than
a few American ex-pats with murky personal histories. Stone and Holly soon
discover that in St. Marks, everyone is hiding something, and Teddy Fay may
just be hiding in plain sight.
Run Before the Wind (1983)
Will Lee, beset with problems
rooted in youthful self doubt, escapes what he sees as a confining and
routine existence to travel and search for something within himself that he
can admire. Then, sooner than he could have imagined, his life is filled
with dazzling companions, amorous encounters and the prospect of high
adventure. But just under the surface of this exciting new existence run
currents of betrayal, terrorism, violent death and, finally, the kind of
mind numbing loss that breaks some men and makes others whole. In Run
Before the Wind, Stuart Woods again marshals his powers of intricate
plot building, narrative drive and intimate characterization in a riveting
story that brings together such disparate elements and terror and courage,
treachery and friendship, murder and love. His admirers will again be
spellbound; his new readers will become admirers.
Deep Lie (1986)
Those who read his earlier
novels will have an inkling of what is in store for them in this startling
new novel. Stuart Woods has merged his extraordinary story telling powers
into one of the most sinister and gripping real life dramas of our time. The
result is a new and distinctive kind of espionage novel - a duel between an
operations genius of the KGB and a desk bound analyst of the CIA, with the
fate of eight and a half million people in the balance.
It is a fact that in the autumn of 1982, a Soviet submarine ran aground near
a secret navel base in the south of Sweden. After a week of intense
diplomatic activity, and after an inspection by Swedish authorities, the
submarine was released, but the Sovies had not allowed a sealed forward
compartment of the sub to be searched. Soon, there was an explosion of
submarine sightings in Swedish waters. Militiamen fired on frogmen being put
ashore from a mini submarine; a periscope was sighted in the center of
Stockholm during a visit by three American warships; several subs were
trapped in confined waters and continuously depth charged for days.
Sightings of Soviet submarines in Swedish waters in the mid 1980's were
occurring at the rate of two hundred a year. And, to this day, no one
outside the former Soviet government knows why.
Stuart Woods traveled to Sweden, Finland and the Soviet Union. He talked
with the Swedish prime minister and the minister of defense, as well as
secret policemen, diplomats, naval officials and journalists covering the
story. He listened to every theory on why these frightening incursions were
taking place, and, in the end, he found that only one made sense. On that
theory, he based Deep Lie.
Grass Roots (1989)
Will Lee, who readers will
remember from earlier Woods novels, is now chief aide to Washington's most
powerful senator, Benjamin Carr, and is one of the United States Senate's
most respected staffers. Talented, experienced and honorable, he is well
settled in his personal life, as well - son of a prominent southern
political family and his father's law partner, personally wealthy and
secretly engaged to a brilliant woman, Katharine Rule who is a senior
official at the Central Intelligence Agency. Readers will recall her from
Deep Lie.
Then Will's world spins off into an unpredictable orbit. Within the space of
a few days, he becomes involved in the trial of a young man for a brutal,
race related rape and murder; embroiled in a political race for which he is
unprepared; estranged from the woman he loves; and, unknown to him, the
object of unwanted attention from a shadowy and violent white-supremacist
organization, The Elect.
Will is inexorably drawn into a sensational and vicious political brawl that
kindles fires of racial hatred and moral outrage, balancing him precariously
between national celebrity and career ending notoriety. Finally, his hidden
affair with a dangerously beautiful young woman threatens to edge him into a
yawning abyss of political oblivion, financial ruin and personal
destruction.
In Grass Roots, Stuart Woods cuts to the very heart of the New South,
brilliantly delivering all the gritty realism, convincing characterization
and intricate plotting of a true master of suspense.
The Run (1989)
Will Lee, the hero of the
acclaimed national bestsellers Run Before the Wind and Grassroots,
has finally established himself at the heart of American government as the
respected senator from his home state of Georgia. Then a cruel stroke of
fate thrusts him onto the national stage-well before he expects to be and
long before he is ready for a national campaign. The road to the White
House, however, will be more treacherous-and deadly-than Will and his
intelligent, strikingly beautiful wife, Kate, an associate director in the
Central Intelligence Agency, can imagine. A decent, courageous, and
principled man, Will soon learns he has more than one opponent with whom he
must contend. Thrust into the national spotlight as never before, he becomes
the target of clandestine forces from the past that will use all their money
and influence to stop him-dead-in his tracks. Now Will isn't just running
for president . . . he's running for his life.
