Iron Orchid (Holly Barker, No. 5) [Mass Market Paperback]

Stuart Woods (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2012

When his plane exploded off the coast of Maine, authorities thought they had seen the last of Teddy Fay—the ex-CIA tech wizard who kills his political targets for sport. But now they’ve found irrefutable evidence that he is alive and up to his old tricks. Now working for the CIA, ex-chief-of-police Holly Barker joins the elite task force tracking Fay in New York City. As he begins to pick off America’s enemies one by one, Holly unexpectedly finds herself face-to-face with the killer, kick-starting a high-speed chase through the canyons of midtown Manhattan, the Metropolitan Opera house, Central Park, and the United Nations Plaza, all to prevent another assassination before Fay disappears again—maybe this time for good.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having ditched her Orchid Beach, Fla., police chief post, returning supersleuth Holly Barker opts for a CIA career in Woods's by-the-numbers thriller, the fourth in the Barker series (Blood Orchid). Barely through basic training at a highly regimented CIA "training farm," Barker's class is suddenly enlisted to track down calculating killer (and opera buff) Teddy Fay (first seen in Woods's Capital Crimes). An ex-CIA agent himself, Fay uses insider information to continue assassinating international political figures who also happen to be enemies of the U.S. Barker stakes out the Metropolitan Opera House, and narrowly misses Teddy in disguise in several contrived set pieces. The narrative accelerates from a somewhat sluggish first half when CIA operatives' solid deliberation moves Barker ever closer to nabbing the elusive Fay—who, by the way, lives mere blocks away from her. But Fay dupes the CIA again, with the help of a Santa Claus costume, and assassinates a Saudi prince before vanishing. Woods's latest lacks the urgent plotting and bracing thrills needed to make it truly memorable, and though Barker is a tough, formidable protagonist, the question remains why she, after absconding with over $5.5 million in untraceable drug money, bothers to clock in at all. Only Barker's dog, Daisy the Doberman, knows for sure. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

As Woods' three different contemporary crime series evolve, their story-lines begin to converge. His latest thriller brings them even closer, when former Orchid Beach police chief Holly Barker leaves her home in Florida to travel to Langley, Virginia, where she begins her training as a CIA officer. At the same time, assassin Teddy Fay, who previously capped several right-wing politicians, has decided to turn his sites on Middle Eastern diplomats with terrorist ties. While Holly completes her training, Fay begins taking out diplomats, leading to political headaches for President Will Lee, as the suspicions mount that the CIA might be responsible for the assassinations. Holly's training is cut short when the CIA decides to place her on a special team sent in to track down Fay, who is such a master of disguise that he manages to elude Holly after spending an evening with her at the opera. Alas, Woods' most charismatic hero, Stone Barrington, makes only a brief appearance and Holly loses much of her sparkle away from the Florida sun. Too much CIA training and a bland villain make this a lackluster outing. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Signet (March 27, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451215761
• ISBN-13: 978-0451215765
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stuart Woods is the author of forty-four novels, including the New York Times-bestselling Stone Barrington series and Holly Barker series. The last twenty-eight of them have been New York Times best-sellers. He is an avid private pilot, flying his own jet on two book tours a year. His latest novel is Santa Fe Edge,to be published on September 21st. You may see his tour schedule and learn more about the author on his website, www.stuartwoods.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stunk, July 2, 2006

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A Reader - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Iron Orchid (Holly Barker, No. 5) (Mass Market Paperback)

If I could've rated this book 0 stars, I would have.

Stuart Woods has been going downhill for quite some time now with both of his series. Holly was the better of the two, although he ruined her when he teamed her up with Stone. This book, however, is the end of the line.

