Dark Harbor

Stone Barrington #12

by Stuart Woods

Stone Barrington and Holly Barker, Stuart Woods' busiest heroes, pair up once again.

This yarn finds Stone traveling to Dark Harbor, Maine, after his cousin, Dick Stone and his family, are found murdered at their house in that community. The police think it was a murder-suicide, but when Stone learns from his CIA contact, Lance Cabot, that Dick was working covertly for the CIA and had just received a big promotion, Stone decides to look into matters himself.

Accompanied by Lance, Holly, and Dino Bacchetti, his trusted former NYPD partner, Stone heads to Maine where things get much more complicated fast.

Librarian's note: the characters, settings, etc. for the first 30 books in the series are complete: #1, New York Dead, 1991; #2, Dirt, 1996; #3, Dead in the Water, 1997; #4, Swimming to Catalina, 1998; #5, Worst Fears Realized, 1999; #6, L.A. Dead, 2000; #7, Cold Paradise, 2001; #8, The Short Forever, 2002; #9, Dirty Work, 2003; #10, Reckless Abandon, 2004; #11, Two Dollar Bill, 2004; #12. Dark Harbor, 2006; #13, Fresh Disasters, 2007; #14, Shoot Him if He Runs, 2007; #15, Hot Mahogany, 2008; #16, Loitering with Intent, 2009; #17, Kisser, 2009; #18, Lucid Intervals, 2010; #19, Strategic Moves, 2010; #20, Bel-Air Dead, 2011; #21, Son of Stone, 2011; #22, D.C. Dead, 2011; #23, Unnatural Acts, 2012; #24, Severe Clear, 2012; #25, Collateral Damage, 2012; #26, Unintended Consequences, 2013; #27, Doing Hard Time, 2013; #28, Standup Guy, 2014; #29, Carnal Curiosity, 2014, and #30, Cut & Thrust, 2014.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Audiobook

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

Stuart Woods was an American novelist best known for Chiefs and his long-running Stone Barrington series. A Georgia native, he initially pursued a career in advertising before relocating to England and Ireland, where he developed a passion for sailing. His love for the sport led him to write his first published work, Blue Water, Green Skipper, about his experiences in a transatlantic yacht race.
His debut novel, Chiefs, was inspired by a family story about his grandfather, a police chief. The book, a gripping crime saga spanning several decades, won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was later adapted into a television miniseries. It launched Woods' career as a novelist, leading to a prolific output of thrillers.
Woods' most famous creation, Stone Barrington, is a former NYPD detective turned high-profile lawyer who navigates elite circles while solving crimes. The series became a bestseller and remained a staple of his career, often featuring crossover characters from his other books, such as CIA operative Holly Barker and defense lawyer Ed Eagle.
Beyond writing, Woods was an experienced pilot and yachtsman. He maintained homes in Florida, Maine, and New Mexico, where he lived with his wife and their Labrador, Fred. His literary career spanned decades, with dozens of bestsellers to his name.

Reviews

[Diane Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good series! entertaining,fun,page-turner,action pact,intense,good storytelling,well developed characters along with some of the same regulars (paperback!)

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm almost -- but not quite -- embarrassed to admit I read Stuart Woods. If I could believe they were written with tongue as firmly in cheek as when I read them, I'd be OK with it. But I think the portions that make me laugh out loud were written with a straight face.

Alas, Stone Barrington isn't exactly a guilty pleasure. Just a silly one. (His name should tell you just about all you need to know about him. That and the fact that he sleeps with every woman he makes eye contact with.)

I often read sections of Woods' novels aloud to my disbelieving husband. There are plot holes so huge, characters acting so out of character, mysteries tied up so neatly that it drives me crazy. So he asks why I keep reading them. Because they're so damn funny, peeps. (This latest book featured retired CIA agents who knew no more about crime solving than a farmer would've. In fact, that occupation would've suited them perfectly. Surely they'd have had some portion of a clue if they'd once been government operatives, right?)

Dark Harbor is about as good as any of the rest of them. And a perfect beach read (though it was my MIL's brand-new hardback, so had to avoid the waves with it).

