Dead in the Water by Stuart Woods

When this appeared on my kindle, I thought it was the second book in the series, it isn't. It is the third - so I have purchased the second book for the sake of near continuity. I did wonder where the girlfriend came from since I didn't remember her appearance in book one. Sometimes things happen between books, but mostly not. She dumps him, though - and I don't believe she makes a live appearance at all.

They were supposed to fly down for a vacation on a yacht which they were to pick up at the island of St. Marks somewhere in the Caribbean. I satisfied myself that the island is completely fictional. She misses the plane, gets snowed in, and then goes to California with an old "friend." At least I know not to get too fond of her in book two.

In the meantime, our hero, Stone Barrington, has barely had time to become disgruntled over his sweetie's absence when the yacht Expansive appears - with a beautiful blonde sailing her. A blonde who had departed from the Canary Islands with her husband aboard and arrived at St. Marks without him. A murder trial ensues with Barrington acting for the defense.

I remember that the ending of the first of these, New York Dead, was extremely twisted and perverse. I don't know yet if this is the pattern for Woods, but the twists in this one fully measure up to that standard - and just when you think you have them all - there's another.

Woods is in danger of writing a book with no likeable characters at all. Barrington himself does not show well - he is in bed with the blonde while he still expects the girlfriend on the next flight and suffers no qualms about jeopardizing her case by allowing others to notice how easily she is comforted for the loss of her much loved husband.

Still, a good read - there was one point at which I considered putting it away unfinished, but I don't remember particularly what it was. Perhaps it was in consideration of the extremely bizarre legal system on the island. Trial one day, 24 hours for an appeal to the prime minister, execution by hanging the next day. It seems they were extremely short of jail cells.

By the way, he also dropped a teaser for his next book - which I found a little annoying. Remember the girlfriend who ran off to California. As this one wraps up, Stone gets a call from her now husband; she has gone missing and only Stone has a prayer of finding her.