Capital Crimes (2004)
Lee again finds himself in the middle of a tangled web of
intrigue and danger, politics and power. Now at the pinnacle of his career,
serving as president of the United States, Lee is faced with a most unusual
task—that of marshaling federal law enforcement agencies to catch an
assassin who is picking off some of the nation’s high-level politicos. When
a prominent conservative politician with a shady reputation is expertly
killed at his lakeside cabin, authorities can come up with no suspects and
even less hard evidence. But then, within days, two other, seemingly
isolated deaths—achieved by very different means—are feared linked to the
same ruthless murderer.
With the help of his CIA director wife, Kate Rule Lee, Will trails the most
clever and professional of killers before he can strike again. From a quiet
D.C. suburb to the corridors of power to a deserted island hideaway, Will,
Kate, and maverick FBI agent
Robert Kinney track their man and set a trap with extreme caution and
care—and await the most dangerous kind of quarry, a killer with a cause to
die for.
Chiefs (1981) -
Winner Edgar Allan Poe
Award for Fiction
During the bitter winter of
1920, the naked body of an unidentified teenaged boy is discovered in a
wooded area of a small Georgia town. There is no direct evidence of murder,
but the body bears marks of what seems to be a ritual beating. The
investigation falls into the inexperienced hands of the newly appointed
chief of police, who, only weeks before, had been farming cotton.
His intelligent, obsessive hunt for the boy's tormentor begins a story that
ultimately weaves through decades of deceit, hatred, perversion and
political drama that inexorably envelops the lives of two other chiefs - one
himself a murderer, the other hiding a secret that, if revealed, might
destroy not only himself, but the promising career of a rising political
figure.
Chiefs is the best kind of thriller: literate and contained in a
serious examination of how a small town works - of the drama that lies
beneath the surface of an American community, seemingly placid, but seething
with pressures. Stuart Woods has written a novel that sweeps the reader
through the pages, intimately involving him with absorbing characters and
accelerating events which build to an astonishing conclusion. It marks the
introduction of a fine new storyteller to the American scene.
TV Mini-series (1983), Jerry London, director with Charlton Heston, Danny
Glover, John Goodman and Stephen Collins
DVD
VHS Under the Lake (1987)
In the beautiful mountains of North Georgia lies a
lake built by an obsessed man at a terrible price. This placid body of water
has brought prosperity to an isolated community, and with it, two strangers
who intermingle with the insular local folk, strangers probing into crimes
against nature from generations past that cannot remain submerged beneath
the waters' surface.
Under the Lake marks the eagerly awaited return to the South of his Edgar
Award winning novel Chiefs. John Howell, once a top investigative
journalist, comes to this backcountry town on the run from a once promising
personal and professional life that has somehow gone sour. What he finds is
a mystery so deep, so complex, so bizarre, that he cannot concentrate on the
book he has come here to write.
The story begins with his entanglement in a subtle, but relentless battle
waged by the autocratic town father and the local sheriff against an outcast
family, ravaged by its origins. Howell is further drawn in by his
involvement with two women - an ambitious young reporter on the prowl for
corruption, and a shy backwoods beauty, forsaken by the world because of her
family's ill kept secret. Then, without warning, visits from an otherworldly
young girl haunt Howell as his rustic cabin becomes a spectral theater
offering strange and frightening images of a hideous event of long ago.
Here is a truly mesmerizing psychological thriller, a story of the dark
underside of a Southern town and its inhabitants. White Cargo (1990)
He gets as far as Colombia.
Off that country's cocaine dusted shores, Cat's bliss - and his dearly loved
family - are permanently shattered by an event so unexpected, so savage, and
so tragically final that it leaves Cat completely devastated. Consumed by
terrible guilt, he returns home alone, a broken man. Investigations by both
the Colombian authorities and the U.S. State Department prove fruitless.
Then, late one night, Cat is awakened by the telephone and, from far away,
over a static filled line, an achingly familiar voice utters a single,
electrifying word.
Driven by a mixture of hope and anguish, Cat slips back into South America
on a desperate search for the daughter he cannot bring himself to believe is
dead - a search that will take him down the corridors of cocaine financed
palaces. Aided by an Australian ex convict, a beautiful television
journalist and a man known to him only as "Jim", Cat follows a trail of
blood and graft, white powder and white slavery, and discovers in himself an
unsuspected capacity for ruthlessness and cunning, and - even more
surprising - a rekindled capacity for love.
From the glittering beaches of the Caribbean to the final harrowing showdown
in the Amazonian rain forest, Stuart Woods surprised us again and again with
this breakneck tale of danger, intrigue and depravity. Palindrome (1990)
As she becomes increasingly involved with Keir and Hamish Drummond, the
strange and handsome twin scions of the clan, Liz feels her own traumatic
memories begin to fade. But when a series of gruesome and seemingly
unconnected murders occurs, she learns there is no place to hide.
