SHOOT HIM IF HE RUNS: A Stone Barrington Novel
Stuart Woods
Signet
Thriller
Hardcover: 9780399154447
Paperback: 9780451223609

Always count on Stuart Woods to deliver a straightforward, juicy plot, ripe with mystery, seduction and exotic locales. SHOOT HIM IF HE RUNS provides these elements, as well as two of our favorite heroes, Stone Barrington and Holly Barker. What mystery lover could ask for more?

Early in every Stone Barrington novel, the reader can expect at least one scene to be played out at Elaine’s in New York. Stone has a very sophisticated lifestyle, which includes fine dining, fine wines and exotic travel. It is at Elaine’s where Stone receives a call from Holly Barker, his sometimes-lover and a flying instructor from Florida. She informs him that they both have been invited to a White House black-tie dinner and secret conference with the President of the United States. The adventure begins there.

As a prominent New York attorney several years before, Stone had been involved in a case on the island of St. Marks. He lost to Sir Winston Southerland --- who is now the Prime Minister of St. Marks --- and would encounter him again, as well as come to know other wealthy locals with interesting pasts. On this trip, Stone would travel undercover with two old friends and Holly. His challenge is to discover if Teddy Fay, a former CIA operative, is dead or alive and hiding under an assumed name.

“Theodore Fay was a career employee of the CIA, joining in his twenties and retiring at age sixty-five. He worked in Technical Services, which is a rather bland name of the department that supplies all sorts of things to agents going into the field: clothing, disguises, fake passports, insurance cards, credit cards, and other documents an agent requires to establish a legend --- that is, a false identity --- in the field. The department also supplies weapons --- some of them quite exotic.”

Teddy Fay supposedly died in a plane crash. After relocating to New York, he went on a shooting spree, killing terrorists. He also is responsible for the murders of the Speaker of the House and a Supreme Court Justice. It is thought that he retired to St. Marks under an assumed name. Enter Holly and Stone. Ironically, Irene Foster, a former Deputy Director of Operations for the CIA who is retired and recently moved to St. Marks, is in charge of the investigation involving Teddy Fay. Perhaps a little too coincidental?

The President of the United States, in a secret meeting with Stone, expresses how crucial it will be for Stone and Holly to uncover the whereabouts of Teddy Fay and his link to others in St. Marks.

Of late, St. Marks has become a worldwide center for Internet gambling. The banking community there has reaped the rewards in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Its political system has changed recently, and not for the better. Currently, it is becoming more corrupt every day, with high-level politicians cashing in on Internet gambling.

At first blush, St. Marks is a beautiful, exotic tropical island. Each chapter shows us that very little of what we see or the people we meet are what they seem to be. Leave it to Stuart Woods to supply the environment and refreshing characters to keep us turning pages at lightning speed.

   --- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher

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