STRATEGIC MOVES

Even actor Tony Roberts can't save this latest Stone Barrington mystery. Number 19 in the series, it's boring, slow moving, and wordy. The once-admirable Barrington is now depicted as shallow. Woods starts the story with a case of embezzlement at an investment banking firm, and an apparently related murder. Then he juggles this plot with Stone's journey to Iraq to pick up an arms dealer. Naturally, the CIA is mixed up in this mess. Roberts's varied voices can be appreciated, but he can't overcome the rambling plot and endless dialogue. Woods begins some plot threads, such as the murder of Stone's female friend, Adele but loses that strand too as Stone moves on to international intrigue. No fault can be attributed to Roberts: There's no way he could make this lemon into lemonade. A.L.H. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2011]