Helpful Score: 2
Stuart Woods is such a good writer and storyteller and his characters are like you know them. I usually don't like government stories but his characters are great and he knows how to keep you on edge.
Helpful Score: 1
The best of the HOlly Barker series.
Helpful Score: 1
Pretty good book. Surprising ending, which makes me wonder how the next one will be. Of course lots of overlap between the many Woods' characters with Stone Barrington and Will Lee involved. Recommended.
Light yet fast paced. My first Holly Barker novel.
Great Read!!!! Latest in his series...
Another step in Holly Barkers carrer now working for the CIA trying to catch Teddy Fay.
If you like Stuart Woods, this Holly Barker novel is really good!
Excellent book, but does not show as much of Holly Barker as the other three Orchid series do.
Having ditched her Orchid Beach, Fla., police chief post, returning supersleuth Holly Barker opts for a CIA career in Woods's by-the-numbers thriller, the fourth in the Barker series (Blood Orchid). Barely through basic training at a highly regimented CIA "training farm," Barker's class is suddenly enlisted to track down calculating killer (and opera buff) Teddy Fay (first seen in Woods's Capital Crimes). An ex-CIA agent himself, Fay uses insider information to continue assassinating international political figures who also happen to be enemies of the U.S. Barker stakes out the Metropolitan Opera House, and narrowly misses Teddy in disguise in several contrived set pieces. The narrative accelerates from a somewhat sluggish first half when CIA operatives' solid deliberation moves Barker ever closer to nabbing the elusive Faywho, by the way, lives mere blocks away from her. But Fay dupes the CIA again, with the help of a Santa Claus costume, and assassinates a Saudi prince before vanishing. Woods's latest lacks the urgent plotting and bracing thrills needed to make it truly memorable, and though Barker is a tough, formidable protagonist, the question remains why she, after absconding with over $5.5 million in untraceable drug money, bothers to clock in at all. Only Barker's dog, Daisy the Doberman, knows for sure.
My dad loves these books!
Holly Barker is back again, this time working for the CIA. Woods is a master storyteller and his books are full of action and great plots.
Stuart Woods is a very polished writer and I enjoy his books, particularly the Holly Barker novels.
lOVE ALL HIS BOOKS
Great book, couldn't put it down!
great book was really a very interesting story
This is one of Stuart Woods' best novels. The action is non-stop.
Recommended!
Recommended!
IRON ORCHID by Stuart Woods: Former Orchid Beach, Fla., police chief Holly Barker has opted for a CIA career in Woods by-the-numbers thriller. Barely through basic training at a highly regimented CIA "training farm," Barker's class is suddenly enlisted to track down calculating killer (and opera buff) Teddy Fay. An ex-CIA agent himself, Fay uses insider information to continue assassinating international political figures who also happen to be enemies of the U.S. After an initial slow start the pace accelerates as Barker just misses Teddy in disguise in several encounters. While most of Woods characters are somewhat superficial, Barker leaves a bit to be desired. Of course there is always Barker's dog, Daisy the Doberman, to make up for any shortcomings.
typical holly barker tale, i liked it okay
I really enjoyed this book!
Holly is just as great as in the previous books. The ending is a little light, but it still is a one-dayer
fun read...
A very fast interesting mystery.Really enjoyed it.
Holly Barker, the sexy, no-nonsense former police chief from Orchid Beach, Florida, has been known to crack cases that even the FBI couldn't break. Now Lance Cabot, makes Holly an offer she can't refuse: to join an elite intelligence unit hunting down terrorists on American soil. Their first prey, however may turn out to be all-American.
Teddy Fay, the ex-CIA technology wizard apparently blew up his own airplane while being hotly pursued by the FBI and U.S. Navy pilots. But now a series of attacks on a new kind of victim-terrorists with diplomatic immunity-makes some in the governement, up to and including the president of the United States, believe Teddy may be back. And Holly finds herself in the thick of the hunt.
Great, easy read. Read it in one night. One of my favorite Stuart Wood novels.
Teddy Fay, the ex-CIA technology wizard apparently blew up his own airplane while being hotly pursued by the FBI and U.S. Navy pilots. But now a series of attacks on a new kind of victim-terrorists with diplomatic immunity-makes some in the governement, up to and including the president of the United States, believe Teddy may be back. And Holly finds herself in the thick of the hunt.
Great, easy read. Read it in one night. One of my favorite Stuart Wood novels.
the ending is just a bit aggravating....
Just another one of Stuart Woods' examples of a great book. Took me a day to read, you just can't put it down. Great suspense throughout the book, never know what is going to happen next.
Great series. Must read. They overlap with the Stone Barrington series (that's great reading to).
Love Stuart Woods, he can't write them fast enough for me. This one was a little slow and I thought Holly Barker would be involved with Stone Barrington more. Maybe she will be in later books as she's now moved to NYC. I loved the injeniuty of the villian Teddy Fay, he was great and maybe he'll surface again, who knows!
Teddy Fay rides again in this Holly Barker novel -- a quick-paced read, lots of fun, surprising twists, great characters. Highly recommended!
Good enough that I had to keep reading once I got about 3/4 of the way through - Oh well - sleep another night. Holly was good as usual - and in the FBI to boot!
really good book to read, slow in the start but good finish.
Good read but a couple of factual errors detracted from the story for me.
GREAT STORY THAT KEPT MOVING ALONG .
Holly Barker mysteries are the absolute best! Kept me from sleeping til I finished it.
When his plane explodes off the coast of Maine, authorities thought they had seen the last of Teddy Fay, the former CIA tech wizard who killed his political targets for sport. Now working for the CIA, Holly Barker joins the elite task force tracking Fay in NYC.
