I read these books over the course of the year. I did read them in order, but not all consecutively. I just thought it would be appropriate to review them all together since it’s a new series for me, and a few of them have characters and storylines that connect to each other. Books 5 through 7 are actually my most recently read books (32 – 34 for the year), but they all fit in this post. Like I said in my title, I’m still trying to fill the hole that Harry Bosch stories left in my reading life. I actually contemplated starting the Bosch books over this year, but then I found a few short stories in the Bosch universe (to be reviewed later), and this new series. So far, it’s working.
My brother in law’s stepmom actually offhandedly recommended this series to me at the end of last year. She said something like “oh that sounds like a case for Stone Barrington”, or something along those lines. I asked her who he was and she sent me along this path! So far I like him as a character. The first book was written in 1990, so there was a bunch of let’s say cultural stuff I had to ignore. It wasn’t quite as bad as reading the James Bond books from the 60’s, but there was a lot of stuff where I was like “holy crap, this was cool in the 90’s?”. How short our memories are. I was only nine in 1990, but I still feel like it wasn’t that long ago!!
As the first book in the series, we get a nice intro to Stone Barrington. He’s been in the NYPD for nearly fifteen years. He doesn’t seem to quite fit in with the cops though. He thought he wanted to be a lawyer when he was younger, but never quite went all the way.
At the beginning of this book, Stone is nearly recovered from a gunshot to the leg he received in the line of duty. He’s about to be released back to his job when a woman falls / is pushed out the window of her apartment in a tall building right next to where Stone is walking. He’s completely dumfounded, but instantly reverts to cop mode. He tells people to call 911, then immediately rushes up to her apartment and catches a glimpse of someone running down the hallway. The mystery begins. There are false sightings of Sasha (the woman who he saw fall), mysterious disappearances of her “body” or her actual alive person, and other craziness. Someone is accused of her murder and ends up in a bad way because of it.
All the shenanigans remind Stone of why he doesn’t really want to be a cop. He doesn’t like the way the police are treating the investigation, and of course there are politics involved.
Like I said above, 1990 was a very different world, and parts of this book truly read that way. I only gave it three stars for that reason. There were a lot of times where I was disgusted or outraged, or just shocked that a topic / conversation was in the book. It’s still a good start to a pretty good series though!
My Rating: 3
Book 2 brings us a new Stone Barrington. He was “retired” from the police force by an almost but not quite mutual decision. He decided that he should pursue his earlier dream of becoming a lawyer, so he finishes up whatever schooling he had left (not much if I remember correctly), and then takes the bar. He passes and is immediately offered work. He can’t turn off his investigator mind though, so he’s kind of a lawyer investigator. And I somehow forgot to mention his previous partner in the NYPD – Dino. He’s a recurring character, and just so much fun.
A famous gossip columnist named Amanda Dart has a problem, and she heard about Stone somewhere. It might’ve been the publicity from the Sasha case from book one. There’s someone out there spreading dirt about infamous people. Amanda’s secret affairs (including compromising pictures) end up in a fax titled Dirt and sent to a select few. It’s basically blackmail, but Amanda has a lot of secrets she doesn’t want to get out. She hires Stone to figure out who the blackmailer is. Then other people get involved, Stone gets “involved”, but also gets involved with someone else, and there are murders. I liked this one more because there were less cringy moments than in the first book, and I got a better understanding of who Stone Barrington is.
My Rating: 4
We find Stone on the beginning of a vacation with his current flame Arrington. He’s in the tropical Caribbean island of St. Mark’s (which I’m not sure is real), and she’s about to join him when a blizzard hits NYC. She basically keeps getting stuck in New York while Stone waits for her to arrive, and then eventually she tells him she’s not coming. Although we met Arrington Carter in “Dirt”, and I liked her a bunch, I think this book is where I soured on Arrington. She has an exclusive interview with Vance Calder, a famous movie star, and then one thing leads to another (as they do), and she ends up marrying him. Obviously I’m on Stone’s side here, so I don’t really like Arrington anymore.
Anyway, to pass the time, he wanders through the town and sees a woman on trial for the murder of her husband in the courthouse. He had just recently seen the same woman sailing into the harbor on a super yacht the day before. As a lawyer / investigator, Stone is intrigued. Her name is Allison Manning, and she needs counsel. There’s a lot of money at stake, and her story is a little bit fishy. Again there are politics involved and Stone is up against some shady dealings. Of course he falls into bed with Allison, because apparently that’s what he does. I like him too much to call him a man whore, but he totally is. The redeeming thing about Stone though is that he’s totally upfront with the ladies. He doesn’t promise them anything other than a good time.
There are a lot of machinations and eventually Allison’s trial is over. Stone ends up unsatisfied with the verdict, but eventually OK with the way things turned out. I think I gave this a 3.5 because I didn’t like either Arrington or Allison in this book. They just did stupid things, which I don’t like.
My Rating: 3
One day when he’s not long back in New York, Vance Calder calls Stone and asks for his help. He flies Stone to L.A. and explains that some very bad men have kidnapped Arrington. Oh and she’s pregnant with one of their babies. Stone (naturally) hasn’t gotten over Arrington yet (even though I have), and he’s concerned that maybe she’s pregnant with his child.
