Stuart Woods RIP
Guilty Pleasures – the Novels of Stuart Woods
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Woods
One of my favorite writers is Stuart Woods. Boy, can the dude pump them out! In the last count, he has written over 80 books almost all of the best sellers and he has been pumping out one to two a year since he first got published in the late ’70s.
He died this week at age 83. He wrote over 90 books in his life and I have read most of them.
He started out writing “Chiefs” which became a movie as well. The main character is a police chief in a small town in Georgia. The character reappears in many later novels, eventually becoming a two-term president, and in town, Delgado also appears as a place in many of his later novels. Most of his novels are set in NYC, Maine, Key West, Los Angeles, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Most of his books feature the exploits of Stone Barrington, an NYC high-society type who is a James Bond-like character. He is a retired NYC cop, a lawyer, a real estate investor, a part-time CIA agent, and a player with many love interests. He is also best friends with three presidents and the not-so-secret lover of the current President. He introduced me to Knob Creek bourbon which is now one of my favorite bourbons, and he is also partial to Martinis-made James Bond style.
In this alternative universe, the President serves two terms, his wife serves two terms, and her secretary of State is elected President. Stone is friends with them all.
Stone’s best friend is Dino Bachetti, his old NYC homicide partner who became NYC Police Commissioner and helps Stone out officially and unofficially over the years. He has had a lot of love interests including Holly Barker who was a former secretary of state and president.
Another recurring character is Ed Lee who is a friend of Stone who lives and works out of Santa Fe New Mexico. Ed Lee is a 6’8 former college basketball player who becomes an attorney.
My only criticism is that his books are very formalistic. At some point, someone is going to be able to program a computer to write novels and his novels would be a great place to start because I am sure that a computer could generate believable Stone Barrington novels. Having said that, his novels are still enjoyable.
He has written a few non-Stone Barrington novels stand-alone novels. One I enjoyed recently was Palindrome which is a psychological thriller set on an island off the South Carolina coast. Written in the mid 90’s I believe.
I often start a novel of his while waiting around in the PX for my wife to finish up, and throughout several visits, often finish the novel.
The following is a list of his novels, I bolded the ones I have read. One of my bucket list reading goals is to finish reading all of his novels, including the last two coming out this fall..
The list
Stuart Woods BOLD read
Stuart Woods Books in Order
Publication Order of Stone Barrington Books
| New York Dead | (1991) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Dirt | (1996) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Dead in the Water | (1997) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Swimming to Catalina | (1998) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Worst Fears Realized | (1999) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| L.A. Dead | (2000) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Cold Paradise | (2001) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Short Forever | (2002) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Dirty Work | (2003) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Reckless Abandon | (2004) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Two Dollar Bill | (2004) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Dark Harbor | (2006) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Fresh Disasters | (2007) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Shoot Him If He Runs | (2007) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Hot Mahogany | (2008) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Loitering with Intent | (2009) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Kisser | (2009) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Lucid Intervals | (2010) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Strategic Moves | (2010) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Bel-Air Dead | (2011) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Son of Stone | (2011) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| D.C. Dead | (2011) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Unnatural Acts | (2012) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Severe Clear | (2012) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Collateral Damage | (2012) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Unintended Consequences | (2013) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Doing a Hard Time | (2013) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Standup Guy | (2014) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Carnal Curiosity | (2014) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Cut and thrust | (2014) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Paris Match | (2014) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Insatiable Appetites | (2015) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Hot Pursuit | (2015) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Naked Greed | (2015) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Foreign Affairs | (2015) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Scandalous Behavior | (2016) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Family Jewels | (2016) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Dishonorable Intentions | (2016) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Sex, Lies & Serious Money | (2016) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Below the Belt | (2017) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Fast and Loose | (2017) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Indecent Exposure | (2017) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Quick & Dirty | (2017) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Unbound | (2018) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Shoot First | (2018) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Turbulence | (2018) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Desperate Measures | (2018) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| A Delicate Touch | (2018) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Wild Card | (2019) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Contraband | (2019) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Stealth | (2019) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Treason | (2020) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Hit List | (2020) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Choppy Water | (2020) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Shakeup | (2020) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Hush-Hush | (2020) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Double Jeopardy | (2021) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Class Act | (2021) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Foul Play | (2021) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Criminal Mischief | (2021) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Holly Barker Books
| Orchid Beach | (1998) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Orchid Blues | (2001) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Blood Orchid | (2002) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Reckless Abandon | (2004) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Iron Orchid | (2005) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Hothouse Orchid | (2009) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Ed Eagle Books
| Santa Fe Rules | (1992) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Short Straw | (2006) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Santa Fe Dead | (2008) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Santa Fe Edge | (2010) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Herbie Fisher Books
| Barely Legal(With Parnell Hall) | (2017) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Rick Barron Books
| The Prince of Beverly Hills | (2004) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Beverly Hills Dead | (2008) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Teddy Fay Books
| Smooth Operator(With Parnell Hall) | (2016) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Money Shot(With Parnell Hall) | (2018) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Skin Game(With Parnell Hall) | (2019) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Bombshell(With Parnell Hall) | (2020) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Jackpot(With Bryon Quarterboys) | (2021) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Will Lee Books
| Chiefs | (1981) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Run Before the Wind | (1983) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Deep Lie | (1986) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Grass Roots | (1989) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Run | (1995) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Capital Crimes | (2003) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Mounting Fears | (2008) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| Under the Lake | (1986) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| White Cargo | (1988) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Palindrome | (1990) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| L.A. Times | (1993) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Heat | (1994) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Dead Eyes | (1994) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Imperfect Strangers | (1995) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Choke | (1995) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| Blue Water, Green Skipper | (1977) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| A romantic’s guide to the country inns of Britain and Ireland | (1979) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
AI Program Writes Stone Barrington Book
I have often thought that someday an AI program will be able to write an effective thriller. I write to Stuart Woods and IBM proposing a challenge.
