Hot Mahogany - Dark Publications

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Product Description
One night at Elaines, Stone Barringtonback in Manhattan after chasing down the bad guys in the Caribbeanmeets Barton Cabot, older brother of his sometime ally, CIA boss Lance Cabot. Bartons career in army intelligence is even more top secret than his brothers, but hes suffering from amnesia following a random act of violence. Amnesia is a dangerous thing in a man whose memory is chockfull of state secrets, so Lance hires Stone to watch Bartons back. As Stone discovers, Barton is a spy with a rather unusual hobby: building and restoring antique furniture. The genteel world of antiques and coin dealers at first seems a far cry from Stones usual underworld of mobsters, murderers, and spies. But Barton also is a man with a past, and one event in particular in the jungles of Vietnam more than thirty years earlier is coming back to haunt his present in ways hed never expected. Stone soon finds out that Barton, and some shady characters of his acquaintance, may be hiding a lot more than just a few forged antiques.

Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Another winner for Woods September 23, 2008
15 out of 19 found this review helpful

An amusing romp through the surprisingly intriguing world of antiques and coin collecting, Woods' latest Stone Barrington mystery finds the popular sleuth back from the Caribbean at his favorite Manhattan eatery, Elaine's. There, he is approached by his CIA pal Lance Cabot, who asks him to keep an eye on his brother, Barton Cabot, an antique restorer who has partial amnesia after recently falling victim to a violent crime. Barton's former career in Army intelligence makes him a risk given his current affliction, but the plot takes a different turn when one of his pieces, worth tens of millions, is stolen from his workshop, a theft that might be related to a cache of gold coins smuggled out of Vietnam by Barton's old unit over thirty years ago during the war. An interesting premise paired with Woods' engaging cast of regulars make Hot Mahogany another winner in the Stone Barrington series.
Also recommended: A STRANGER LIES THERE - winner of the Malice Domestic Award for best first mystery, its protagonist is a former 70's radical whose part in an anti-Vietnam War action left three people dead. His past comes back to haunt him one morning in the form of a dead body on his front lawn.

5 out of 5 stars

Classic Woods September 29, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I have become a fan of Stuart Woods' novels after meeting him last January, and again last Saturday. Stone Barrington is his best selling series, and HOT MAHOGANY will add one more success to his accomplishments.

Elaine's is, as usual, a central focal point in the story. Barrington has more than his fare share of beautiful, willing women, and fine wine. Lance Barton' brother, Barton enters the story, and may become a lasting character in the series, as I hope will his latest lover, Tatiana Orlovsky.

As one should expect, the story has many twists, turns, and incorporates real events. Woods explains one of them in his acknowledgments, and I remembered reading about double eagle gold coins a few years back. The historical events pertaining to the double eagles in the story happened. HOT MAHOGANY is an enjoyable read, highly recommended for a rainy weekend, a long flight, or--if you have to break up your reading time--anytime.

Lee Boyland author of two techno-thrillers dealing with current events: Behold, an Ashen Horse and The Rings of Allah.

5 out of 5 stars

excellent thriller September 30, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

In Manhattan former police officer and now highly regarded lawyer Stone Barrington is in Elaine's restaurant with Dina Bochetti; they both are shocked to see Lance Cabot, CIA Deputy Director for Operations looking disheveled and foreworn. A few minutes later the real Lance arrives at the nightclub to the amazement of Stone and Dina; he explains his doppelganger is his older brother former army intelligence specialist Barton, who still suffers from an amnesia causing blow to the head.

Barton is also an artisan who makes antique reproductions, but when he gets to his workshop, he seems one of mahogany desks has been stolen; the original is a Goldbard-Townsend worth millions, but he is unsure whether the original or his replication was taken. He hires Stone to help him find it; Barton's theory is one of the men who served under him in Nam stole the desk because he was dissatisfied with his share of the contraband smuggled out of Viet Nam by the unit. While avoiding jealous and cuckold lovers and still making love to a variety of women, Stone accompanied by Dina investigate Barton's allegations, but only the amnesic can take them to the perpetrator.

As always a Stuart Woods novel is a special treat and HOT MAHOGANY is no exception. There are many amusing scenes especially since Stone consistently thinks with his wrong head and ends up taking it up the shorts. From the opening page, the action begins and never stops keeping the audience on the edge of their seats whether Stone dodges a lover or someone trying to end his investigation. Though Stone in this thriller is much more a sleuth than a lawyer fans will enjoy Stone's look at the dangerous world of antique sales.

Harriet Klausner

1 out of 5 stars

horrible October 13, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

What a waste of time and money. I have read all of Wood's books, but feel this one was just a waste. I couldn't follow the characters, the story line was dull, the plot predictable. Stone represents everything that today's man should not. Has he heard of AIDS, herpes, or any other number of STD's? It just was not believeable. I did not even finish the book.

3 out of 5 stars

A pretty good pot boiler September 29, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful

Hot Mahogany feels to me like it's a pot-boiler written on autopilot. It touches all the right stereotypical bases to gain the maximum mass-market appeal. It's filled with sexual innuendo that after a while becomes boring. It's written with an eighth grade vocabulary, sentence structure, writing style and dialogue. If you're looking for any sort of literary experience, you won't find it in this novel. Nevertheless, after having said all that, it *is* a pretty good story. So -- three stars.

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