Carnal Curiosity

For a while now, Broadway and film actor Roberts has brightened Woods’s adventures of lawyer-about-town Stone Barrington with a breezy narration that also carries more than a fair amount of charm. It’s almost magical the way his interpretation of Stone (who, as Woods frequently mentions, drives classic cars, dines regularly at the Four Seasons, and owns art worth millions) sound like a regular Joe. His best pal, Dino, the new NYPD chief of detectives, is even more down-to-earth—a tough guy whom Roberts voices with growly good humor. The president of the United States and First Lady, Stone’s close friends, are made to sound like a witty and droll couple. In this pleasantly meandering series addition, POTUS’s term is coming to an end and Ms. POTUS decides to throw her chapeaux into the ring. But that’s just one thread that hangs from Stone’s much too hasty reaction to the curiosity of the title. In any case, the versatile Roberts makes even the most extraneous portions of the novel seem vitally interesting. A Putnam hardcover. (Apr.)