“Kisser” by Stuart Woods is part of the Stone Barrington series. In this particular novel, Stone, a retired New York City cop turned lawyer, once again mixes business with pleasure.
Carrie Cox, a lip model and actress, asks Stone for some legal advice. Before long, Carrie is being stalked and threatened by her ex-husband. Stone, now involved with Carrie as a legal aide and lover, sets her up with bodyguards until the issue is extracted from ruining her newly earned success.
While both business and pleasure fall right into his lap, Stone always finds himself in another predicament and of course, with another woman. During the middle of the book a new plot emerges. Carrie seems safe, but now, an art owner, Philip Parsons, seeks Stone in order to save his daughter Hildy Parsons.
Hildy is about to acquire her trust fund. However, her current boyfriend, Derek Sharpe, a wannabe Jackson Pollock, is collusively working with Ponzi scheme artist Sig Larsen to take all of Hildy’s money and toss her to the wayside.
Though much is going on in this book simultaneously, Woods manages to intertwine two plots well. Not having read the whole series, a reader can understand and enjoy this book in its brevity. However, that is not to say it is without flaws.
The many great aspects of this novel include the plot structure, the narrative arc and the great imagery. But there is also enough to make some readers a bit uncomfortable; to say there is a sexual undertone is a modest suggestion.
“The two women were in his bed, and, judging from the pile of clothing on the floor, they weren’t wearing any.” Seconds following the scene, one of the two women requests Stone to join them. I suppose that begs the question: What is Stone to do? He answers the question with a very active response.
In that respect, the believability factor towards most of the physical behavior in this book seems a bit over-the-top. But between the sexual innuendoes and threesomes, the balance of crime and danger manages to balance the work.
Most of the characters in the book are females, though not all of them manage to keep up with Stone for too long. The women who have involved themselves with Stone have moved on by the end. The only exception is Dolce, who continues to stalk Stone. Dolce’s erratic behavior is proof that her character may linger on throughout the series, leaving Stone annoyed with “his face in his hands” as he makes “a low, moaning noise” hoping that one day Dolce, like the others, will move on.
In the end, justice is served, and Stone finds himself without any strings attached. Whatever happens next, there is one thing for certain: Women in Stone’s life are like drops of rain. One by one, they follow until the sun comes out and every drop has all but disappeared.
Rating: W W W
