From Publishers Weekly
Woods's breezy and irreverent brand of detective fiction, full of mischievous asides, plays especially well as audio drama. He's in top form here, having returned to his popular hero, Stone Barrington, a retired cop-turned-investigator who works in tandem with his ex-partner, Dino Bacchetti. Barrington, a lady-killer, is the ultimate smoothy, while Bacchetti, streetwise and jaded, is a rough diamond. Together, the two track a killer on a wanton Manhattan murder spree. He's left a trail of beautiful women with their throats slashed. What's more, the killer is waging a personal vendetta against the investigators, holding a grudge from a long-ago case they worked. Barrington, ever the flirt, gleans essential knowledge by wooing well-placed ladies along the way: amorous hijinks play against murderous mayhem. Narrating is veteran Broadway actor Roberts (he has read several previous Woods titles for Harper Audio), who spiritedly pushes his characterizations to the hilt. For Barrington, however, Roberts reserves a world-weariness befitting the fatigue of a lifelong dick who has seen all too many murders. Simultaneous release with the HarperCollins hardcover. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Best-selling author Woods (Dead in the Water) returns with his 19th novel and fifth Stone Barrington adventure. The Manhattan lawyer turned investigator faces an indictment for the murder of a woman he's just met. When other brutal murders quickly pile upAall women connected to him or his best friend, Dino Bacchetti of the 19th PrecinctAStone knows that one of a cop's worst fears has been realized: a con with a grudge is bent on vengeance. While trying to save the lives of the women he cares about, Stone struggles to track down the killer and head off a DA who's out to get him for murder. With sharply drawn characters, a plot that's satisfying to the last dirty deed, and a story that flows with the effortless grace attained only by a master, this seductive novel will have readers twitching with suspense. Highly recommended for all public libraries. [A Mystery Guild main selection and Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club featured alternate selection.]ARonnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucso.-ARonnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.



"Excellent escape reading...There's plenty of excitement as Stone and Dino race around New York chasing a killer."


From Booklist
It's a cop's worst nightmare: a felon he or she sent to prison harbors a grudge, and when released, goes after the cop to extract revenge. That's exactly what happens to cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington when Herbert Mitteldorfer comes after Stone, his ex-partner, Dino Bacchetti, and their families and close friends. Somehow Mitteldorfer manages to disappear after every attack, and no one can find his hidey-hole or stop the victim list from growing longer and bloodier. Adding to Stone's problems are his romantic troubles--his longtime British girlfriend leaves in a huff, and the beautiful, sexy daughter of a Mafia don is panting to get him into bed. Woods' Stone Barrington series continues to offer solid escapist entertainment, combining the sophistication of a Nick and Nora Charles plot, the macho charm and tongue-in-cheek humor of a James Bond flick, the crisp dialogue of a Spenser mystery, and the slam-bang action of a Schwarzenegger film. Emily Melton


From Kirkus Reviews
Erratic Woods, whose 18 previous thrillers make up perhaps the spottiest backlist in the business, nose-dives in this plush, absurd slice of Serial Killer Lite. The morning after cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington (Swimming to Catalina, 1998, etc.) returns from getting takeout Chinese for Susan Bean, the comely ADA who picked him up at a party, to find her throat cut, he learns that his secretary, Alma Hodges, has been killed on the street outside his place. Next, Stone's neighbor, bank VP Miranda Hirsch, is slain while he and his ex-partner, Lt. Dino Bacchetti, alertly watch her vacuum her apartment in the nude, and Dino's wife Mary Ann barely escapes with her life from another lethal attack. Clearly, the boys decide, somebody they put away once is out to kill everybody close to them. How does Stone feel about all this mayhem? ``I'm extremely well,'' he tells painter Sarah Buckminster the next morning on her return from Europe, and why not? After all, his immediate future holds impulse cash purchases of an armored Mercedes and a terrific little cottage in Connecticut, not to mention some fabulous sex with Sarah, who's inspired this shopping spree. And when Sarah, worn down by the rigors of the stalked life in New York, returns to her native England, leaving Stone to help Dino deal with the stalker, Dino's sister-in-law, Mafia princess Dolce Bianchi, is waiting in the wings to take up the slack in Stone's love life. Meanwhile, the presumed perp, wife-killing accountant Herbert Mitteldorfer, has been released from prison just in time to slow his murderous campaign to an adagio while Stone catches up on the finer things in life and, aided by Dolce's flashing eyes, fends off his ex-girlfriend Arrington Carter's tearful confession that she wants to leave her movie-star husband and baby son and come back to him. Male fantasy at its most narcissistic, with just enough mystery to substitute for foreplay. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


USA Today
"Excellent escape reading...There's plenty of excitement as Stone and Dino race around New York chasing a killer."


-- Chicago Tribune
"Woods is a no-nonsense, slam-bang storyteller."


Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Worst Fears Realized is one of his winners, starting fast and picking up speed...The story is slick, taut, and well-told. It will delight Wood's many fans."

