Rating: 
Summary: Small Town Chief of Police Solves a Big One
Review: Holly Barker, local chief of police, is about to be married to her fiancé when he is killed during a robbery attempt at the local bank in the town of Orchid, Florida. Holly assigns herself to the case, but there is little evidence. Holly's father, Ham, retired Army non-com, accompanies her on a visit to a small town to follow a lead, and they find themselves at an unadvertised gun show in what appears to be a militia encampment. Following a hunch that these people might be involved with the bank robbery, Ham, at great personal risk, infiltrates the organization, and they soon start to depend on him because of his expert marksmanship. The racist militia group involves Ham in a plot to assassinate a VIP, but he is aware all along of how expendable he is to them. Stone Barrington, featured player in many Woods' novels, makes a few cameo appearances mainly to lend moral support to Holly, but disappointingly he has no major role in this novel. However, Ham and Holly (and her dog Daisy) are well-developed, strong and interesting characters who carry the plot well. I'm sure we'll be seeing them in other novels. The nasty, evil militia were too one dimensional and stereotyped to be believable, and I hope the next time Woods writes about Ham and Holly he gives them something more interesting to do.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not as good!
Review: After reading Orchid Beach, I was really excited to find out that the character, Holly Barker was going to be a continuing story. This book, the second in the "Orchard" series is weaker than the first. Although I did manage to finish, I could put it down and walk away. That is not usually the case with Stuwart Woods books. If you enjoy Woods, you will still like the book. If you have not previously read Woods, start with another book
Rating: 
Summary: ??
Review: Was it just me or did anyone notice that Stone Barrington's new plane ID number was the same ID number used by JOHN the bad guy? Are they the same person?
Rating:
Summary: OK...could be a bit better....
Review: This latest effort by Woods was a pleasant read. It had some very good action sequences in it. I was however disturbed by his last pages, concerning what to do and what not to do when corresponding with him, I know that this is not what I should rate the full book on, but it seems as though he does not appreciate his fans, and cannot take concerns about his books very well.
I have to admit that in the beginning, I had a hard time believing Holly's love was actually killed, I thought that he would turn up somewhere else in the book...but they killed him off pretty quickly.
Who will she turn to now????
I did not care for the ending that much...I have a hard time believing that Holly's father (Ham) what a name by the way...actually got away with what he gets away with...granted it is a book...but come on.....
Rating: 
Summary: I'm so disappointed in Woods.....
Review: Stuart Woods used to be one of my favorite 'read in one sitting' writers. Now, he's just turning out so much pulp fiction. ORCHID BEACH is a perfect example of his pulp and, frankly, I'm tired of reading it.....I won't be buying any more Woods. I agree with the reviewer who had issues with that diatribe at the end of the book where he instructs readers on how to/not to contact him.....he's fallen into the trap of believing his own publicity machine. The writing is second-rate...the chapters are short and choppy...the subject matter, while interesting, is so contrived and formulatic (is there such a word) that the whole effort is reduced to the ridiculous.