Moving from the urban chaos of Atlanta and Los Angeles to untamed island
hideaways, from moments of tender passion to acts of overwhelming violence,
Palindrome displays a depth of character and a narrative energy few
readers will be able to resist.L.A. Times (1993)
Vinnie is smart, too, and he finds a way to turn his dream world into
reality. Arriving on the West Coast with a new identity and some ill gotten
gains, Vinnie discovers that his sociopathic nature is just the ticket for
handling the intrigues of tinseltown. He employs his old techniques of
deceit, coercion, sexual conquest - even murder - to carve out a place at
the top of the film industry.
But Vinnie's old neighborhood friends have excellent memories and a long
reach, and soon his fast track career is facing derailment - or even worse,
a new driver at the controls.Dead Eyes (1994)
Jon Larsen, the Beverly Hill Police Department's one man stalker squad,
begins his hunt for Admirer, helped by Chris's closest friend, Danny Devere.
But Admirer cunningly mocks Larsen's efforts, and soon the detective is
desperate - not only to save Chris from Admirer but also to save his own
career from his inability to corner the stalker. The only answer is a trap,
and Larsen knows the bait will have to be the nearly helpless Chris. What he
doesn't know is that he has made one big mistake.
In Dead Eyes, Stuart Woods once again delivers the kind of offbeat,
absorbing thriller that his fans have come to expect, a mesmerizing page
turner that envelops the reader from the first sentence and gallops along to
a rousing and shocking denouement.
Dead Eyes will be filmed for NBC TV.
Heat (1994)
Jesse Warden is at the end of his
rope. Imprisoned unjustly (or, at least, for the wrong crime), he spends
half his time in solitary confinement and the other half fighting with
convicts who want to kill him because he was once a cop.
Then, at his lowest ebb, he is offered a way out. To earn his freedom, he
must infiltrate a dangerous and reclusive religious cult in the mountains of
the Idaho panhandle, a mission that turns out to be a great deal more
perilous than his stay in prison.
From his first day in the Idaho town, Jesse finds every aspect of life -
especially his life - controlled by the strange and dangerous Jack Gene
Coldwater, leader of the cult, and his investigation reveals much more than
he had imagined.
In a gripping climax, Jesse is pitted against not only
Coldwater and his cult, but also the leaders of the federal agency who sent
him there -- and there is no one he can trust. Imperfect Strangers (1995)
Sandy Kinsolving is on a flight from London to New York, not
knowing what awaits him. His father in law, also his boss, has had a massive
stroke, and Sandy has no way of knowing if the old man's promises of a
partnership in the family business have made it into his will. He does know
that if his wife, Joan, has anything to say about it, he'll be out on the
street.
At this vulnerable moment in his life he strikes up a conversation with the
friendly stranger seated next to him on the airplane. They have a couple of
drinks and watch the movie, which fatefully turns out to be Alfred
Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train . After the film has ended, and after a few
more drinks the two men discover that they both have wives who are making
their lives difficult, and they impulsively decide to see if they can iron
some wrinkles out of the film's plot.
By the time Sandy Kinsolving's plane has landed in New York, his life has
changed irrevocably, although he does not yet know it. Awaiting him are
wealthy, security and the freedom to pursue his lifelong ambitions. But
lurking in the shadows of his life are a brutal murder he cannot prevent and
a madman who stalks his every waking moment. Choke (1995)
At Key West's Olde Island Racquet Club, true to form, Chuck yields to
temptation yet again, this time with the beautiful Clare Carras, who is
married to an enigmatic older man with no apparent past, and who turns out
to be a great deal more than the tennis pro can handle. Suddenly the
easygoing Chuck is in over his head, suspected of murder and on the verge of
losing not only his modest teaching career and all his possessions, but his
freedom, as well.
Enter Tommy Scully, a former New York Police Department homicide detective,
augmenting his pension with a job on the Key West force, and his neophyte
partner, Daryl, who may be smarter than he looks. The two detectives find
themselves barely afloat in a shark infested investigation that stretches
from the Florida Keys to Los Angeles and back, involving not only the
treacherous Clare, but a furious West Coat mob boss who is determined to get
back something that belongs to him and doesn't care who he has to kill to do
it.
Memoir of Stuart Wood's time
in Ireland, where he began writing Chiefs, and prepared for the
1976 Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race.A Romantic's Guide to the Country Inns of Britain and Ireland (1979) | |
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