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Summary and Reviews of The Short Forever by Stuart Woods

The Short Forever by Stuart Woods

The Short Forever

by Stuart Woods
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • First Published:
  • Apr 1, 2002, 336 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2003, 336 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

The unflappable Stone Barrington comes face to face with two men whose lives are wrapped in shadows and liesand who both still feel a sting of betrayal they can never forget.

In The Short Forever, the unflappable Stone Barrington comes face to face with two men whose lives are wrapped in shadows and liesand who both still feel a sting of betrayal they can never forget.

Stone's new client, John Bartholomew, asks him to fly to London in search of a young woman whom he suspects has taken up with a mysterious character. Bartholomew asks Stone to see what he can find to discredit the man, Cabot, which seems a simple enough task, and Stone is eager to spend time in London and with his friend Sarah Buckminster. What Stone finds is more bizarre than he had expected. The woman in question isn't related to Bartholomew in quite the way he had implied. And it appears that Bartholomew and Cabot, who once worked together on a secretive assignment, now have very different versions of what went wrong. When Stone himself is implicated in a shocking double murder, he and his partner, Dino, know they have stepped into a strange case unlike any other.

Chapter One

Elaine's late.

Stone Barrington sipped his third Wild Turkey and resisted the basket of hot sourdough bread that the waiter had just placed on the table. Callie was to have been there an hour and a half ago, and he was very, very hungry. She'd called from the airport to say that she was on the ground and on her way, but that had been an hour ago. It just didn't take that long to get to Elaine's from Teterboro Airport, where her boss's jet landed. He glanced at his watch: He'd give her another three minutes, and then he was ordering.

He had been looking forward to seeing her. They'd spent some very pleasant time together in Palm Beach a few months before, on the yacht of his client Thad Shames. She was Shames's majordomoassistant, cook, social secretary, whatever he neededand she moved when Shames moved, back and forth between Palm Beach and New York. In New York, she had been living with Stone, and he missed her when she was away.

"Give me a menu,...

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Booklist - Kristine Huntley
Filling his story with enough twists and turns to dizzy even the most seasoned reader, Woods keeps the tension high until the last page.

Publishers Weekly
Woods may have left behind the police action of L.A. Dead, but he churns up plenty of conflict and twisted plotting in this speedy tale. Several bombshell revelations and multiple resolutions combine with the cinematic plot for a perfect flight or beach read.

Kirkus Reviews
Seasoned fans will know better than to take the spy stuff any more seriously than the rest of this potluck supper.

Reader Reviews

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Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Short Forever, try these:

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    A classic story of good and evil, sacrifice and sin -- a gripping page-turner that illuminates the darkest corridors of the human mind. A stunning tour de force.

  • 1st To Die jacket

    1st To Die

    by James Patterson

    Published 2002

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    Full of the breathtaking drama and unforgettable emotions for which James Patterson is famous. The start of a blazingly fast-paced and sensationally entertaining new series of crime thrillers.

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