Family Jewels

At the start of bestseller Woods’s breezy 37th Stone Barrington novel (after Scandalous Behavior), wealthy divorcee Carrie Fiske hires the New York City detective turned attorney to dissuade her ex-husband, Harvey Biggers, from stalking her and to remove Biggers from her will. Stone tasks his associate, former boxer Fred Flicker, with the first assignment, and he accepts Carrie’s invitation for a weekend of business and pleasure in the Hamptons so that he might undertake the second. Stone revises the document, but barely has time to sample his lobster salad before discovering a dead body with ties to Biggers. He’s soon embroiled in a mystery that involves a priceless object with cultural and historical significance. Tony trappings, colorful characters, and a magnificent McGuffin provide ample distraction from the occasional dangling plot thread and the implausible ease and frequency with which Stone lands lucrative cases and beds beautiful women. Dry-witted dialogue keeps the tone light and drives this glossy, modern take on the classic detective story. [em]Author tour. Agent: Anne Sibbald, Janklow & Nesbit. (Apr.) [/em]