Read as part of CBR14 Bingo: funky. This one is tough. I picked this for “funky” because Woods is descriptive of the fetid scents of Manhattan air. There’s also some funky stuff that happens later in the book, which I won’t spoil. I was able to be clever with my other choices but am tapping out with this one.
I’m always on the look out for fun New York tales, especially ones set in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Despite the bad reviews, I was tempted to try Stuart Woods’ Stone Barrington debut. I read a Woods book ten years ago, it was a fun beach read, no more. I figured that’s what I was getting.
Well…
In the beginning, it was! Woods writes the kind of Manhattan fantasy I wish I could live: where the suave detective has a town home in Turtle Bay and hangs out at Elaine’s while being on a first name basis with the proprietor. And it was light on the Macho Guy talk I assumed I was getting. Plus, the mystery genuinely intrigued. And…
Well…
Then as the twists resolved we got some…
(please avoid if triggered by LGBTQIA+ violence, physical and verbal).
Some really, really bad queer/trans phobia. Like bad even for the times. Throw in that I though the murderer was obvious from the jump (though it took a cleverly circuitous route to get there) and this wound up falling flat. Plus Woods relies on coincidence, which is my least favorite cliche.
I don’t want to wait another ten years to read Woods’ books but I’m certainly cooled to them after the second half of this one.