Big Blue and Stuart Woods would both write a Stone Barrington novel. A jury of readers and critics would read the result and determine which one was the computer version and which was the human version.
Stuart Woods took the challenge and IBM big blue went to work. IBM won the contest as the jurry thought the computer version was better.
About Stuart Woods:
Stuarts Woods is an American novelist. He was born in Georgia in 1938, and died in August, 2022. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1959. He then enrolled in the National Guard before moving to New York to start a career.
He then moved to London and spent a further 3 years working in advertising before deciding that he wanted a change and he began writing his first novel. It is at this time that he decided to move to Ireland where he lived a solitary lifestyle, only leaving his home to make money writing adverts for local television.
SailingWoods moved to Ireland in the 70s and this was where he fell in love with sailing. He spent many years competing in sailing competitions and learning how to be a better sailor. He finally bought his boat when his grandfather died and left him some money, so he could afford it. It was then that he took sailing more seriously and spent most of 1974 learning more about sailing.WritingWoods began writing about his experiences in his yacht races and he published 1977, the book Blue Water, Green Skipper. It seemed like he had found an ideal career based on the thing he loved most, sailing.Changing PlansHis second book was supposed to be about another boat race that he was due to take part in, but the race was canceled due to inclement weather, so he decided to drive around the UK and write a book about his adventures in the county inns.ChiefsWoods then went on to write his first novel called Chiefs. He made the mistake of selling the book to publishers unfinished because he thought he would have gotten a lot more for it had he waited until the book was finished.Norton was the company to publish the hardback, but he felt like the company let him down because they didn’t do much to promote the book. He then contacted Bentham Books, who published the paperback and it was much more successful.Charlton HestonIn 1983, the book was made into a tv series starring Charlton Heston and Danny Glover. It was aired by CBS over three nights and it ended up being nominated for three Emmy Awards.The popularity of the tv show meant that more people wanted to read the books and there was renewed interest in the paperback version of the books Woods won the Edgar Award for the Best First Novel.Series Over StandalonesWoods is one of those authors who are more focused on the series of novels over the standalone. His most popular series is the Stone Barrington Novels. He has just released his 27th novel in the series and he has written 3 more novels, which are set to be released in 2014.Who is Stone Barrington?Stone Barrington is a counsel for a law firm. After he finished college, he joined the police and served 14 years on the force. He left after disagreeing with his superiors and then got a job with the law firm. The novels tell the story of his exploits so far.In the Stone Barrington novels, Woods is often congratulated for getting the law procedures correct when he has no background in law himself. It is noticed a lot and one fan asked how he gets it all right. He indicates that he is a massive fan of law procedurals such as LA Law and Law & Order, so gets all of his knowledge from there. He has made a few friends who are Lawyers, so if he gets anything wrong, they tell him.Holly BarkerHolly Barker is a character in another series of books that he writes. She is an ex-army officer and navy brat. She left the army because of a sex scandal and she has to learn how to live a civilian life. She begins her new life as the Chief of Police and she learns just how dangerous her new life is.Even though Woods has written several series, which focus on the life of a single character, the characters from each of the novels do crossover into other series. For example, Stone Barrington appears in the second Holly Barker novel and he also appears in the second novel of the Rick Barron novels.Rick BarronThe Rick Barron novels are only two books deep at the moment. Rick Barron was a police detective and he was demoted after a run-in with a higher officer. He gets the job as security for Centurion Pictures but finds himself in the middle of a double murder case in the period that is said to be the golden age of Hollywood cinema.The first Rick Barron novel, The Prince of Beverly Hills, was meant to be a standalone novel but Woods ended up writing a sequel after he was bombarded with emails from fans asking him to write another. He has no plans to write another at this moment in time.After Chiefs was made into a TV series, one of his other books was adapted for TV as well. Grass Roots was made into a TV series in 1993. Since then, no other books have been made for TV.Woods indicates that he would love it for his other books to be made into movies and if a director has read one of the books and wants to buy the rights, then he encourages the writer to get in touch with his agent.