HOTHOUSE ORCHID
Stuart Woods
Putnam Adult
Thriller
ISBN: 9780399156014
If you have ever read a Stuart Woods thriller featuring Special Agent Holly Barker, then you know that vacation is not a word or concept that you associate with her. But when her boss mandates that she take one month off after letting international terrorist Teddy Fay slip through her fingers, Holly is forced to retreat to her home in Orchid Beach, Florida. The break is short-lived, though, when bodies of raped women begin appearing all over town, thrusting Holly back into her old job. And to make matters worse, she learns that her nemesis from her Army years, James Bruno, has taken over her old position as police chief. Bruno is a despicable man who had tried to rape her once.
Shortly after settling in to her home, Holly suffers another attempted rape. Is this all a coincidence? Bad luck? Or is it all connected somehow? Whatever the case, she soon decides that she must do something fast; the bodies are piling up, and she may be next.
The perpetrator of these horrendous acts, we soon learn, is either a cop or merely posing as one. This role allows the man to stop his prey in a secluded spot when they have some kind of car trouble. After he does so, he administers a date-rape drug, disarms his target, and from there continues with his disgusting deed. And like many serial killers, he keeps souvenirs. As the victims start to amass, the murderer is becoming bolder, self-assured, and, worst of all, fearless.
However, Holly’s problems don’t end there, as Teddy Fay appears in Orchid Beach under the assumed name “Jack Smithson.” When his new girlfriend, local realtor Adele Mason, is suddenly raped and killed, eyes turn to Fay as the most likely suspect of the killings. It’s almost as though Orchid Beach is a haven for damaged individuals, or perhaps it’s just a magnet for intrigue. But whatever the case, big things are going down there, and forces are about to collide.
The author of 42 books, 40 of which are fiction, Stuart Woods has penned five thrillers featuring Holly Barker. I am impressed with how HOTHOUSE ORCHID flows. It is jam-packed with conflict, characters you can believe, and plenty of page-turning action. There are more twists and turns here than Lake Shore Drive in Chicago before they removed the S-curves. This is a book that you can (and probably will) read in one sitting; I double-dog dare you to try to put it down.
--- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher
Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
© Copyright 1996-2009, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