The latest Holly Barker novel with some of Woods' other old characters thrown in for bit part-appearences. Very good!!
This is a Holly Barker novel. In this one she goes after an ex-CIA agent gone bad.
Great read!
Holly Barker's first assignment since joining the CIA. Fast paced with lots of action. Very good book
All of Wood's Orchid with Holly Baker books have been good and this one is no different.
Holly Barker, ex-M.P. and more recently small town police chief, moves up with recruitment by the CIA. Her training moves fast; in fact, she's put into the field to help catch an ex-Agency rogue terrorist before her Virginia course is complete. Carrington MacDuffie is a good storyteller, and she easily steps into Barker's persona, capturing her intuitive style and her appealing grit and determination. However, MacDuffie doesn't give quite enough character delineation to help listeners keep the array of FBI, CIA, and NYPD cops completely sorted out, and following who is speaking is often hard. The cloak-and-dagger story of catching a "trained agent gone bad" and MacDuffie's good pacing and tempo do make this a solid entry in Woods's evolving series.
Holly Barker, ex-M.P. and more recently small town police chief, moves up with recruitment by the CIA. Her training moves fast; in fact, she's put into the field to help catch an ex-Agency rogue terrorist before her Virginia course is complete. Carrington MacDuffie is a good storyteller, and she easily steps into Barker's persona, capturing her intuitive style and her appealing grit and determination. However, MacDuffie doesn't give quite enough character delineation to help listeners keep the array of FBI, CIA, and NYPD cops completely sorted out, and following who is speaking is often hard. The cloak-and-dagger story of catching a "trained agent gone bad" and MacDuffie's good pacing and tempo do make this a solid entry in Woods's evolving series.
A Holly Barker novel. I found it a little slow, although I did like the villain and hoped he would excape. Not his best effort.
Stuart Woods brings all of his characters to visit together in this book. Holly Barker finally joins the CIA. Lot's of future books out of this one.
This is the 4th book in the Holly Barker series. As usual, Stuart Woods hits a home run.
Good book, off ending though....
I happened a fan of Sturt Woods. I especilly like the Holly Barker series.I knew that I would,most likely, enjoy the book. I FOUND THE BEST hOLLY bARKER NOVEL SO FAR.
This Stuart Woods book is good but doesn't have the depth of the other Woods books I've read. However, if you are looking for a light read this will fill the bill!
I have been enjoying the post military life of Holly Barker. These books have rekindled my interest in Stuart Woods books
A Holly Barker novel, set in New York City. CIA, FBI - excitement and a great read.
This is a Woods' fan's DREAM. Cast of characters includes President Will Lee, Holly Barker (and Daisy, of course), Stone Barrington and Dino. What a TREAT!
I really liked it, but I like all of his books.
great book..the third in a series of Stuart Woods character Holly Barker's escapades!!
A Holly Barker Novel/ Police Procedural
** MY copy is "specially designed for comfortable reading" **
** MY copy is "specially designed for comfortable reading" **
When his plane exploded off the coast of Maine, authorities thought they had seen the last of Teddy Fay, the former CIA tech wizard who killed his political targets for sport. But then they find irrefutable evidence that he is alive and up to his old tricks. Now working for the CIA, Holly Barker joins the elite task force tracking Fay in New York City. As he begins to pick off America's enemies one by one, Holly unexpectedly finds herself face-to-face with the killer, kick-starting a high speed chase through the canyons of midtown Manhattan, the Metropolitan Opera, Central Park, and the United Nations-all to prevent another assassination before Fay disappears again...maybe this time for good.
-----------this was an excellent story impossible to put it down.
-----------this was an excellent story impossible to put it down.
Having ditched her Orchid Beach, Fla., police chief post, returning supersleuth Holly Barker opts for a CIA career in Woods's by-the-numbers thriller, the fourth in the Barker series (Blood Orchid). Barely through basic training at a highly regimented CIA "training farm," Barker's class is suddenly enlisted to track down calculating killer (and opera buff) Teddy Fay (first seen in Woods's Capital Crimes).
Even more exciting than the other Holly Barker book; I only hope there will be a sequel soon. Very entertaining and hard to put down. Loved it.
I'd never read a Holly Barker novel...this was great!
specially designed for comfortable reading
This book is like good sex, you never want it to end.
This is a fast and easy to read book. There is lots of action. But there's also a lot that that stretches credulity. The rest of this review may contain some spoilers, so read at your own risk. The villain in the book is a 67-year-old retired FBI employee named Teddy Fay. He has been offing politicians he doesn't approve of and now the president has both the FBI and the CIA on his trail. Law enforcement of all kinds generally refer to perps by their last name. But in this book they call him Teddy Fay or sometimes just Teddy. Doesn't sound really professional. Our heroine Holly Barker has been recruited by the CIA. Partway through training, the CIA cancels classes for all the recruits and sends them into the field against Fay. Why? Because they don't have enough trained agents? Then there's the real estate agent who is questioned about Fay. She's afraid of being arrested for something she did that led to someone's death back in the 60s. Does she help the FBI so they'll go away and leave her alone? No, she lies to them. Then she warns Fay they're after him, and asks him not to let the FBI know she lied. Why? She doesn't know Fay from Adam, and has absolutely nothing to gain. Several times our heroine actually comes in contact with the Teddy but doesn't recognize him because of his great disguises. Maybe because she didn't finish training? Do the partially trained agents go back to training? No, they're promised great assignments. Unbelievable.
excellent book
ok but not his best
This series just keeps getting better.
