[Stone Barrington 08] • The Short Forever

Stone Barrington gets caught up in a matter of international intrigue in this explosive thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

In London to locate the niece of his enigmatic client, Stone Barrington soon finds himself out of his territory and out of his depth. Baffled as he is by the behavior of his quarry, Stone’s life is further complicated by two—possibly three—murders and the affectionate attentions of two former lovers. And when the intelligence services of three countries become involved, he can only hang on for the wild ride...

**

Amazon.com Review

Stone Barrington, Stuart Woods's suave, urbane series hero, is approached by an enigmatic new client, John Bartholomew, who hires him for what looks like an easy assignment: find his young niece, who's living somewhere in London with a shady character liable to involve her in his illegal activities, and persuade her to return to New York with Barrington. Handing him a ticket on the Concorde and an unlimited expense account, Bartholomew sets Stone on a chase in which identifying who's the predator and who's the prey turns out to be the key to solving a puzzling mystery involving two American spies and a great deal of money.

As usual, Stone wraps it up without getting his tuxedo nearly as wrinkled as the sheets on his bed, which he shares with a bevy of beautiful women including two old girlfriends and one new one. Woods is a lively, engaging, and reliable writer whose bestselling thrillers feature plenty of eye candy, brand names, and plots that don't tax the brain but do make the most of his narrative gifts. Look elsewhere for high art, but this is high entertainment. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

In recent Woods bestsellers like Cold Paradise, N.Y.P.D. detective-turned-PI Stone Barrington has gone upscale in lifestyle, international in expertise. This time, mogul John Bartholomew hires Stone to fly to London and persuade his niece, Erica, to leave her cocaine-smuggling boyfriend, Lance Cabot, and to make sure Lance winds up in jail. Dapper Stone charms Erica, who offers to set him up with her sister, Monica, and then introduces him to Lance. With help from two British investigators, Stone learns John Bartholomew is not who he seems: not only is he not Erica's uncle, he's really CIA biggie Stan Hedger. Confronted, Stan owns up, revealing that Lance is an ex-CIA agent who blew ops, ran with cash and nearly killed him. Meanwhile, Monica asks Stone to a country weekend with Lance and Erica at what turns out to be the manse of his old flame, Sarah Buckminster, who previously dodged a New York bombing and is now engaged to a megatycoon. The fog thickens when Stone's N.Y.P.D. pal Dino Bacchetti flies over to smooth out the beating death of one of Stone's investigators and Scotland Yard brings in MI6, who suspect Lance is after a top-secret military device for a Mideast client. Woods may have left behind the police action of L.A. Dead, but he churns up plenty of conflict and twisted plotting in this speedy tale. Several bombshell revelations and multiple resolutions combine with the cinematic plot for a perfect flight or beach read.