Shoot Him If He Runs (A Stone Barrington Novel)

The plot thickens....Lots of action both investigative and sexual!! Undercover to catch a criminal thought dead the CIA lands in the middle of a political brouhaha. I loved this, especially because most of the primary characters were familiar. Very enjoyable read.

Frankly, this book is just plain boring. I kept waiting for the suspense to pick up, but it never happened. Unfortunately, Mr. Woods seems to have gotten in a rut with his last few books, churning out a book or two a year, without a real story. I will probably continue to read his books for a while, in hopes that he will get some fresh ideas.

I love the Stone Barrington series. Woods delivers (usually) a character with rich context. That said, if I'd read "Shoot Him If He Runs" as my first exposure to the books, I'd never have read another.

Barrington, a New York City lawyer, meets the president of the United States. He is sent to a Caribbean island (which he visited in the 3rd book) to see if a serial killer is there. He is accompanied by a CIA agent and, inexplicably, by his old NYPD partner Dino and Dino's girlfriend.

Lawrence Block wrote many books about a detective, Matt Scudder, keeping the plots fairly realistic and all in New York City. Woods, though wonderful, is diverging to wilder, incredible plots and often in other locales. (Mr. Block, could you please phone this guy and help him out?)

In fact, there is not much "plot" to this latest effort, which seems to have been phoned in at (or a couple days past) deadline. The book is interesting only for the characters and what's happened to the island since they were last there. Dino, who typically stands on his own, is doing a strictly Ed McMahon role here. (One thinks of Block's TJ character and what an important asset a supporting character can be, sometimes upstaging the lead.)

Normally I'm reluctant for a Barrington novel to end. This time, I can't wait.

If you're an aficionado of the series, you'll want to skim this one to be able to say you read them all. If you're just a reader looking for a good book, pass.

Stone Barrington is hired by the president to look for a fugitive (former high-level CIA agent) in St. Marks. During his search he finds himself mixed up with island politics making his search for the expert spy who has a gift for hiding in plain sight that much harder to find.
The action is great as Stone runs into old friends and new enemies. A great read.

When we join the protagonists of Stuart Woods' latest trifle, they are eating dinner and having cocktails at Elaine's.

STOP THE PRESSES!!

As long-time Woods readers will no doubt recall, most of Stone Barrington's adventures begin this way. Marlowe and Spenser have an office, Barrington has a table at Elaine's. Ok, fine. But the simple device carries much more weight as a symptom of the malaise the series has developed.

Stone and his pal Dino Bachetti eat dinner. They encounter glamorous, intelligent, near-craven women. They somehow find themselves in the middle of events of import far greater than their own.

Don't get us wrong, Woods writes wildly entertaining stories, writes them well, and this is no exception. To the contrary, each adventure is, well, wilder than its predecessor, and that's part of the problem. Since Woods really doesn't write about anything, the plots have to be both tail and dog.

With Shoot Him If He Runs, Woods adds President Lee, his CIA Director-wife Kate, Agency Honcho Lance Cabot and Special Guest Star CIA Special Agent Holly Barker into the mix as everyone, yet again, joins the hunt for the ever-elusive Teddy Fay.

Yeah, THAT Teddy Fay. Woods' very own Big Bad. He's Lecter-elusive, but affable. After a couple of attempts, the heroes just can't seem to bring him to ground. Be it a mid-air explosion, or a Manhattan implosion, Teddy remains in the wind. The problem is, while Teddy does bad things, he does them to bad people, and we just can't work up any real antipathy towards the guy. He just rolls along killin' them what need killin'.

Stone and Dino are recruited, along with Holly, by President Will travel undercover to St. Marks, a Caribbean playground, and try to lasso Teddy, who is believed to be operating there. We already know that Stone and Holly are friends with benefits, and as Dino brings his current flame, Genevieve James, we then know that we are in for an adventure of intrigue and tropical passion. Woods does not disappoint on these levels, but again, it all seems amped up for commerce, not art.

Woods does a nice job creating the tropical world of St. Marks, populating it with imperious government types, scary local law-enforcement types, and expatriate types as well.

Tropical intrigue does, in fact, ensue as Stone and Holly spearhead the search for Teddy, while maintaining their various covers, and Teddy does his thing in a seemingly parallel fashion, until the inevitable conclusion.

