Insatiable Appetites

Stone Barrington faces unusual problems in bestseller Woods’s rousing 32nd novel featuring the high-powered New York City attorney (after 2014’s Paris Match). After celebrating the election of his friend Kate Lee to the U.S. presidency, Stone is saddened by the death of his elderly mentor, Eduardo Bianchi. Because of Eduardo’s rumored past mob connections, settling the estate is not simple—and brings Dolce, Bianchi’s crazy daughter, back from the convent in Italy where she has been confined. Meanwhile, Evan Hills, a “first-term Republican congressman from Pennsylvania,” goes public with a story that will taint his party—and even Stone can’t save him from paying a high price for doing so. Stone discovers that a lot of money is floating around, and plenty of people are used to getting their own way. With such a long-running series, the huge backstory could be overwhelming, but Woods insures that new readers won’t get lost. Agent: Anne Sibbald, Janklow & Nesbit. (Jan.)