Skip to main content

Naked Greed: A Stone Barrington Novel

Review

Naked Greed: A Stone Barrington Novel

A new Stone Barrington thriller is always greeted with joy from fans of Stuart Woods. In the latest installment, NAKED GREED, the narrative begins when Stone helps a man who is being beaten up by two thugs who turn out to be former police officers. After the fight is over and the victim has a chance to talk, he and Stone become fast friends.

Stone learns that the man's name is Jose Perado, but he wants to be called "Pepe." He says he is a beer brewer from San Antonio, Texas, and wants to open a brewery, which would bring his business to New York City. He manufactures Cervaza Perado, which is almost impossible to get if you are not in Texas. Stone has all the connections needed to make this happen. And Pepe becomes a client of his, which makes the deal even more appealing.

"Although the level of suspense does not make for a nail-biting thriller, as a sizzling summer read it’s spot on."

In New York City, though, the beer companies are run by the mob. How can Pepe even begin to go up against that? Well, with the help of Stone Barrington, of course. But even he cannot control all of the situations that play out in NAKED GREED. And soon the problems of Pepe the CEO slide to the background in the style of an old gangster film. With the body count rising, readers are taken into a vortex of bank robberies and murder.

In the middle of all this, Stone is asked to give safe haven to Major Ian Rattle, an MI6 officer marked for death by people from the Middle East. But someone takes a shot at Stone’s Bentley thinking that the Major is Stone. Rattle has a minor wound and moves to the embassy for safety. Dino Bacchetti, the NYPD police commissioner and Stone's best friend, thinks perhaps that Stone was really the person the bullet was meant for. After all, the Major was riding in the backseat of the automobile. Stone and Dino push back, and the bad guys scatter --- one to California, three to Key West.

NAKED GREED is not one of Woods' best books. The plot appears to be seamed together with broken string, and the gratuitous sex scenes put Stone in a misogynistic light. Although the level of suspense does not make for a nail-biting thriller, as a sizzling summer read it’s spot on.

Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum on July 24, 2015

Naked Greed: A Stone Barrington Novel
by Stuart Woods

  • Publication Date: April 5, 2016
  • Genres: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
  • ISBN-10: 0451477219
  • ISBN-13: 9780451477217