Collateral Damage

October 8, 2012
In Woods’s high-octane 25th Stone Barrington thriller, which picks up where 2012’s Severe Clear left off, terrorist Jasmine Shazaz orchestrates a series of bombings designed to avenge her brothers, Ari and Mohammad Shazaz, who met untimely ends in the previous book. Her first salvo, in London, kills the foreign secretary and triggers alarms that have assistant CIA director Holly Barker talking to MI6 head Felicity Devonshire and sharing the suspicion that Jasmine is responsible. The elusive Jasmine escapes capture in London and leaves a trail of carnage before moving to New York City and other targets. Meanwhile, Barrington and Barker continue their affair; Lt. Dino Bachetti and his flame, fellow NYPD officer Viv DeCarlo, play important roles; and series fans will find significant changes marking the lives of several series characters. Woods’s blend of exciting action, sophisticated gadgetry, and last-minute heroics doesn’t disappoint. Agent: Anne Sibbald, Janklow & Nesbit.

March 25, 2013
In Woods’s previous installment of his Stone Barrigton series, America’s secret weapon, Manhattan lawyer Barrington, stopped a terrorist attempt to kill the president in a Los Angeles hotel bombing. Now, the sister of two of the dead terrorists, Jasmine Shazaz, is on a London-to-New York revenge tour, blowing up British and American bastions of diplomacy with shocking ease. Tony Roberts, a frequent narrator of the Barrington chronicles, turns in a charismatic performance in this audio edition. His glib, fast-paced delivery makes even Woods’s 1960s-style playful sex banter sound contemporary. And his naturalistic narrative skills help to turn this somewhat predictable yarn into thrilling and very listenable entertainment. A Putnam hardcover.