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Stuart Woods has been clicking right along recently, particularly with his novels involving Stone Barrington. Barrington, former NYPD cop, present lawyer and investigator, has been the subject of such novels as NEW YORK DEAD and DEAD IN THE WATER as well as the current L.A. DEAD. These are what I would call airport books --- they are long enough to occupy you as you fly from Point A to Point B, and engaging enough to help you to forget, however momentarily, that you are engaged in an act that violates all known laws of nature, science, and aerodynamics.
Woods's Stone Barrington books remind me of the golden days when the James Bond movies first became popular. The movies, for the most part, were somewhat different from the books. When some paperback houses accordingly rushed a few titles to fill the void, it resulted in the series revolving around a secret agent who was more interested in bedding the dangerous but lusty (or were they lusty but dangerous?) wenches who confronted him at every turn. Stone Barrington is the fictional heir to those gentlemen. It seems as if he barely gets off of a plane before he is being led to bed by a woman who has stripped her clothes off within five minutes of meeting him. And, as one might expect, this gets him into a spot of trouble.
That having been said, L.A. DEAD begins with Barrington about to enter a state of connubial bliss with Dolce, a world-class beauty who is the widow of one Mafia underboss and the daughter of another. Barrington and Dolce are to be married in Italy, first at a civil ceremony and then at a Roman Catholic one the next day. In between the two ceremonies, however, Barrington learns that the great lost love of his life, Arrington (yes, Arrington. If they would have gotten married she'd have been Arrington Barrington) Calder, is about to be indicted for the murder of her husband. She has motive --- Vance Calder, Arrington's handsome movie star husband, had a reputation for dallying with everything that could move or breathe --- and opportunity. Barrington flies back to the States before undergoing the church ceremony with his erstwhile bride, and all too soon finds that he is involved with Arrington on both a professional and personal level.
No matter what happens to Arrington, however, Barrington is going to get off easily. Dolce has returned to the States intent on putting things back together with Barrington. He, meanwhile, is not confining his extracurricular activities to Arrington --- who may, or may not, have murdered her husband. Barrington soon comes to doubt his own motives: is he more interested in discovering the truth about Vance Calder's murder or in protecting Arrington?
L.A. DEAD requires a lot of suspension of disbelief and is written tongue thrust firmly in...well, in cheek, I guess, but it is great fun from beginning to end, notwithstanding the stereotyped and one-dimensional characters. And the conclusion, surprisingly, is extremely thought-provoking. It will be interesting to see what Woods does next with Barrington (or what Barrington does with, or to, whomever) and whether Woods picks up any of the strands of plot that he leaves dangling in L.A. DEAD. It will, in either event, be worth a look at his next novel.
--- Reviewed by Maggie Harding
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