FROM OUR EDITORS

Ex-cop Stone Barrington comes face-to-face with his worst, most horrible fear when the women in his life begin dropping like flies, each falling victim to an unknown assailant. Why is this happening? As the bodies pile up, it becomes shockingly clear that revenge is the name of Barrington's latest, deadliest game.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Stuart Woods brings back one of his most popular characters, Stone Barrington, in his fifth novel of the life and times of the former cop turned lawyer turned investigator. Stone is in a position that every ex-policeman dreads - all around him people are dying, and he suspects the killer may be someone he'd put in prison years before." "Dino Bacchetti, Stone's ex-partner, now the head of detectives in the 19th Precinct, is not immune either and the two men must pool their resources to protect those close to them." "Stone's former love, Arrington, now married to movie star Vance Calder, is back, too, and nose to nose with a new woman in Stone's life, one with a Mafia bloodline who may be as dangerous as she is beautiful." "Stone and Dino begin to trace their tracks from years before, looking for clues that might lead them to the brilliant killer. From a premier table at the legendary Elaine's to dark back alleys where Armani-clad mobsters with the latest lethal accessories dwell, this nail-biting suspense tale takes Stone on a life-and-death hunt that twists and turns till the very end.

SYNOPSIS

E-book Extra: ￯﾿ﾽWe Are Very Different People￯﾿ﾽ: Stuart Woods on Stone Barrington.

People are dying, and Stone Barrington suspects the killer is someone he jailed years ago. Stone's old flame Arrington is back, too, and nose-to-nose with his new love interest -- a beautiful woman with a Mafia bloodline.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Woods's breezy and irreverent brand of detective fiction, full of mischievous asides, plays especially well as audio drama. He's in top form here, having returned to his popular hero, Stone Barrington, a retired cop-turned-investigator who works in tandem with his ex-partner, Dino Bacchetti. Barrington, a lady-killer, is the ultimate smoothy, while Bacchetti, streetwise and jaded, is a rough diamond. Together, the two track a killer on a wanton Manhattan murder spree. He's left a trail of beautiful women with their throats slashed. What's more, the killer is waging a personal vendetta against the investigators, holding a grudge from a long-ago case they worked. Barrington, ever the flirt, gleans essential knowledge by wooing well-placed ladies along the way: amorous hijinks play against murderous mayhem. Narrating is veteran Broadway actor Roberts (he has read several previous Woods titles for Harper Audio), who spiritedly pushes his characterizations to the hilt. For Barrington, however, Roberts reserves a world-weariness befitting the fatigue of a lifelong dick who has seen all too many murders. Simultaneous release with the HarperCollins hardcover. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Best-selling author Woods (Dead in the Water) returns with his 19th novel and fifth Stone Barrington adventure. The Manhattan lawyer turned investigator faces an indictment for the murder of a woman he's just met. When other brutal murders quickly pile up--all women connected to him or his best friend, Dino Bacchetti of the 19th Precinct--Stone knows that one of a cop's worst fears has been realized: a con with a grudge is bent on vengeance. While trying to save the lives of the women he cares about, Stone struggles to track down the killer and head off a DA who's out to get him for murder. With sharply drawn characters, a plot that's satisfying to the last dirty deed, and a story that flows with the effortless grace attained only by a master, this seductive novel will have readers twitching with suspense. Highly recommended for all public libraries. [A Mystery Guild main selection and Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club featured alternate selection.]--Ronnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Erratic Woods, whose 18 previous thrillers make up perhaps the spottiest backlist in the business, nose-dives in this plush, absurd slice of Serial Killer Lite. The morning after cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington (Swimming to Catalina, 1998, etc.) returns from getting takeout Chinese for Susan Bean, the comely ADA who picked him up at a party, to find her throat cut, he learns that his secretary, Alma Hodges, has been killed on the street outside his place. Next, Stone's neighbor, bank VP Miranda Hirsch, is slain while he and his ex-partner, Lt. Dino Bacchetti, alertly watch her vacuum her apartment in the nude, and Dino's wife Mary Ann barely escapes with her life from another lethal attack. Clearly, the boys decide, somebody they put away once is out to kill everybody close to them. How does Stone feel about all this mayhem? "I'm extremely well," he tells painter Sarah Buckminster the next morning on her return from Europe, and why not? After all, his immediate future holds impulse cash purchases of an armored Mercedes and a terrific little cottage in Connecticut, not to mention some fabulous sex with Sarah, who's inspired this shopping spree. And when Sarah, worn down by the rigors of the stalked life in New York, returns to her native England, leaving Stone to help Dino deal with the stalker, Dino's sister-in-law, Mafia princess Dolce Bianchi, is waiting in the wings to take up the slack in Stone's love life. Meanwhile, the presumed perp, wife-killing accountant Herbert Mitteldorfer, has been released from prison just in time to slow his murderous campaign to an adagio while Stone catches up on the finer things in life and, aided by Dolce's flashing eyes, fends off hisex-girlfriend Arrington Carter's tearful confession that she wants to leave her movie-star husband and baby son and come back to him. Male fantasy at its most narcissistic, with just enough mystery to substitute for foreplay.