[Stone Barrington 14] • Shoot Him if He Runs

Stone Barrington and Holly Barker pursue a master spy and murderer in a tropical paradise in this thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series that gets hotter by the minute…

Rogue agent Teddy Fay 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 Barrington learns that he and his cohorts, Holly Barker and Dino Bacchetti, 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 vacationers’ paradise, but its luxurious beach clubs and secluded mountain villas are home to corrupt local politicians and more than a few American expats with murky personal histories. Stone and Holly soon discover that in St. Marks, everyone is hiding something—and that Teddy Fay may just be hiding in plain sight.

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From Publishers Weekly

Tony Roberts shows off his comedic and dramatic skills in Woods's newest addition to the Stone Barrington saga. The elegant cop-turned-lawyer's new adventure has a welcome lightheartedness. He, his crime-fighting paramour, Holly, and their friends Dino and Genevieve fly to the Caribbean island of St. Marks on a sub-rosa assignment from the CIA to find a homicidal rogue agent rumored to be living in disguise on the island paradise. Woods and Roberts guide us through what turns out to be mainly a lovely vacation for the quartet—with cocktails, elaborate dinners and brisk swims along sparkling white sandy nude beaches marred by an assassination or two and a few anxious moments at the hands of the island's police chiefs. The result is more diverting than thrilling, with Roberts adding considerably to the overall entertainment value via his sly use of amusing British, French and clipped East Coast American accents. One of the nasty police chiefs, for example, sounds suspiciously like Peter Sellers's irrepressible Inspector Clouseau.

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From Booklist

Stone Barrington and Holly Barker team up once again in Woods' newest offering, this time to hunt ex-CIA-agent-turned-assassin Teddy Fay at the behest of the director of the CIA, Kate Rule Lee, who also happens to be the wife of President William Lee. Stone and Holly, along with Dino Bacchetti, are dispatched to luxurious St. Marks island, where they spend as much time frolicking in the ocean as they do tracking Teddy. Stone and Holly manage to strike up an acquaintance with Irene Foster, a former CIA employee who was reputed to have had a relationship with Teddy, and her current lover, Harry Pitts. But Stone and Holly soon find themselves caught up in the corrupt local politics, which stand in stark contrast to the balmy paradise the island appears to be. After the chief of police on the island is gunned down, Stone and Holly realize Teddy might be back in business, and the hunt to find him becomes even more urgent. Perennial favorite Woods certainly knows how to keep the pages turning. Huntley, Kristine