[Jack Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. Someday I'm going to analyze the way I rate mysteries and thrillers. What makes a 5 Star? So far, entries in the Stone Barrington series have been worth reading. They're all a least 3 Stars (good). But why do a few, like Dark Harbor, ring the bell? This one hits the mark on a number of points. Take Barrington. We learn more about his past, that he spent his late teens in Maine with cousins Dick and Caleb Stone, the sons of his mother's brother. That he has at least three grand nephews and nieces, Dick's daughter Esme, and Caleb's twin sons, Enos and Eben. They've all become distant from Barrington but, when Dick Stone, his wife and Esme are found murdered and our hero is suddenly appointed their executor and heir, old family matters come to the fore. The puzzle of who did this and why is a strong feature of a Stuart Woods thriller. It certainly is in this one. Do the murders relate to family issues? Or do they have more to do with Dick Stone's recent appointment to a high position in the CIA? And then there are great secondary characters like Dino, Lance, and Holly. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! (No2022/Oc2025)

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think even rating this story "ok," may be a stretch. lots of bumpkins here to the point of irritation. 4 of 10 stars

[JBradford · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brother turned me onto Stuart Woods, although I had red one of his books before, and I generally grab every book of his I happen to find. His novels are an easy read with interesting characters, even if they do not have much depth to them, and I am intrigued by Woods’ ability to have pages of dialogue without the inane “he said,” “she said” accouterments, with the reader never being at a loss for who was saying what to whom. I cannot do this myself, so I have necessary respect for someone who can. His plots are not overly complicated, but there are enough twists and turns and blind alleys to keep the reader’s interest going, making them page-turners.

This one features Tone Barrington and his sidekick, Dino, whom I first met in Loitering With Intent a couple years ago, and I find that Stone continues to have incredible good fortune in looking for love interests. In this one, Stone, now credited as a working attorney who sometimes does special work for the CIA after being kicked off the NYPD gets a special package from a cousin he has not seen for eight years, and later that same day gets told by his CIA employer that that same cousin and his wife and daughter have just been found dead. He then opens the package and finds a will leaving him the cousin’s home on Isleboro Island, up in Penobscot Bay, where these deaths occurred. Since Stone isn’t busy at the moment and his friend Dino, a police lieutenant, has some vacation time, they all fly up to Isleboro and quickly come to the conclusion that this is not a case of murder-suicide. Then other people begin to die …

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

July 2025. Should probably have a respite from this story
January 2024. Only 5 stars tars due to many favorites in one story. Much brutality,


Sept 2021. Still a 5 * but I indeed have over-read this story. Lets try for 3 years, Sept 2024.

Jan 2019 ditto
9-20-18 Got to love "The Old Farts". I do seem to over-read this book. Not like it is "Crime and Punishment". Somuch for my Feb 2018 resolution to shelve this book for five years. I made it 7 months. Like I fell off the Stuart Woods wagon.

2-14-2018 This is my 6threading of this story. I think it's time to keep it shelved for 5 years.
4-6-2016 Still a favorite of mine!
12-30-2014 read it again in 18 hours while fighting pneumonia. still a favorite
by the way, OY is backwards for YO. just saying......
2-2014 just realized i read it 6 months ago. didn't remember that... either OY or too bad for me. It remains a 5 star for me. Love this story.
6-28-2013 Did re-read of the book. It remains a good read, even the second (or third time).I am also a sucker for marine venues.
11-1-11
I give this a 5 star simply because i enjoyed reading it.
Again, I thought i'd already read it but its not in Goodreads.
I just read some fellow reader comments.
Even the 2 stars, I must agree but with a spin that there is a stress-free comfort of no TV noise, in the comfort of your room, and you can put it down as you fall asleep.
I'd place this right up their with your very favorite comfort food.
Sometimes we need (and certainly deserve) comfort food.
Fighting a cold and still working, I must admit, I've been binging on Stuart Wood comfort food.
I guess I'm hooked.
x
In Stuart Woods's perfect mix of sexy intrigue and swift suspense, Stone Barrington investigates the suicide of a CIA officer-his cousin.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying these Stone Barrington stories as audiobooks. IDK if I would have picked up the stories and read th3m in book format, but the audio versions are awesome. This was an especially fun and interesting one. It deals with a series of murders on a small island in Maine. Stone and Dino are at their best.

[Buscenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because of the cover. It was the first book that I read of his and it was great. I share my books with my mother and we have since read all of Stone Barrington novels.

Highly recommended

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!! Lots of twists and turns in this one. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Started out kind of slow. Gradually picked up speed. On to the next one.

[Kym Gamble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stone Barrington is named the executor and recipient of his uncle's will. When he goes up to the Northeast to take possession of the house he gets to use he finds out that his Uncle didn't just die, Stone thinks he was murdered. Follow Stone and his group of friends as they try to solve the mystery of what happened to his uncle as more murders happen.

[Joanne Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cast of characters surrounding Stone are what make these novels so readable. The Old Farts made reading this instalment a delight. When a family is murdered Stone and his cast of characters start to investigate to see if they can solve the mystery. We are then lead on a merry chase as the body count rises.

