Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have been reading the Stone Barrington series since the first one was published. I have accepted them for what they are which is a quick, light weight read good for a day at the pool. Unfortunately this latest attempt does not belong at the pool but more like in the pool. This does not even qualify as a "mystery" as there is no mystery about the identity or motive behind the murder that occurs. In addition the murder occurs more than half way through the book. THe story line (such as it is) revolves around Stone getting to know the son that he fathered with Arrington Calder 16 years before. And what a son he is! Perfection in every way! Smart, innovative, well-mannered, polite, a budding genius who has filmed and edited his first film at age 16. Peter (the son) is so perfect that he made me want to reach for a barf bag. There is however one major fault with both Peter and Stone and that is there absolute lack of any real human emotion from either one of them. When the murder occurs neither one of them seems to spend any time at all grieving for the deceased. They just pick themselves off, dust themselves off and get along with the important matters such as the reading of the will and getting Peter accepted into the Yale Drama School. If this is what Mr. Woods is turning out nowadays and calling it writing then perhaps he needs to consider retirement as his next option. Mr. Woods and his editor and publisher need to hang their collective heads in shame over this one.