Lucid Intervals (Stone Barrington) ebook

I was the one who participated so much in the negative reviews of SW's last book, "Kisser".

First of all, I'm old and have bad eyes. I will buy the Kindle or audio book version first or, if not available, the paper book. The lack of availability of a particular format does not stop me for one minute if I want to read a book I've been waiting for. If you've kept up with events in the publishing world since the intro of the IPad, you would know that a renewed 4-way struggle exists between authors, paper book publishers, Apple and Amazon about splitting up the financial pie on electric books. This book would have been available on Kindle, on day one, had it not been for the recent strong-arming by Apple of paper book publishers and Amazon's price increase on many of the Kindle books due to the "electronic book wars," intensified with the intro of the IPad. Has anyone noticed Kindle prices went up in April on many of their books? Hello! The last person to blame, BTW, is the Author. They deal from the position of least strength.

But, in my opinion, this is no more the place to snivel and whine about that than it is to write 15 paragraphs in a blow-by-blow of the books plot or (my favorite) to write", I received the book in just a few days and it was "as represented" and I would buy from this seller again." This is not eBay, for crying out loud. Here is where we're supposed to write about, "HOW WE LIKED THE BOOK!!"

Upset about the diluted plots and weak character development of some of the later SW books and, especially, his sex scenes that had become, in my opinion, juvenile pornography, I had threatened to quit buying hos books. However, I ended up not being able to do that. When Lucid Intervals (L.I.) hit the streets, I'm really glad I gave Stuart one last chance. I thought his treatment of sex in L.I. was perfect and very tasteful! Only once did I find myself cringing and telling myself, "This scene would have been just as good without the sex". Good for you, Mr. Woods! I don't know if he reads the Amazon reviews but with L.I., I felt that he must have. This book was "back to classic Stuart Woods" and I'm really glad to have him back!!

I also liked the reintroduction of Herbie, one of Woods newest characters. He makes for a lot of fun in the book and also makes it easy to overlook Stone and Dino's constant and boring "fine dining" at Elaine's. I've never liked the food or conversation so well I'd be willing to eat dinner in the same place more than twice a month. Considering Stones huge appetite for sex, I continue to be surprised that he eats dinner at the same place every night. I also have never been able to understand why Woods writes the Stone character as so "upper crust" with his language. Stone's hardly a descendent of the Asters. I always wonder, when starting a new Woods book, how long before I'll read that dreaded line of Stones, "I'm of council...." He's a "Fixer" for crying out loud, who deals with thugs, gangsters and hoodlums who shoot at him all day. I wish Woods would quit making him sound like a Blue Blood. I think I hear it 3 times in this book.

SW writes about flying and boats because he is an avid and very accomplished pilot and yachtsman and, as a result, knows a lot about both. Why wouldn't he include it in his plots? I liked the parts in the book about flying because I'm interested in flying too.

L.I. was true SW and I enjoyed it a lot. The "Old Boy" still has it! He is coming to the Portland area for a signing May 5th and, although I don't usually drive at night, I'm going to figure out a way to be there just to tell him I really felt he'd given us what we paid for with this book and that I liked it a lot. We don't buy Woods books because he's the new Hemingway, we buy them to be entertained and, unlike Kisser and some of his more recent efforts, :ucid Intervals was pure Stuart Woofs, I was very entertained with the book and would strongly recommend it to others.

Michael Roeper, Portland, Oregon

I love reading the kindle versions of Stuarts books because I tear through them in a day and I like to keep them on my iphone for meetings. I noticed this one doesn't have the kindle version and I think its a shame for devoted stuart woods readers so please..get the kindle version ASAP!

I am very happy to give this book a 5-star rating after giving the last "Stone Barrington Thriller" a rating of only 1! This story brings back Stone's favorite British Spy, Felicity Devonshire or :Dame Felicity as she is now called having been promoted to the top spy in one of Brittains unnamed Intelligence agencies. Unfortunately she brings Stone an assignment that will pay him lucratively but may end her career and both of their lives! The story is interesting in many ways. Stone meets the head of a private US security company who, like Stone, is interested in flying and even flies his own small jet. He hires Stone for a brief assignment, blessed by the law firm Stone works for, and for which he must get a rating in the small Cessna Mustang jet. Stone is happy to take on this assignment, of course. He is also working for the lovely British spy, Felicity Devonshire, and she agrees he can probably find a use for that jet on the assignment he is doing for her since it involves travelling to Maine and back to New York. We get a good luck at a fairly realistic ground and flight course for Stone's transition to the jet which those of us who are pilots can enjoy and a couple of flights into and out of the short 2450 ft runway near his house in Ilesboro Maine. The story presents a good look at the question of what can a small jet do for a company today that cannot also be done and done well with a small turboprop such as the one Stone already has. It may be more fun for the pilots involved but will not make much difference to the guy who pays the bills (except if he is also the pilot and then its a no-brainer)! In the middle of the story we are briefly entertained by Stone's ex-wife, Dolce, who has been having bouts of mental instability since their brief marriage in Italy a few years ago. She gets in a few well-aimed stabs with her knife at her own and Felicity's bodyguards.

There are some very interesting and challenging happenings for Stone and Felocity. Stone seems to have solved the mystery to which he was assignend by Felicity. The result is that well-trained sniper comes after Felicity and the guy who gave Stone the flying lessons. Felicity is made aware of her danger when a snipers bullet gets stuck in the window in Stone's Maine cottage. Fortunately his cousin had installed bullet-proof glass in that house when he built it. The next day Stone finds he is also a target when felicity's former assistant comes to Stone's house and tries to shoot him with a pistol. Of all people, Herbie saves him! The private security firm provides a Gulfstream 550 jet to take Felicty back home to Brittain to straighten out the Prime Minister on who are the good guys and who are not! She brings Stone along as her attorney and protector. The PM assures her that she retains her old position. Stone has to go back to the US without Felocity (who will be busy). But while preparing to spend a lonely night in his favorite London hotel, He remembers the very pretty pilot of the Gulfstream and wonders if she is lonely...