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Hit List: A Stone Barrington Novel

Review

Hit List: A Stone Barrington Novel

At the beginning of HIT LIST, Stone Barrington receives an envelope containing a “hit list” with this message: “Dead, no special order, starting soon. Figure it out.” He immediately calls his best friend, Dino Bacchetti, the New York City police commissioner, along with his other contacts in law enforcement and the government. All of these people are ready to help Stone at a moment’s notice. “Everyone on the list was an employee at one time at Strategic Services, a private security firm, except for Stone, though he had done consulting work for the company.” It turns out that the killer, Sig Larkin, is a disgruntled former employee. Stone’s group goes into high gear now that they have a viable suspect to pursue.

"Readers will find themselves on the edge of their seat as each event unfolds in this tightly plotted thriller."

The first victim on the list to die is a skater on the ice at Rockefeller Center. More people are killed, and the body count rises with the level of suspense generated by the chase. And what a wild, wide-ranging chase it is. Stone is an extremely rich man. A partner at Woodman & Weld, a high-powered law firm, he has an airplane, among other expensive “toys,” including a bulletproof Bentley. He also owns several houses around the world.

Stone and some of his buddies fly to different destinations to keep him safe. But no matter where they go, Larkin is one step ahead of them. He keeps getting away, leaving dead people in his wake, some of whom are not even on the hit list --- they simply can be considered collateral damage. Larkin was a lottery winner and has a great deal of money to spend while hiding out. He is “an expert at evasion in more ways than one, and the international cat-and-mouse hunt…has Stone questioning if he has become the predator or the prey.”

As usual in Stone’s life, regardless of the state of affairs, he always finds respite in the arms of a coterie of willing women. In this, the 53rd installment of the series, he is able to touch base with his long-time paramour Holly Barker, who is running for President of the United States. She is under orders from her team not to meet with Stone.

Readers will find themselves on the edge of their seat as each event unfolds in this tightly plotted thriller. Whether you are a fan or a newcomer to Stuart Woods and his work, you will be swept up in HIT LIST, turning pages as fast as you can.

Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum on March 20, 2020

Hit List: A Stone Barrington Novel
by Stuart Woods

  • Publication Date: February 9, 2021
  • Genres: Adventure, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
  • Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
  • ISBN-10: 0593083237
  • ISBN-13: 9780593083239