Kisser (Stone Barrington, No. 17) [Hardcover]

Stuart Woods (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 19, 2010

Stone Barrington is back in this thrilling new page-turner from the perennially entertaining New York Times-bestselling author.

Stone Barrington is back in New York, and after a rather harrowing sojourn in Key West, he's looking to stay closer to home and work on some simple divorce and custody cases for Woodman & Weld. But when he crosses paths with a fetching Broadway actress-and sometime lip model- Stone gets a little more deeply involved with business than he'd expected. When his new lady love turns out to be a lady with a shady past, Stone and downtown cop Dino Bacchetti realize that her beauty may have an unusually high price. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. At the start of bestseller Woods's entertaining 17th Stone Barrington novel (after Loitering with Intent), the handsome New York lawyer smoothly picks up Carrie Cox, an aspiring actress who's recently moved from Georgia to New York City, at Elaine's, his favorite Manhattan restaurant. As usual, every beautiful woman Barrington encounters pursues him, including Carrie, art gallery assistant Rita Gammage, U.S. attorney Tiffany Baldwin, and mentally unstable Dolce Bianci, to whom he was once briefly married. In spite of all the female attentions, Barrington manages to shield Carrie from her ex-husband, protect young heiress Hildy Parsons from a con artist/drug dealer, and plot to take down Ponzi scammer Sig Larsen. Too crafty to let Barrington sail unscathed through encounters with women or criminals, Woods devises plenty of snarls to provoke laughs and keep the action interesting in a series that excels at playing out male fantasies. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

Woods’ lawyer and private investigator Stone Barrington has never wanted for female company, but even he concedes he has too much on his plate in this latest outing: three lovers and three would-be companions, including his unbalanced ex-wife, Dolce. Stone is taken with beautiful actress Carrie Cox the moment he sets eyes on her at Elaine’s, and he agrees to help her secure the lead in a Broadway play and fend off the lascivious director. Carrie’s problems don’t end there, but Stone turns to a case of his own. A wealthy gallery owner wants Stone to find a way to separate his daughter from her disreputable artist boyfriend, Derek. When Stone learns that Derek is not only a swindler but also a drug dealer, he is drawn into an elaborate police sting operation, and into bed with an undercover officer and her girlfriend. Even Stone agrees his bedroom antics are a little over the top this time around, lamenting, “I used to enjoy sex,” but now there are “too many demands being made.” Readers looking for a fun, breezy page-turner will not be disappointed, and longtime fans of the series will have their curiosity piqued by Dolce’s return. --Kristine Huntley

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (January 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399156119
• ISBN-13: 978-0399156113
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,792 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

96 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Kisser? Plueeze!, January 25, 2010

By 

Michael Roeper (Fairview, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kisser (Stone Barrington, No. 17) (Hardcover)

I've read (and own) every piece of fiction that Stuart Woods (SW) has ever written and I think he's been heading downhill at a alarming rate with each new book he publishes. If you read "Chiefs," one of his earliest books, you will see that he can write a decent, complicated plot line, that he also can keep enough tension in a plot to make you want to keep reading it. He DOESN'T have to resort to all the 15-year-old sexual behavior to pull off the story. He's got Stone Barrington acting like a drunk, 15 year old in this book.

I honestly can't figure out why I even buy this crap anymore. Stanford and others throw a little hint of sex in his books and it seems to be just about the right amount and done in a classy way but SW is writing adolescent filth in "Kisser." It does nothing to help the story line, it's not really believable and it's really distracting from a reader's point of view. His plot's are getting pretty weak, maybe that's why all the sex-talk. It seems like he's cranking out 3 or 4 new books a year now which might explain why sloppy editing is falling through the cracks and he forgetting the names of his own characters.

I'm really disappointed in this guy. He used to be a pretty good "action thriller" writer. He's got street criminals using bridge-table; high society vernacular usually found only in the Hamptons, he's still calling dope peddlers "dealers." It's 2010 for crying out loud! This is just another SW book that doesn't have enough of the author's "glue" to hold pieces together that don't fit together in the first place. I can't believe I'm the only one who's seen the decline in the quality of his writing. It's sad.

No action thriller here. You had a great run Stu, time to retire. Juvenile Fiction.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shame on you and publishers weekly too, February 16, 2010

By 

Lisa Baker (South Carolina) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kisser (Stone Barrington, No. 17) (Hardcover)

With all due respect, This is by far the worst book I have ever read from this author. There is so much wrong with it , but primarily that it got a starred review from pub. weekly.. That disturbs me the most as I thought they were impartial.. Perhaps not.
First off... The entire story revolves around Stone getting sex constantly. I mean constantly. there really is no other story.. a few bad guys, a few good cops (that he has sex with) an actress, he also has sex with, and another art gallery employee he has sex with. the plot is extremely thin.. if there is even one.. 2 bad guys.. drugs, a ponzi scheme.. wooo. thats about it. I paid 9.99 on the kindle to read this.. I would seriously not buy this book.. As he says in all his books.. buy it at a garage sale.. but only if youre really desperate. ITS THAT BAD.. AND AGAIN SHAME ON YOU PUBLISHERS WEEKLY FOR YOUR REVIEW.. I would like to know who EXACTLY wrote that piece of garbage.. Just want to make sure I never read or believe their reviews again. Sorry , Its that bad.
Lisa

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Real Bomb, February 1, 2010

By 

TD (Summerville, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kisser (Stone Barrington, No. 17) (Hardcover)

After page 106 of this thin 288 page book I finally had to stop reading this very weak novel. I was more than 1/3 of the way through the book and nothing happened. It was just page after page of fine dining, how homes were furnished, Ralph Lauren furniture, Ritz Carlton style lodgings and upscale artwork and yes, some character development of 3-4 different woman. I still did not know who the story was about.

I find it hard to believe that Stuart Woods authored this book, but his picture is on the back cover. I can only imagine the publishing pressure to author 2+ books annually have drained the author's imagination. This is the same thing that I believe happened to John Grisham in recently released "Ford County". People, save your money. If you really think you need to read this book, at least, put it on hold at the local library.