Perfect for a Pandemic

I think it has been wonderful that Stuart Woods (along with Parnell Hall in this case) has released two books in pandemic time.  The world is in an awful place.  The United States is in chaos, "led" by a hateful man.  I feel helpless.  What better way to take a break from the hell that is reality right now than to read about Stone Barrington and his rich and charmed friends and family.  This is the fourth Teddy Fay book, Bombshell.  At was a great escape.

Not that we can escape all the time.  In fact, now more than ever we need to raise our voices and raise our hands and do all we can to protest the murder of African Americans, most recently George Floyd.  For the first time I preached what some might call a political sermon. I was very afraid.  The church at which I serve does not really address current circumstances in the world and country but I am trying to change that.  And it was Pentecost.  And if the Holy Spirit is with us well, we CANNOT be silent.  We MUST speak up.  Tomorrow I am going to my first protest vigil at my old church.  I am embarrassed and ashamed that it is just my first one.  But I can't be silent anymore.

I know I went off on a tangent.  But an important one.
I just wanted to make sure that it didn't seem as though it was okay to just escape into a book.  There is time for relaxing and reading, but there is also time (and the time is now) to stand up for what is right.  

Good Old Stone!

Hit List is the FIFTY THIRD installment in the Stone Barrington series and man, I hope Mr. Woods is planning to or has already written many more.  This one was really good and the ending means WOW (not that it was a shock but I am so looking forward to see how this all develops)!  I hope too that Peter and Ben come back into the stories soon!  Great stuff!  And no Felicity, which always makes a better Stone book for me!

52

Stone Barrington in Treason is still Stone.  No surprise in the series.  And that is why I love Stone.  This one I didn't enjoy as much, but still, worth the read for what we get from Stone the Stud!

Another Stone!

A Delicate Touch is the last Stone Barrington book of 2018, the forty-eighth in the series and there are more planned for 2019 and this makes me so happy!
I had a hard time with the computer stuff.  And I tried to listen carefully but that part was beyond me.  But the rest was just so enjoyable that it hit the five-star mark for me!

Stone

I do wonder how Stuart Woods doesn't repeat his Stone Barrington book titles.  I like that they are short, but man, I do get them confused from time to time!  Desperate Measures is number forty-seven and doesn't have any international stuff in it, which always makes it easier for me to like!  No Ben or Peter, but there is a little Herbie! 

Bumpy Ride

Turbulence is the #46 in the Stone series and for me, it just didn't hold my interest.  I have been loving Stone a lot lately, but I think it was just too much international intrigue for me.  I was VERY excited to hear some news about Holly Barker's future though!  So I look forward to #47 and I hope that we get to see Peter and Ben and not Felicity and Lance!

When One Listens to the Audio

of Shoot First, the latest in the Stone Barrington series, one hears the title Shoot First, Think Later.  I like that.  It's funny.  I liked Shoot First, the forty-fifth in the series.  No Herbie or Ben, or the Presidents Lee, and yeah, there is a little bit of Felicity and Lance, who usually dampen the story for me, but this was not the case here.

One of the Best I've Read in a Long Time!

Unbound was really, really good!  I mean, typical Stone, of course!  But I found it to move really quickly.  Dino and Herbie (or Herbert as we call him now that he is all grown up and has a real job) aren't in it, but Peter and Ben are a wee bit and Teddy Fay and Ed Eagle.  Which makes me think that I should start to read those!

Tough Not to Give

anything less than a 5 star to a Stone book.  It just is, for me anyway.  I have come to see Stone as an old friend.  Quick and Dirty is no exception.  No Ben or Peter, but still just good old fashioned Stone.  Interesting to think about what is next for Holly Barker, too!

Herbie Fisher!

Herbie Fisher has his own book!  And there is still a lot of Stone and Dino.  Now I really, really want Peter and Ben to have their own series! Barely Legal was good.  Co-written by Parnell Hall, an author I didn't know before, but now I will have to check him out, too!

