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Blood Orchid (Holly Barker Novels) (Hardcover)

by Stuart Woods (Author) "Sara Tennant arrived at her office building in downtown Miami promptly at seven forty-five A.M., as was her habit..." (more)
Key Phrases: cellphone number, stuart woods, seven wood, Blood Orchid, Harry Crisp, Orchid Beach (more...)
3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (46 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In Woods's 24th novel-his third in the Holly Barker series (after Orchid Blues)-the prolific bestselling novelist revisits savvy, sexy ex-MP officer (and her dog, Daisy), now police chief of the small Florida east coast town of Orchid Beach. As the fast-paced but fluffy and rather predictable thriller begins, two out of three Miami bidders for a glitzy, gated residential complex with golf course are shot and killed. The third bidder, orchid fancier Ed Shine, a former New York real estate mogul and new resident of Orchid Beach, narrowly escapes the same fate. Shine renames his newly acquired property Blood Orchid, after an exotic hybrid blossom he has developed-a name that seems gruesomely prophetic when it turns out that the Miami mob may be involved with the property. Meanwhile, Barker, investigating the case and trying to discover who is bugging her beach house, spots the intruder's van from the plane of her flying instructor, Ginny (who is also her dad Ham's new bedmate). The two women make an emergency landing on the beach and scare the perp away, but his body is soon found floating in the Indian River. The trail leads to a shifty Cuban locksmith in Fort Lauderdale and the late intruder's fiance‚. Enter a Miami restaurateur with mob ties, and corpses pile up as the plot thickens. Woods writes strong action scenes, but his usual flair for tight, creative plotting is sadly missed here.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Forget Sneaky Pie and Koko here's a detective who gets help from her Doberman, Daisy. In her third outing, Chief of Police Holly Barker battles a nasty real estate scam even as she recovers from the loss of her fianc .
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (October 14, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0399149295
  • ISBN-13: 978-0399149290
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #797,165 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Sara Tennant arrived at her office building in downtown Miami promptly at seven forty-five A.M., as was her habit. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
cellphone number, stuart woods, seven wood
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Blood Orchid, Harry Crisp, Orchid Beach, Palmetto Gardens, Carlos Alvarez, New York, Trini Rodriguez, Hurd Wallace, Phil Sweat, Willard Smith, Holly Barker, Grant Early, Pedro Alvarez, Indian River, Pio Pellegrino, Marina Santos, Fort Lauderdale, Howard Singleton, Santa Maria, South Beach, Miami Bullseye, Miss Barker, North Bridge, Range Rover, Saint Marks
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Customer Reviews

46 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (13)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (6)
1 star:
 (9)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (46 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Stuart Woods Comes Through Again, October 14, 2002
By JC "JC" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
Understand this: Stuart Woods is not Ernest Hemingway or William Faulkner, nor does he try to be. Woods writes two books every year and his readers enjoy something that not many authors can promise. He never fails to entertain. Some of his books are better than others. Chiefs, for example, is one of the better mysteries that I've ever read, while The Short Forever was just decent. One thing readers can count on from Woods is that he will deliver an interesting, exciting, entertaining thriller regardless of his subject.

Blood Orchid is the third novel centered around Holly Barker. Of Woods' three recurring characters (Will Lee, Stone Barrington, and Holly Barker), Holly is probably the least compelling to most readers, though some prefer her to Stone. Despite this, she is nonetheless an interesting protagonist who draws the reader into the story and has us pulling for her to succeed.

The storyline is typical Woods with few twists and turns - some of which will surprise, while some of which will be picked out by savvy readers. I've read all 25 of Stuart Woods novels, and while I generally feel that his earlier works are far superior to his later books, I find that if I open his newest book knowing what to expect and allowing myself to be entertained, I am seldom disappointed.