I love this series and I cannot wait to read the next one.

[Tgordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy Stone has again gotten himself a girl and a house! So his cousin leaves him a house and sends him his will but wait...somebody near the house is killing women? How does Stone keep getting into these messes?

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading the Stone Barrington books in order, and this is probably the best so far: less sex and more crime solving. I guessed the who-dunnit about halfway through, but not the ending.

[ML · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very anticlimactic 🙄

Stone has long lost relatives we never knew about. A cousin that was in the CIA.. what a coincidence and was going to take Hugh’s upper echelon position, uh huh and he gets murdered by 2 novice killers. Sure ok. With his own gun. The plot holes in this book you could drive a truck through…so the typical Stuart Woods’s book. Why do I keep reading these?!?🫣🫣
I think mainly because they are so predictable that it’s almost a comfort read that you know what will happen 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

He sleeps with both Holly AND Arrington in this one. Arrington the bad penny that will never go away. She was sagely correct though in not marrying Stone. Her reasons are very sound. She knows him better than he knows himself. I will give her that. Dino is divorcing as well… he gets a nice settlement though.

Also side note Ed Rawls working with Lance while they are all in Maine?!? That would never happen and I’m not sure why a bigger deal was not made about that. Plus all the murderers and the connections really do not jive. The diary??!? The family rift then being left out of the will?!? This was left unaddressed. Ugh 😑 This was not a well written book. I hope the next one is better… off to read…Short Straws… an Ed Eagle book that I really hope has no other Woods’s characters in it! I need a break from Stone and Holly 🫠🫠🫠

[Randell Carlton Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly easy read. Just what I needed. Enjoyed it and will read another by him.

[Toby · Rating 2 out of 5]

These books are like crack. So ridiculous and so irritating, written by a misogynistic baby boomer who thinks that vagina purses are a thing. (See link in comments...) Yet I don’t want to stop reading them (although I firmly refuse to buy any books by Woods).

The main problem I have with Woods (aside from his arrogance and hatred of his readers), is his inability to portray women accurately. Or sex, for that matter. In an interview I read of Woods’, he was talking up his sex scenes because he has “a fevered imagination.” Well, bruh, better check yourself and maybe get more experience before writing ridiculously implausible scenes that knock your readers out of suspension of disbelief.

The following is a sex scene between Stone and Holly. Mind you, Holly is in her 40s, is NOT a contortionist, and also does not have prosthetic legs.

“Stone woke up slowly the following morning. Holly was lying naked next to him on her belly, and his hand rested on her ass. ...He ran a finger up her ass, between the cheeks.

‘Hmmmm,’ she muttered. ‘More.’
‘More what?’
‘Just more.’

He rolled over and lay on top of her.

[Commentary: Okay, so she’s on her belly and he’s on top of her. Fast forward a little bit.]

She was wet, and he slipped inside her.
‘Good choice,’ she said.
Stone moved slowly in and out.
‘That’s so good,’ she breathed, pushing back against his belly.

...

Holly rolled over. ‘I want to be able to get my hands on you,’ she said, taking him in her hands and reinserting him.

[Commentary #2: okay so she’s on her back now, Stone is on top of her and they’re now having sex in missionary position. Yes?]

She pulled her knees up and rested her ankles on his shoulders. ‘There,’ she said. ‘Now.’
Within a minute they had come noisily and lay sweating and panting in each other’s arms.” (p. 166).

[Commentary #3: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. How do you physically do that?? While he’s “inserted” you somehow are able to move your legs up so your ankles are even with your face, on top of his shoulders, so your body is basically in a V shape... without dislodging him, and while being able to still breathe and, I don’t know, enjoy sex?? I DON’T GET IT.]

Also: Stuart Woods, creator of the unsexiest sex scenes I have literally ever read.

I honestly don’t know why I even read these anymore. I guess because it’s a given ranty book review and those are kind of enjoyable?

[Michelle (meshe) Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synopsis: Stone Barrington investigates the secrets of a CIA officer's suicide in this next thriller in the bestselling series Stuart Woods's newest bestseller, Dark Harbor, brings us the perfect mix of sexy intrigue and swift suspense that have earned him legions of fans over the years. In this latest thriller, Stone enters the picturesque town Dark Harbor off the coast of Maine, where the shocking deaths of three people have cast a long shadow over this island haven-a locale as mysterious as it is exclusive.

