Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Santa Fe Dead by Stuart Woods


When last we encountered Ed Eagle, he had been the target of a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by his wife, Barbara, the ultimate black widow. But when Barbara escapes from police custody, Ed knows that not only will his life be in danger but also the life of his new girlfriend, and, of course, of any rich man unlucky enough to be lured into Barbara's web. To add to his troubles, Ed has taken on a new client, Don Wells, who may or may not have murdered his own wife and son.

From the posh resorts of southern California to the New Mexico desert and the seedy hotels of Tijuana, Ed Eagle will follow every lead--and hope that he doesn't wind up Santa Fe Dead.

I am have been a Stuart Woods fan for quite a while and read all four of his series, but this is my least favorite by far. Ed Eagle has spent the first two books in the series trying to avoid being killed by his wife. I hope that the next book in the series takes a different direction. I don't see the series lasting very long if the same plot keeps being rewritten over and over. The sideline mystery in this book with Ed's client was decent, but nothing amazing.

I also am not particularly fond of Ed's character. He seems to be a Stone Barrington knock off, without the charm. Overall, this series has been a bit of a let down and I hope the next book is better. 2.5 stars

2 comments:

Sandy Nawrot said...

Glad to hear from you on this one. I am a reader of the Stone Barrington series, although I've been less than thrilled with the last few of those. I had not ventured into this series, however,and probably won't now. There is nothing worse than having a stack of TBR books a mile high and then reading something mediocre!

Vic Goodman said...

If you enjoy books by Stuart Woods you may be interested to know that many books by him are available as audio books.

Stuart Woods audio books