In Stuart Woods' latest Stone Barrington caper, (arguably one of his best), an outsize Texan with a bone-crushing handshake, an inexhaustible wad of two-dollar bills, and a housing need enters his life and makes Stone seriously rue the day he agreed to take him on as a client and, even, put him up for a night. No sooner does Billy Bob Barnstormer finally leave the Barrington residence than a hooker, the stranger's guest the previous evening, lies dead, strangled, in the guest bedroom. Stone's houseguest is a murderer.

Stone again questions why he acquiesced when Bill Eggers', his firms managing partner, egged him on to host Barnstormer. But, worse is yet to come. Dino, Stone's ex-partner on the detective squad and his best friend and confidant, is considering Stone a prime suspect and looking for a bullet-proof alibi. And, then, a video of Stone making love to his new girlfriend, U.S. Attorney for New York, Tiffany Baldwin, appears all over the networks. If Stone weren't such a cool guy, he'd be seriously mortified.

But, that's exactly the game Barnstormer is playing and, once the stages of embarrassment are sufficiently realized, he's coming to take Stone out. This guy is not only a highly trained military operative, an ex-con, and an accomplished financier, but a conman of many aliases operating in multiple spheres of influence. Stone has his defenses cut out for him.

Stuart Woods is one of the best reads in the murder-suspense genre, an accomplished character creator who sticks relentlessly to fast pacing and a tight storyline. This latest thrill ride with his suave Manhattan cop turned lawyer with armor-plated ethics and appealing sensitivity is as complex and suspenseful as anything he's put him up against yet.