Santa Fe Edge

Santa Fe Edge by Stuart Woods

Ed Eagle—the six foot seven, take-no-prisoners Santa Fe attorney—is no stranger to murder, corruption, or organized crime—both north and south of the border. His home in Santa Fe, a picturesque desert town where the wealthy enjoy the good life, seems like a welcome retreat from the grit and crime of the big cities.

But looks can be deceiving.

A puzzling murder in a golfer’s hacienda brings in a new client for Ed, but while his time is spent unraveling a complex web of sex, money, and false identity, a much more dangerous threat lurks. A ruthless and implacable enemy who has proved more than a match for him in the past has returned to Santa Fe, and this time she wants nothing less than all-out retribution.

--Santa Fe Edge
by Stuart Woods
Copyright © 2010 by Stuart Woods

My Review

Hmmm…that’s the book I would like to have read.

A more appropriate synopsis of Santa Fe Edge would read: Barbara Eagle, Ed’s ex wife, escapes from her Mexican jail and finds her way back to Santa Fe. She still has murder on her mind with Ed as her target. But when her hired hit-man fails his task, she figures she’ll finally have to take matters into her own hands and do the deed herself. A call from her lawyer, however, changes her plans. Will she finally give up her vendetta against Ed now that she’s inherited a fortune?


Okay, on with the review of the actual story…

Ed Eagle takes on a new client, a golfer whose wife is found dead in their bed. He was out of town, playing in a tournament, so it seems pretty cut-and-dried. And it is. The golfer’s story continues, but without Ed’s involvement. Oh, and the new secretary he hires—and beds—is out to steal his money.

Barbara Eagle returns and continues her machinations. She’s pretty busy throughout this story but only has one encounter with Ed, and that’s through a hit-man she hires. The rest of the time she’s bouncing from house to house and bed to bed. The truth about her now-deceased husband’s will comes out and she’s set to inherit a fortune, one that may just make her give up her murdering ways.

Cupie Dalton and Vittorio, investigator friends of Ed’s, are on Barbara’s trail, trying to keep Ed safe and alive.

Teddy Fay—a refugee from another Stuart Woods series—and his girlfriend Lauren Cade set up housekeeping in Santa Fe, all while successfully dodging one of Lance Cabot’s agents.

And…that’s about it. Nothing much else really happens in this novel. It felt more like a placeholder, something to read while you’re waiting for the next book in the series to come out.

Simple and concise like all Stuart Woods novels, this one left me scratching my head. Not because I couldn’t figure the story out…I was wondering exactly why someone wasted paper printing it and wondering why I spent my money on it.

I give this story TWO STARS.

Hot Mahogany

Hot Mahogany by Stuart Woods

While dining one night at Elaine’s, Stone Barrington—back in Manhattan after chasing down the bad guys in the Caribbean—meets Barton Cabot, older brother of his sometime ally, CIA boss Lance Cabot. Barton’s career in army intelligence is even more top secret than his brother’s, but he’s 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 Barton’s 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 Stone’s 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 he’d 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.

--Hot Mahogany by Stuart Woods, Copyright ©2008 by Stuart Woods, published by Putnam Books

My Review

Hot Mahogany is the 15th book in Stuart Woods’ Stone Barrington series. The story opens at Elaine’s, a tony New York restaurant that Stone dines at regularly. He’s surprised to see an older version of his friend, CIA director Lance Cabot, standing at the door. The situation is explained when Lance himself arrives and speaks to Stone quietly. The other man is his older brother, Barton, whom Lance himself hasn’t seen for many years. Barton is suffering a mild case of amnesia…could Stone look after him for a day or two while Lance takes care of a very important, very classified situation overseas? Of course, Stone agrees and Lance departs, leaving Barton in Stone’s very capable hands.

Using his police contacts, Stone is able to find out where Barton lives. As luck would have it, Barton’s home is not far from Stone’s second home in Washington, CT. The next morning, Barton is feeling much more like himself. His memory hasn’t fully returned, but he feels well enough, so Stone drives him home. Barton shows Stone around his home, including the barn where he works as a furniture builder and restorer. But Barton isn’t just an ordinary carpenter. He’s an expert at reproducing antique American furniture. His work is so good, noted furniture experts can’t tell the difference between his work and the original.
He shows Stone a piece he keeps hidden in his workshop, a mahogany secretary made in the 18th century by Goddard and Townsend, a Colonial American furniture maker. The problem is, he’s unsure if the secretary in his barn is the original or the copy. The other is in his van, which was stolen the night of the accident that caused his amnesia. Barton asks Stone to help him locate his stolen van so he can recover his missing secretary. Stone agrees to help.

But there’s more to this tale than just a missing piece of furniture. Becoming an expert furniture reproducer takes not only talent, but money. And Barton has money. Lots of money. What exactly are the origins of Barton’s wealth? What happened to his promising career as a U.S. Marine during the Viet Nam war? Why did he disappear from his brother’s life more than 20 years ago and stay “missing” all those years? Who was responsible for his “accident” and his stolen van? Is the original or the reproduction secretary lost along with the van or is the piece about to make an appearance on the auction circuit, where it could fetch as much as 25 million dollars? And how does Stone’s technical go-to guy, Bob Kantor, connect to Barton Cabot?

As if solving those mysteries wasn’t enough to keep Stone busy, there’s also his ever complicated love life. A former lover of his, Eliza, is set to walk down the aisle shortly, a feat Stone is sure is only a ploy to get his attention, while he begins to date one woman with a volatile soon-to-be ex, and then another who appears to be more his type of woman. No woman manages to stay in his life for long, but will Tatiana prove to be the exception to the rule?

I love Stuart Woods’ Stone Barrington novels. They’re not your typical shoot-em-up whodunits or your typical lawyer-centered mysteries with a lot of law-speak. Stone is a simple, straightforward man who gets involved in the most complicated scenarios and always manages to come out clean in the end with barely a hair out of place and usually with a woman on his arm. There is an underlying continuity thread among the series, but each story stands alone and each story is a terrific read. I very strongly recommend Stuart Woods’ books, primarily the Stone Barrington and Ed Eagle series.

I give this story FIVE STARS.