Mr. Woods

keeps on putting out Stone after Stone after Stone!  And I have to say, I am still enjoying them!  Not to much Dino in this one and no Peter and Ben at all, but that is okay, this one was still good and still Stone!  Holly is now Secretary of State, President Lee has been reelected and I was glad for that because the way it was going in the first chapter or so I was thinking art was going to imitate life and some unqualified candidate was going to get elected!  But the title is Indecent Exposure, not Indecent Executive Office.

SUPER Quick, even quicker!

Many of the Stone Barrington books are super-quick reads.  Fast and Loose was even quicker than most!  But that is not to say that it was bad.  On the contrary, it really kept my attention and while kinda light, even for a Stone book, I liked it a lot!  No Peter or Ben and not a lot of Dino and no President Lees to speak of, but still good stuff.

Political

More politics than I usually like in Stuart Woods' fortieth Stone Barrington book, Below the Belt.  But hey, it's Stone, and he has yet another new house! And yes, you have to love (however guiltily) Stone!  Not sure why it is called Below the Belt, other than there is the usual activity from Stone- though, really, less in this one than in some!

Another Millionaire Playboy!

In Sex, Lies and Big Money, Stone Barrington #39, Laurence B. Hayward has just won the lottery, BIG time and who knew there were so many problems that go along with being super rich.  I guess looking at Stone's life, we have seen that is true though. Great book, even though it mostly is about Laurence B. Haywood than Stone or any of the usual gang.  From the way the book ended though, it seems like Haywood is going to be one of the gang.  It didn't feel like a Stone book, but it was great anyway!

A New Series!

Stuart Woods has started a new series.  This one features Teddy Fay!  I have compared Stuart Woods books to YA guilty pleasure fun and I can compare them yet again.  This time recall Private and Privilege.  You can't get all you need out of Privilege without first reading some of the Private series. That is true for the Teddy Fay series.  You really have to read Stone before you jump into Teddy. Still, this was really good!  And I didn't even know it wasn't a Stone book until I went to log into goodreads!  So if you are waiting for the new Stone book, but need something to hold you over, this will do it!  Smooth Operator is the first and it is written by Woods and Parnell Hall.  I have not read any of Hall's other books, though I see he has a lot of them.

Dishonorable

I love Stone.  I do.  I was just surprised by him in this book, at the end.  He gets upset about something that I think he had no right to be upset about, given his own ways.  But maybe I need to rethink it, but then I think, dude, I don't think that one is supposed to think that much about a Stone Barrington book!  Isn't that the point!  Dishonorable Intentions is Stone number 38.   This one was very good and went very quickly.  Lots of flying around, not much Dino, who I don't seem to like as much as I did back in the day, so that was okay!  And Teddy Fay, who I like a lot!

Great Great Great!

This was so STONE!  Sadly Peter wasn't in it, because I do love Peter and there wasn't much Dino, but that is okay, because I think in recent books I have come to like Dino less and less, but man, this was just such a good mystery and it was also just such Stone fun!  Long live Stuart Woods!   Family Jewels is number 37 and I would be happy for another 100 if they keep on like this one!   My dear friend mentioned that a lot of the books I have read lately have been pretty dark and I told her that I was reading one that was turning it around!  Of course, there is murder in here, it is Stone after all, but it is also flying around on private jets and buying houses and art and eating expensive stuff and all of the usual fluff from Mr. Barrington!

Scandelous Behavior is the thirty-sixth Stone Barrington novel.  After the last one wasn't too hot, I didn't know what to expect because Woods hasn't been all that consistent as of late.  But this was pure Stone.  Running around England, buying houses.  Peter was in their, too.  Good stuff!  It will make any Stone fan happy.

Another Great Stone Book

Hot Pursuit was like back-in-the-day Stone yet again.  I don't think that it would be possible to start the series anywhere but the beginning though.  Too many characters that have long history.   The series is well worth the investment, though, for pure fun.

Another Lee in the White House SPOILERS

As I mentioned after reading Paris Match, I couldn't wait until Insatiable Appetites came out.  Fortunately, it didn't take too long.  This is the 32nd in the Stone Barrington series and after a little slump there for a while, Stuart Woods has been turning out the Stone that we all have come to know and love, one after another.