Rating:
Summary: And One Star is Very Generous
Review: I hate when publishers do this. They take a very short novel, probably less than 200 pages in normal print, and sell it at an exorbitant price by using large print and double spacing to fool readers into thinking the book in question is something worth buying. It isn't that quantity equals quality. Rather, it is that the lack of quantity can indicate a total absence of plot and character development, which is exactly the problem with Stuart Woods' "Orchid Blues". There really is no reason to read this book since everything you need to know about it can be summed up in one sentence. Racist militias are bad. Police Chief Holly Barker is supposed to marry her beau, Jackson Oxenhandler (no, really) as the story begins. Jackson stops off at the bank and ends up in the middle of a robbery. Like any attorney, he can't seem to keep his mouth shut. Before you can say Jackson Oxenhandler, he goads one of the shotgun-wielding robbers into shooting him. No, it wasn't the bullet. It was terminal stupidity killed the Oxenhandler. Holly, her father Ham Barker, and her FBI friends are quickly on the trail of the danged racist militiamen who are responsible. Of course, they left nary a clue, but they can't fool Holly. Ham, an ex-army superhero, quickly infiltrates the militia. (In this book, everything happens quickly. It has to.) Hey, so what if Ham's daughter is the Police Chief, and Ham's future son-in-law was killed in the robbery. None of those dumb militia guys are going to see a problem here. Actually, no one in this book stops to think about anything. The militiamen are supposed to be so concerned about infiltration. Yet their lack of follow up on Ham borders on incompetence. Then there is the head FBI agent who is more concerned about guarding his turf then he is with protecting the innocent. Clearly, stupidity keeps the plot moving forward. Soon Ham has been singled out to assassinate someone. But who can it be? Anyone who reads this and can't figure out the target at least 50 pages before he is revealed deserves to end up on that bank floor with Jackson. The characters themselves are so poorly drawn it is almost astounding. Holly's boyfriend is murdered, and she hardly pauses to express any emotion. Sure, every now and then she drops a tear or two, but it always seems to be an afterthought by the author. There is another problem with Holly and Ham. She supposedly has spent twenty years in the Army and then risen to chief of police. Even assuming she rose quickly through her small town police force, this would make her at least in her mid forties, and would likely put her father at least in his mid sixties. Yet, you never get the sense of their ages. That could have been a significant part of the story, if there actually had been a story here. Woods also throws in a cameo appearance by a character named Stone Barrington who apparently is the main character in several of his books. Stone's presence in the bank is as contrived as anything else that happens here. Before you know it, Holly is sharing sensitive case information with him. However, he really serves little purpose here. I don't know if he's in the book to try to get Stone fans to read this mess or to hook people reading this book into buying other books about Stone. (Personally, I'd rather read books about someone named Oxenhandler.) There are two very funny pages in the book. In a burst of egomania, Woods adds an Author's Notes section at the end. In this section he tells us the right and wrong ways to contact him and what he will and won't read or respond to. Actually, he seemed to put more thought into this then he does to anything else in "Orchid Blues". I thought about sending Woods a copy of this review, but it probably wouldn't be on the approved correspondence list.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Mystery Well Told
Review: I like the way Stuart Woods writes. His Stone Barrington character is one I will routinely buy as soon as it hits the shelf. Like Robert Parker he has decided he needs a female character and in Orchid Beach he created a retired military policewoman turned small Florida town police chief Holly Barker. She is a much more reasonable, much more middle-class person than Stone and the rhythm of the two novels which feature her are tighter, more directed and less personality dominated than the Barrington novels. In this case, there is a tragic killing of her fiancé on the morning of their wedding day. A simple brutal murder in a bank robbery turns into a much bigger case as anti-government extremists become the center of the plot and the FBI are called in. Holly's father, a retired Army sergeant becomes the bait for the bad guys and infiltrates their operation. The climax is satisfyingly fast paced and you'll cheer as the bad guys lose. A worthwhile book to take a break from the day's problems.
Rating:
Summary: A terrific writer continues a downhill slide
Review: "Chiefs" was a terrific novel, richly detailed and with fully-fleshed out characters you could really care about. The plotting was intricate and believable - in short, a great, satisfying read, and I looked forward to much more of the same from this author.
Unfortunately, he is turning out to be a one-trick pony, as everything he's written since a great beginning has been glib, facile and formulaic. One dimensional, unlikeable characters for the most part (Stone Barrington is a pleasure-loving sybarite who'd screw his brother's wife if he had the opportunity) and flat, unexciting stories.
I hate to see it. Writers with real talent are rare, and Stuart Woods used to be one of the best. Now he's become something much less.
I don't think I'll be reading any more of his books.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the last Holly Barker
Review: This is the second of the Holly Barker series by Stuart Woods and I didn't think this one was as good as the first, however I do like the Holly Barker character as well as her dad Ham. I listened to the first one on tape and I am wondering if this one would have been better on tape as well. I did read in a day though, so it does keep your interest. It starts out with a bank robbery and ends up with some Nazi type group trying to over throw the government. It is a dialogue book for the most part and quite well done in that regard. I would probably give this 4 out of 5 stars simply because I didn't think the plot was that strong. The exchanges between Holly and Ham are good though. I am sure this is only the second in many more to come. I know I will get the next one when it comes out.
Rating:
Summary: Follow up to Orchid Beach
Review: Holly's back in the action. One of Stuart Woods' better books. Fast pace, interesting plot. Read in one day.
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