Stone Dancer (Windsor Selections) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Murray Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1995 | Series: Windsor Selections

Racing to Beirut to answer a distress call from a beautiful double agent, British spymaster David Jardine is caught in a Mossad ambush and agrees to help them catch an international counterfeiter. 25,000 first printing. Major ad/promo.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Even though this far-flung, fast-moving second novel features a higher body count and more betrayals than most Jacobean melodramas, Smith's control of his narrative remains impeccable throughout. The SIS's David Jardine, returning from the author's first spy thriller (Devil's Juggler) but newly plucked from the field and relegated to a desk job, is called to Beirut by his top agent there, only to be kidnapped by the Mossad. The Israelis tip him to two ex-agents (Mossad and KGB) who are running ever more grandiose financial scams with the ultimate goal of wrecking a major world currency. Complicating matters are some betrayals: Jardine's agent (and former lover) Alisha Abdul-Fetteh is doubling for the Israelis, and his boss, Sir Steven McCrae, wants to sack him. The plot focuses alternately on Jardine (who travels to Russia and New York) and the criminal masterminds (who visit St. Petersburg, Sicily, Washington, Fort Knox and New York), with the action climaxing in a bloody cliffhanger set in a Manhattan loft. In the shadows are the Mossad, the KGB, the new Russian mafia and a group of old Communist hardliners, each with its own agenda and each portrayed as vividly as are the scenic backdrops. Even minor characters have terrific bios here; one British spy who aids Jardine is described as "Renfield, to Jardine's Count Dracula." Other touches of humor add to the satisfying fun, but the compelling and appealing center of this very fine thriller remains Jardine, a bit of a scamp but suave, brave, ruthless and smart-just what 007 would like to be if he ever grew up. BOMC alternate selection; major ad/promo.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

During the 1980s, there were many popular novels describing financial heists and scams. Smith's (The Devil's Juggler, LJ 3/1/93) second novel captures the piratical essense of these insouciant tales, adds the treacherous veneer of today's espionage affairs, and comes up with a geopolitical thriller of irreproachable entertainment. A courtly British spymaster gets wind of a series of counterfeits and frauds carried out against banks, corporations, and governments. Tugging gently on the subtle clues, he eventually predicts a colossal coup whose target is the U.S. Treasury. Ducking and weaving among the agents of Israel, Beirut, the Sicilian mafia, and various U.S. bodies, the good guys don't always stay ahead of the bad guys, and the action moves with white-hot intensity. Masters like Len Deighton and John le Carre had better look to their laurels; Smith's assault on bestsellerdom seems like a sure thing. For all popular collections.
Barbara Conaty, Library of Congress
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745178340
• ISBN-13: 978-0745178349
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,867,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent Espionage Genre, April 2, 2005

By 

richard_t "richard_t" (Overseas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stone Dancer: Stone Dancer (Paperback)

Murray Smith's 1994 spy thriller is still a good read, but it was never a great one. British spy David Jardine saves the world by stopping a couple of disaffected spies --Israeli and Russian-- who turned to large-scale financial fraud. The plot is pretty good, as Jardine runs around in Beirut and Moscow and New York and lots of moving parts and loose threads get neatly tied up in the end. The problem is that Smith sometimes gets out ahead of himself and loses touch with reality. He uses all the old tried and true catch-phrases --writing about the "spy game" (can you imagine any spy calling it that? ) and calling the CIA "the Company". He also has some research breakdowns, saying "the Croatian Army" shelled Dubrovnik when it was the Serbs; having Led Zeppelin blaring during the 1968 Tet Offensive (Led Zep's first album came out in 1969). Just small stuff like that to make you feel like the author was just sort of wingin' it. He also tries too hard with the protagonist, David Jardine, who is alternately world-weary, a one-man army, a fantastic lover, a quoter of Shakespeare, getting too old for the "spy game", more clever by half than his bosses... well, you get the picture. Finally, the author, a British military man by background, stumbles when he tries to use American dialect and phrases, with the result being an odd mixture of British-Americanisms that makes you feel like you're watching an Austin Powers movie.

Not really a bad book, just sort of hastily written. Par for the course for the espionage genre, a good read but not lasting litereature.

Not sure why Amazon insists on listing the author as "Tom" Smith. Hello !! The author is Murray Smith. Thanks !

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars David Jardine returns., March 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Stone Dancer (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) (Hardcover)

While this book is not the taut thriller its predecessor "Devil's Juggler" was, it certainly stands out from the crowd of rather bland post-cold war spy novels. We see the world of David Jardine a little more intimately this time. His characterization, as well as that of Nancy Lucco is perhaps the strength of the work.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still a place for the Cold War Warriors, June 24, 2005

By 

M. A. Ramos (Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stone Dancer (Hardcover)

This fast paced novel is based around the SIS's David Jardine. A return performance, first seen in the 'Devil's Juggler'. This time he has a desk job, but must go to Beirut to meet one of his first agents. Where the Mossad tips them that two ex-agents, one from the Mossad and one from the now non-existent KGB, are running large counterfit stings that appear to be leading to the destabalization of a major world currency.

Jardine is the centeral character, and he interfaces with agents of the Mossad, ex-KGB, SIS and various US angencies. He tries and track down these two criminal masterminds before they can do any real damage. He is not always ahead of these criminals. And it makes for an exciting geopolitical adventure.