Also recommended: Chiefs, Run Before the Wind, and White Cargo by Stuart Woods for readers who want to sample his early stuff. Anything by James Patterson or Jeffery Deaver. Keep an eye out for Dirty Work, the new Stone Barrington novel in April 2003.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as previous books, November 13, 2002
By malcolm edge (Perrysburg Ohio) - See all my reviews
I am a big fan of Stuart Woods and have read most of his works including all since the mid-1990's. This is not as good as his previous Holly Barker or even Stone Barrington books. Like an earlier reviewer, I skimmed the last 20 or so pages as I was bored, which is very unlike Stuart Woods.

I would still recommend this book but I expected more creativity: this book basically has already been written in an earlier book.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Gotta love Stuart Woods!..., January 25, 2003
As the third book in the Holly Barker series, I believe Blood Orchid is the best yet!

Still recovering from the shock of Jackson's death and trying to move on with her life, Holly must now deal with attacks on her own life! The book opens with Palmetto Gardens up for sale, and the high-bidders in a pool of blood. Enter Ed Shine, the highest bidder left alive, with a hefty 60 million purchase! Palmetto Gardens becomes Blood Orchid Estates, and the corpses start piling up.

There are several attempts made at Holly's own life, and her new boyfriend/under cover FBI friend is not much help, since he and Harry Crisp (making an appearance in each book of the series) are both with-holding information from her...not to mention that someone has bugged her house.

Soon the intruder ends up dead in the river and Barker begins to investigate. She ends up south of Orchid Beach with possible Mob involvement, a dead Russian, a suspicious restaurant, and more and more dead bodies.

Holly must determine who is bugging her and Ham's houses, who is trying to kill her, and why. Is Ed Shine and Blood Orchid involved? Or is this stemming from a past case and someone Holly put behind bars?

The story starts with murder and ends with murder. You will have to read to find out who survives!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth Reading
Not Woods' best but still a good read. I've been reading all of his novels in order and, for the first time, my initial choice as to the identity of bad guy was right. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Randy H. Smith

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice action, weak plot
The Margin
I like Woods' action scenes, and I like Holly Barker, she's a great female protagonist--smart, sexy and tough. But, this plot is weak and easily anticipated. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Marvin Wiebener

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Way to Spend an Afternoon
I listened to this book as a book on CD and was not disappointed. I'd listened to one of the Stone Barrington books and was only marginally impressed. Read more
Published on December 9, 2006 by Leanne Burroughs

2.0 out of 5 stars Holly Barker is an idiot.
In this one, small town Police Chief Holly Barker is faced with possible big time mob connections. Is it drugs? Money laundering? Simply high-stakes real estate? Read more
Published on September 26, 2006 by D. M. Annunziata

4.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent Holly Barker novel!
This is Holly's last job in Orchid Beach as Chief of Police before she joins the CIA. It's an excellent story, as all of Stuart Woods' stories are and Stu must know some great... Read more
Published on August 23, 2006 by Kelleigh Nelson

3.0 out of 5 stars BLOOD ORCHID - DOESNT REALLY SMELL!!!!
This is a first read by me of Stuart Woods. I found it an entertaining, quick read with a lot of constant action.

Holly and Grant were very amusing. Read more
Published on August 13, 2005 by Carol

3.0 out of 5 stars Not that bad
I am a huge Stuart Woods fan and like most of his books. This one is just so-so. It is one of those books that if you have a flight to Denver from Fort Lauderdale and have a day... Read more
Published on May 31, 2005 by Patrick W. Kelley

2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre
I listened to the audio version of "Blood Orchid", featuring Holly Barker, chief of police in a small community in Florida. Read more
Published on September 25, 2004 by Reader

3.0 out of 5 stars The Holly Barker series seems to be declining...
Normally I'm a huge fan of this series, but as much as it pains me to say this I have to agree with some of the other reviews of this book. Read more
Published on August 1, 2004 by Lynette Weaver

1.0 out of 5 stars what the???
I LOVE Stuart Woods. I have read pretty near all of his books. However, this book bombed! WHY? Because it is just so far fetched it's unreal. Read more
Published on April 7, 2004 by kksox

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