Things start to get weird though as Vance dodges his calls, gets him cast in a movie to stay busy, and tries to send him home. Stone is concerned that Vance is going to get Arrington killed. Stone finds another woman to shack up with (literally), but she may have ulterior motives. All the while he’s still trying to figure out what happened to Arrington and how he can get her back safely. He makes some very powerful friends and also very powerful enemies along the way. He eventually finds Arrington almost accidentally, and brings her back to Vance. She immediately gets on a plane to her family home in Virginia and promises to have a paternity test done when she’s had the baby. It ends up being Vance’s son, so she stays married to Vance while also breaking Stone’s heart by hinting she would’ve preferred it was Stone’s baby. Stone is a total badass in this book, and I really liked that side of him. He’s fiercely loyal, and not to be effed with.
My rating: 3.5
I really liked the setup of this book. And the title is fully appropriate. I don’t know if it’s a normal cop thing, or just something Dino brought up in this story, but he basically says that someone you sent to jail coming after your family is one of your “worst fears realized”.
Stone meets a woman at a party and she’s murdered while he’s out grabbing Chinese food down the block from her apartment. He almost gets arrested for her murder, but Dino shows up in the nick of time.
Then it just keeps getting more and more dicey for both Stone and Dino. A neighbor of Stone’s gets murdered right across the garden from his house while he’s watching, and then someone attacks Dino’s wife, but she’s ok because she literally blows a hole in his ear with a purse gun. They’re basically just scared about anyone they’re close to being in danger, and with Stone there are so many lady options.
Stone and Dino are going through their past cases and trying to figure out who could be targeting people in their lives. They come up with a prime suspect, but he’s still in jail, and he doesn’t have any known children.
There’s also a side plot with Stone and Dino’s sister in law. She’s a little dangerous, but beautiful, which is just how Stone likes his women.
My rating: 4
We find Stone on his way to Italy to marry Dino’s sister in law. They’re supposed to get married in Venice, then go on a secret (to Stone) honeymoon. His bride to be is named Rosaria, but everyone calls her Dolce. Dino has spent the last book warning Stone away from Dolce, but Stone just won’t listen. They get married in a civil ceremony that they’re told won’t be official until they have a big church wedding, officiated by a bigwig.
Stone gets the call that someone’s murdered Vance Calder back in L.A., and they’re going to arrest Arrington. Here we go again. I continued my dislike of Arrington in this book. I guess there are a lot of men who enjoy drama in a lady. I just don’t get the appeal. Dolce insists that Stone fly back to L.A. to assist Arrington, so he does that before they do the church ceremony.
Arrington greets him warmly and full of amnesia. She doesn’t remember anything about the night Vance died. She’s sure she didn’t do it though. There are of course twists and turns, and red herrings, and times when you think Arrington did it. Mostly everyone thinks she did it the whole time, except for Stone. Of course Stone realizes that he doesn’t want to marry Dolce, and she basically loses her mind. There’s more speculation about the paternity of Arrington’s son too. Although she was just recently married to the man who was murdered, she’s jealous of any woman Stone is dating. Add another reason for me not liking Arrington.
My rating: 4
Ok so after the first book, these books are basically all the same, but with wildly different details. Let me explain – Stone is mourning the loss of another lover when he gets a call from the law firm he works for. They have a weird case for him, which involves some luxuriousness and some crazy request. He travels to wherever, lives in rich splendor for a while, falls into bed with someone new, and solves a case. It’s not a bad formula, but a formula nonetheless. Oh there are also recurring characters galore.
In this book Stone gets a request from a billionaire to find a woman he liked at a party. He only knows her first name and that she may be in Palm Beach, Florida. Stone sets up on the billionaire’s yacht with all expenses paid (of course). He gets a call from a new client and meets up with her in Palm Beach while working for the billionaire. It turns out to be Allison Manning (under a different name) from Dead in the Water. She’s (of course) a wealthy widow, and looking to settle her insurance fraud issues and make a deal with her previous dead husband who isn’t really dead.
Stone chases around “Paul”, who may just be a run of the mill murderer / scammer, and looks for the other “Paul” that Allison is looking for. Madness ensues. I think Dolce is still wandering around trying to kill Stone in this book too. My review probably makes it sound like I don’t like these books, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. They’re lots of fun, and I’m burning through them!
Ooh here’s another thing that I read and was like “holy 1990’s / early 2000’s”: Dino is late for his flight to meet Stone in Florida – “So what? You’re not going through the airport; you’re going to flash your badge and drive out onto the tarmac, right up to the airplane, aren’t you?” “You bet your ass, but I’ve still got to move to make it.” I can’t imagine that happening now after 9/11! Also, this one made me chuckle: “That’s Mar a Lago over there—the home of Marjorie Meriwether Post, now owned by the awful Donald Trump.” This book was published in 2001. Donald Trump continues to be awful almost a quarter century later!! My rating: 4