Stone Barrington hasn't heard from his cousin, Dick Stone, in years-though he has fond memories of a teenage summer spent at his house in Maine. Then, Lance Cabot of the CIA interrupts an otherwise pleasant meal at Elaine's with news of Dick's death-apparently by his own hands. It seems that Dick Stone, a quiet family man who doubled as a CIA agent, methodically executed his wife, daughter, and then himself-or did he? What would cause a loving father and husband to murder his family as they slept? Before his death, Dick had appointed Stone executor of his will, giving him full control of the disposition of a sizable family estate. Was Dick preparing for his suicide, or forewarning Stone of his murder?

With the help of his ex-partner, Dino, and his friend Holly Barker, Stone must settle the estate and piece together the elusive facts of his cousin's life and death as a CIA operative. At every step Stone knows he is being watched by Dick's family-and one of them just may be a killer.

This book was alright. I've read a couple of Stone Barrington books, but not all of them. I don't think that was the problem. The writing seemed kind of stilted and simple at the same time. Almost like it was written by a person whose first language wasn't English. Anyway, the story was good, but the writing left a lot to be desired.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my second Stone Barrington novel by Stuart Woods. The plot was plain, generic, and formulaic. It reminded me a lot of TV detective shows. For those of you who are old enough, think of an episode of The Rockford Files. If you did not watch that, think of Magnum PI or Hunter. If that is too far back, think of Law and Order. If perhaps you haven't watched any of those shows, turn on the TV and watch an episode of Law and Order - it is on 24 hours a day on several cable channels.

For those of you who hate those silly details that authors put into books, those little facts, historical details, researched insights, or intriguing tidbits, do not worry; you will not have to strain your brain learning anything new in this book. I am positive that Stuart Woods did no research while writing this book. So relax, you will not have to learn anything interesting or new while reading Dark Harbor.

The only added details to the book were a couple of sex scenes put in to remind the reader that Stone Barrington is quite the stud and a ladies man. Now I do not like it when authors put in detailed sex scenes in books. If I wanted that I would just go ahead and buy erotica or porn-lit. Usually when I read a saucy, detailed sex scene in a book, afterwards I feel inadequate and somewhat itchy. Both of these sex scenes were only about a paragraph each, something about touching and what have you. So I did not feel too uncomfortable, only a little itchy (different body parts for each specific scene).

So after reading two of these Stone Barrington novels this is what I would recommend. The next time you read one of these novels, do it right. Pop some popcorn, pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage, kick back in the recliner, and enjoy another light episode of the Stone Barrington saga.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stone Barrington always a " fun" read. With that said. The entire plot and dialogue in this book may have hit a low point in the series.
I have read comic books that were 100% more believable. The Maine police are made out to be keystone cops. Pretty obvious who the killers were from early on but Stuart Woods couldn't put a twist in there, somewhere?
I may read the next on a plane ride or when not wanting to concentrate at all. 2 stars only because Woods has kept the continuity going but this series desperately needs a new direction. Seems like a cash grab now.
Respectfully, Thomas.

[L · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slim pickings on the audio book shelves at the public library. We made it less than halfway through this one. No urge whatsoever to cheat & listen to the last few minutes. I don't give a crap who killed Dick Stone.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. A quick read and good overall although the dialogue was kind of clunky. Some use of stereotypes like all teenage girls keep diaries. I restarted reading several times because of the unrealistic dialogue. This time I got through enjoyed it.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stone gets a call that his cousin, a retired CIA agent, in Dark Harbor, Maine, has committed suicide. But, did he, or was he murdered? A few days prior to his cousin's death, Stone had received a copy of his will, with a letter that it was only to be opened upon his death. After the reading of the will, Stone decides he needs to investigate his cousin's death. Along with his friend Dino, and CIA agent's Lance, Holly, and her father Ham, as well as a few other retired CIA agents Stone starts his investigation. Are they finally able to solve the mystery and prove his cousin did not commit suicide? Follow Stone on this adventure to find out! I enjoyed the book.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - definitely one of Stuart’s better ones!

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the first book I’ve ever read by Stuart Woods & I didn’t think highly of it. The plot was basic & there was no character development by the author. Additionally, the writing was rather basic so the best rating I could give it was 2.4.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit slow at times and not too hard to figure out "whodunnit". Narration by Tony Roberts bumps up the rating -- 4 out of 10.

[Sam K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading a Stone B. book is like eating one of your favorite candies. Sure you know what it tastes like but it is still delicious!

[Teresa Langheim · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. It did keep me interested. But it was just another detective story with twists, action, and entertainment.

[R.J. Vaccarelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Multiple murders on a small quite island off Maine, including Barrington's cousin, create quite the mystery!

[Tabitha Ziogas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only 1 Real Complaint-- why would you bring your child to a house on an island where people were dying.