The ridiculousness is jaw-dropping. Among the idiocies you come across:

- Holly attends CIA training and is allowed to bring her dog. Not only bring her, but the dog is allowed to go everywhere with her -- including the cafeteria

- There's terrorist activity in NY, so after about two days, the director of the CIA decides that Holly's class no longer needs training and sends them up to NY to work the case

- Holly is such a star pupil that not only does she work the case, but she becomes assistant to the head honcho and supervises people

- She takes a walk down Park Avenue, decides that she might like to live there, and within about 24 hours, she's found a place, been approved by the board, signed the papers and moved in

- When she feels like getting a little nooky with Stone, all she has to do is call her superior and they call her guards off -- even though the bad guy has made her as an agent and lives nearby

- In the middle of this major case and a few weeks on the job, she just breezes into her boss' office and receives a few days vacation effective immediately because her Dad wants to come visit her

The list goes on and on. It's like Woods was thumbing his nose at his readers -- "Let's see how ridiculous I can get because you all will still buy my books!" No, Stu, I won't. You've been an arrogant, pompous windbag for far too long now, and your books officially stink. I'm done with you.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars compelling and entertaining cat and mouse caper, September 28, 2005

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Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Iron Orchid (Holly Barker Novels) (Hardcover)

Teddy Fay Worked for the CIA for forty years, eventually becoming a Tech Services coordinator and when he retired, he erased all his files in the Agency's computers. They have no pictures or fingerprints of the man who disappeared with astonishing ease. He started killing Right Wing politician including the Speaker of the House and when he was close to being caught, he blew up the plance he was flying and jumped out into the ocean.

While the FBI and CIA think he is dead, Teddy relocates to New York when he starts killing terrorists, the enemies of America as he calls them. A joint FBI-CIA task force is formed and one of the CIA members is Holly Barker, the former Chief of Police in Orchid Beach, Florida. They recruited her and she eagerly grabbed the chance to become an operative. She is the only agent to see Holly and she is in the forefront of the investigation as Teddy tries to avoid the agents while continuing on his mission.

The antagonist is the focus and the star of IRON ORCHID as he calmly hacks into CIA and FBI computers with the help of an inside source. Readers will be simultaneously drawn to and repelled by this character who marches to his own drummer. The protagonist takes to her CIA training like a duck to water and is able to carry her share of the work load on her uses first case as an agent. Stuart Woods has written a compelling and entertaining cat and mouse caper.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Holly and the CIA, April 14, 2006

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mrliteral - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Iron Orchid (Holly Barker, No. 5) (Mass Market Paperback)

There was a time when I could turn to Stuart Woods and know I would get a lightweight but well-written thriller. In recent years, however, Woods has remained lightweight but his writing has gone downhill. His recent Stone Barrington novels have been minimally entertaining and his latest standalone novel, The Prince of Beverly Hills, was equally mediocre. The one ray of sunshine in his recent works has been Holly Barker novels, and in Iron Orchid, we get Woods at his recent best: not really good, but a cut above his non-Barker works.

As the story opens, Teddy Fay, the villain from Capitol Crimes is back and on the run from the FBI and CIA; he fakes his death which buys him a little time, but soon enough the authorities are after them again. Meanwhile, Holly Barker has quit her small-town police job and has joined the CIA; her training is cut short when she gets involved with the hunt for Fay. Most of the novel is a cat-and-mouse game, with Fay a step or two ahead, evading Holly and company and at the same time, committing a string of assassins. Since Fay is killing suspected terrorists, he is not exactly an entirely unsympathetic character.

There are plenty of things wrong with this book, flaws that have been a distinct Woods trait for a while. Typically, most of these problems come from the shallowness of the story and its characters. The only two characters with any real substance are Holly and Fay, and since they rarely interact, we get no really good interplay between the two of them. In fact, there is little in the way of real suspense, at least as far as the heroes are concerned: since Fay only kills "bad guys", Holly is in no real danger (a brief side plot involving the threat of a CIA instructor goes nowhere). Actually, the only suspense involves Fay as he is the only one in real danger; in a certain way, that makes him the protagonist in this novel. There are also bits of silliness that take away any potential realism in this novel; for example, the idea that Holly could bring her dog with her to CIA training seems a bit implausible. The ending of the story will probably also be dissatisfying to many.

I continue to read Woods, because he was good once and I keep hoping he will be again. I think his biggest problem is that he is writing too fast (it seems like he's doing two novels a year) and it shows. His latest books seem hastily written. Iron Orchid may be better than other recent Woods fare, but it is not a novel I can recommend; I'm giving it a low three stars, and probably only rating it that high to distinguish it from his other books. If you want to read Stuart Woods, read his early stuff: it's entertaining and well-written. His more recent books are just fast, empty reads.