Woods keeps things moving at a brisk clip, and fans of the series won't be disappointed by events, by any means. Shoot Him If He Runs finds Woods in "cruise control", and while enjoyable, reminds us that he is capable of much more layered work, and makes us hope he delivers it soon.

Stone Barrington joins forces with Holly Barker to help run down a criminal mastermind who is driving the CIA crazy. In the process of tracking this criminal down, Stone, Dino and Holly find themselves back on St. Marks (which Stone previously visited in Dead in the Water: A Novel). However, behind the beautiful scenery and the tourist attractions, there are also to be found more than a few American expatriates with something to hide, as well as a corrupt system of politicians that are running the place. As they stalk their prey, they find that more than one person on St. Marks has a reason to want to hide - and that maybe the person they are seeking is right in front of them.

It seems rather ludicrous to call this one a Stone Barrington novel, as it features Holly Barker just as much. I think it is probably time for Woods to stop writing individual stories and just go with the melding of all his worlds into one. However, this is a nice book for a quick read - a good book to read on a plane, or while sitting on a lovely sunny beach. It's brain candy, but it doesn't taste too bad.

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

I have read all the Stone Barrington/Holly Barker books and I must say that the plots have been getting boring, the characters interchangeable, and the villains more ludicrous. However, this novel, which started out rather ploddingly, with Stone, Holly and Dino heading back to St. Marks to find the elusive and believed dead Teddy Fay, took a turn for the better at around page 130. Just as I was thinking of not finishing this novel (a big yawn), things started getting exciting, characters started coming to life, and there were tricks and surprises! So I was extremely pleasantly surprised to race through the remaining 2/3 of the book to fnd out what would happen! One caveat: Woods is not good at character development, and his "sex scenes" are poorly written, mechanical, laced with profanity (mainly the "f" word) coming from every character, even the fictional president of the United States and his wife. You can tell this book is written by a male- that's all I can say!

Until "Shoot Him If He Runs", I enjoyed Stuart Woods' Stone Barrington stories. They were light, frothy reads, a welcome interlude between heavier reading. I really couldn't understand why so many people panned Woods.

Now I do. "Shoot Him If He Runs" is awful.

There is hardly a scene without heavy alcohol consumption. The characters joke about how drunk they are, are becoming or were . . . and this is while they are supposedly hot on the trail of a deranged professional assasin. The main characters, Stone Barrington, Dino Bachetti and Holly Barker should face reality: they are alcoholics.

In the past I was amused by Stone Barrington. He had everything necessary for a life of adventure: a law degree, a background as a NYPD homicide cop, a conveniently inherited fortune, an airplane, a Manhattan townhouse and a New England country home and an engaging personality that put him in bed with every woman he met.

Well, turns out that Stone and his creator Woods, are bores. Woods drops in sex scenes here that simply have no relevance to the story. They are bad cliches.

The story here is pathetic. Before I get to it, however, Woods deserves a slap on the wrist for his references to the current administration. They make no sense the context of the story. They are gratuitous and perhaps impressive Woods' friends, but I think the readers could happily live without knowing Woods' poltical views.

Woods' political views are both comedic and ironic in light of his depiction of fictional Democrat President Will Lee who gives Stone Barrington his assignment: go to the tropical island of St. Marks and search for escaped assasin Teddy Fay. Oh yes, Stone will just be cover for Holly Barker, the CIA agent who is actually tasked to the project . . . and enjoys sharing a bed with Stone. Oh, by the way, this upstanding President tells Stone, the mission has to be hush-hush because this fine President has lied to the public and told them that Fay was dead.

Woods is another of the growing list of authors who, like Barry Eisler, presume that their readers are as technologically ignorant as they are. Readers who are at all technologically literate will laugh at Woods' description of computer miracles.

The balance of the cast of characters is as boring as Stone Barrington has become. There is Elaine Kauffman, of course, the owner of Elaine's where every Barrington novel begins. The device has become a bore. There is CIA Director Katie Lee, wife of President Lee. Woods doesn't seem to sense the irony in the nepotism of the President's wife heading the CIA, ordering cover ups and political murder.

