At the start of bestseller Woods's thrilling 40th Stone Barrington novel (after 2016's Dishonorable Intentions), the debonair New York lawyer agrees to do a favor for his friend former U.S. president Will Lee, who's visiting Santa Fe, N.Mex., where Stone has just bought a house. All Stone has to do is drive into the nearby mountains and retrieve a strong case (a sort of high security suitcase) from another ex-president, Joe Adams, and deliver it to Will at the Santa Fe opera after that night's performance. When a rock slide on the mountain road prevents Stone from making his rendezvous, he ends up spending a lot of time looking after the strong case, which contains a retired CIA agent's memoir with explosive secrets. One person whose reputation could suffer from the memoir's revelations is charismatic Nelson Knott, who's considering a run for president as a third-party candidate-and whose wealthy supporters are prepared to go to any lengths on his behalf. Woods keeps the suspense high all the way to the dramatic conclusion. Agent: Anne Sibbald, Janklow & Nesbit. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Woods brings back several recurring characters in this political novel in which art comes to imitate life. At the request of former President Will Lee, Stone Barrington acquires a case containing an explosive manuscript written by brilliant ex-CIA agent Ed Rawls, who was erroneously imprisoned as a Russian mole and later pardoned by Lee. (Rawls also had been the CIA mentor of Will's wife, Kate, the current president, who's planning to run for reelection.) Just after Stone gets the case, he finds that he's being followed by agents of mega-wealthy Christian St. Clair, a charming man who aims to buy a president, in the person of businessman Nelson Knott, and will go to any lengths to achieve his goal. But some of what Rawls has documented concerns less-than-savory aspects of Knott's past, and there's a potentially lethal race with Barrington's forces to see who will prevail. Woods is compulsively readable, even as he churns out three novels a year, so a slip on the last page is easy to forgive and doesn't really lessen the pleasure of the journey in this easy-reading page-turner.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2016 Booklist

The ever-enterprising and charming Stone Barrington is at his best in this 40th thriller in the series. In his new Santa Fe home, accompanied by current love interest CIA chief Holly Barker, Stone is asked to do a favor for old friend Joe Adams, a former U.S. President. From there it is a roller-coaster ride that could come to a grinding halt for the nation if not for Stone, with his contacts, ingenuity, and wit. Stone is to obtain a reinforced briefcase filled with mysterious contents that threaten a number of people, including a billionaire seeking to influence the next presidential election, a Russian CIA mole, an entrepreneur running for president, and the sitting president's reelection bid. Clever dialog and fast action well read by actor Tony Roberts make for a "stay-in-the-car for a few minutes more" listen. Another entry in a long-running series (from 1991), it may be enjoyed on its own. Verdict Not an essential addition to the series but certainly an enjoyable one. Recommended for public libraries where Woods is popular.-Sandra C. Clariday, Cleveland, TN © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.