FRESH DISASTERS: A Stone Barrington Novel
Stuart Woods
Signet
Thriller
ISBN-10: 0451221656
ISBN-13: 9780451221650

Stuart Woods has the perfect job. Writing novels featuring Stone Barrington must be the most fun an author can imagine. Stone is classy, humorous, sarcastic, well dressed, well educated, rich, handsome, single and well heeled. It is a given that Stone will get into deep trouble without asking for it.

In FRESH DISASTERS, Stone puts himself in harm's way more times than I can count. A bonus is that we have the opportunity to eat and drink with the stars at Elaine's, and with Elaine herself, almost nightly at Stone's expense. Stone owns a boat, a plane, a special armored car, an island in Maine, an apartment in New York and a getaway country home in Washington, Connecticut. What a life!

The main plot features the nephew of a friend of Stone's. Herbie Fisher owes the mob $24,000 in gambling debts, and crime boss Carmine Datilla's underlings try to recover their "loan" in myriad ways, none of which are gentle or subtle. At one point, Stone's ego gets him in trouble as he attempts to serve a warrant to Datilla and manages to get himself thrown out a plate glass window. He doesn't take rejection well and seeks revenge. When Bernie Finger, Datilla's lawyer, gets involved, Stone really shows what he's made of. 

Massage also plays a relevant role here. Stone meets two masseurs, and they both provide interesting subplots. He becomes acquainted with one of them at Elaine's over dinner. When he schedules a massage and she doesn't show up, Stone starts looking into her credentials. Seeking a replacement masseur, he comes across a more interesting and alluring (as well as statuesque) woman, Celia, with whom he develops a relationship. Of course, there is more to Celia than meets the eye. Her former boyfriend, an art gallery owner, is relentlessly fixed on hurting anyone who associates themselves with Celia. Stone feels his wrath in the form of a car bumper, though he does manage to get his revenge in a very funny scene in Connecticut.

The first masseur, Marilyn, offers to alleviate Stone's pain from his plate glass window adventure. Unbeknownst to Stone when he hired her, she turns out to be the mistress of Bernie Finger, the mob lawyer. Looking to be the second Mrs. Bernard Finger, Marilyn keeps Bernie very happy. Her Bernie-paid penthouse has a balcony, which can be seen by anyone in the vicinity who has a higher vantage point. Apparently, Bernie and Marilyn like to frolic outdoors occasionally. Stone takes advantage of this opportunity to help Bernie make up his mind about the lawsuit on his client, Carmine Datilla. It's amazing what a few well-shot photos can produce!

This is vintage Stuart Woods. He has developed Stone Barrington so well that readers who are acquainted with his writing appreciate him more with each book.

   --- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher

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