The hunt for Teddy Fay involves a small cast of utterly unbeleivable characters including Irene Foster, a retired CIA administrator who just happens to have moved to St, Marks where Teddy Fay is believed to be. Hint. Hint. (An interesting sidelight on Woods: every woman in his novels seems to be sexually insatiable. Foster, in her 50s, haunts the local tourist hangouts, picking up man after man for one nighters. The women also seem incapable of acheiving long-term monogamous relationships. Of course, the men can't either.)

About a third of the way through, the plot becomes transparent, but Woods tries - and fails - to maintain suspense.

Overall, this is a dud. As I said, I normally enjoy Stone Barrington as a break from more serious reading. Many others have criticized Stuart Woods and I now join their ranks. "Shhot Him If He Runs" is dull, formulaic, padded with sex, food and drinking scenes and is simply not suspenseful. It's a bore.

Jerry

I was actually thrilled that the newest Stuart Woods book brought back my favorite president, Will Lee. I actually love all of the characters Woods has introduced but Will Lee and his wife, Kate, are fun characters. I've missed them and really loved how they all came together in this book.

While the book isn't one of the best Woods novels I've read, I really did enjoy it. I actually love Stone's repartee with people and often picture Stone Barrington as a reflection of the true person that Stuart Woods is. I bet Stuart is a pretty fun guy to talk to!

You'll enjoy the book. It is actually quite good and an engaging story. I didn't find any part of the book to be boring at all.

A while back, desperate for winter reading,
I bought 5 or 6, 6 or 7 STUART WOODS' books.
Well!!! This was the last of them. None of them
were very good. They were all 1 star, maybe a
2 star. This one was pretty terrible!! What a
meandering, contrived bunch of junk. Aanndd,
what was Dino's part in the whole mess??? To
build sand castles?? What a waste of time.

Another will written Stone Barrington novel with the usual interesting will developed characters and a great story line. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoy will written mysteries. Enjoy reading

This writing is so bad I find myself repeatedly asking whether or not it is intentionally bad. The reader also a struggle to listen to. He adopts the cheesiest accents and affectations I have ever suffered through. Someone gave me this book and I feel like I paid too much.

I used to enjoy Stuart Woods' books as an enjoyable escape from the "real world". Great characters and settings! Then he started weaving his political views into his novels. Why do Musicians and Authors think it wise to use their platform (during performance or in their professional works) think it OK to espouse their political views. As a dentist I don't go off on this party or that party while I'm giving a check-up. My wife and I have both read 12+ of his books. This will be the last.

The whole book seemed like it was leading somewhere but never arrived. At the end, you almost felt like you had been set up for a sequel. Not particularly well written, not especially interesting. Just enough good stuff to make you feel like something good was just around the corner. I'm still waiting.

Woods pretty much writes junk. The one interesting aspect of his works are the highbrow settings. He was wise to name one of his books Dark Harbor after the esoteric Maine island hangout. I wouldn't have read it otherwise as the characters turned out to be low class thugs not worthy of development. Here its the tropical island and the characters are pretty much the same.

There is hardly much of a plot here and a lot of macho wannabe language as if Woods were trying to become the next Hemmingway. In that vein I think about a third of the book is devoted to characters pouring themselves cocktails. No wonder they don't get anything done.

I always eagerly anticipate a new Stone Barrington book. Boy, was I disappointed with this one. Seems all good authors run out of steam.....is Stuart Woods one of them? To say this book was boring is an understatement. I kept hoping it wood catch on but never did. Many loose ends I'm sure will be addressed in upcoming books, but the author will need to do better than this to remain a best seller.

Both Stone Barrington and Stuart Woods need to retire. Shoot Him If He Runs is yet another thinly constructed, trite plot better suited for the Cooking Channel than the Mystery racks.

Woods keeps churning out these stinkers, but I guess, junk sells!

In Wood's earlier Teddy Fay novels, Teddy kills a fundamentalist preacher, a conservative Supreme Court justice, and the Republican Speaker of the House. In this one he kills an island dictator and two of his henchmen who used to work for Papa Doc. Teddy is a good guy because he kills such obvious bad guys. In his next novel he will probably wax long about how terrible it is that the country has become so politically divided since Newt and the boys took over Congress. What a hypocrite! (By the way, the story was lacking too.)

I should have known after his last book, that this would stink also. I don't know why I keep going back to Woods, probably because I run out of things to listen to. I will not be buying any more of his books or even going to the library to get them. It is not worth it. I could not even get past the first few chapters.