Dirty Work

Stone Barrington #9

by Stuart Woods

Hired to prove infidelity in an heiress's marriage, Stone Barrington goes undercover. But the work turns dirty-and catastrophic-when the errant husband is found dead and the other woman disappears without a trace. Now, Stone must clear his own good name and find a killer hiding among the glitterati of New York's high society. Enter Carpenter-the beautiful British intelligence agent first encountered in The Short Forever-who has arrived in New York to begin an investigation of her own. Stone suspects that her case is strangely connected to the dead husband. And he and Dino, his former NYPD partner, are set to face the most bizarre and challenging assignment of their very colorful careers.

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

346 pages, ebook

First published April 14, 2003

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 4 out of 5]

Great series! gritty in nature which was full of underhanded supporting characters that add their own twist to this storyline with additional intense action..well written (paperback!)

[Jack Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. Once again Stone Barrington does some lawyering but spends much more time entertaining beautiful women, policing with his friend Lieutenant Bacchetti, and enjoying the high life at Elaine's Restaurant. These addictive episodes could be titled, In the life of Stone. Bill Eggers, the senior partner at Woodman and Weld always frets about losing any of the firms' rich clients; when Elena Marks worries about her husband's fidelity, Bill asks Stone to get proof. It's dirty work so he hires Herbie, the nephew of a friend, to photograph a possible assignation but the incompetent-one proceeds to fall through a skylight and kill the husband. Not the desired outcome! But in the process, he actually gets the first photo of an international fugitive, a lovely assassin nicknamed "La Biche" who is being pursued by the UK security force. It turns out that Stone's recent fling, the attractive Felicity Devonshire who hails from London, is a member of that service. So, we begin. The body count mounts. For those who enjoy the series, keep an eye on Herbie, this is his first appearance. He's coming back! So am I. (Jul2018/Oc2025)

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of my least favorite in this series. This chase for a principled killer, if you will, is full of bungling on behalf of innocents and chasers to the point of annoyance. 3 of 10 stars

[Terence M [on a brief semi-hiatus] · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars out 0f 5.0 - Audiobook - 6 hours 42 minutes - 6 discs

A quick overnight read that reintroduces Carpenter, the beautiful operative from MI5 or 6, or whatever Military Intelligence is called now. Lots of bloodshed was caused by the evil spy, La Biche, who is that queen of clichés. a "master of disguise". She fools Barrington, his good mate Lieutenant Dino, Carpenter, et many al.

Some GR reviewers thought this book was funny - a sad comment on their senses of humour I think because I don't remember raising a half-smile anytime from go to whoa. Maybe I just don't 'get' humour in books; the only time I can remember laughing, as in 'LOL', was while reading "The Moon's a Balloon" by David Niven, sometime in the early seventies.

The narration was barely satisfactory. The reader's attempt at various English accents may have sounded ok to his fellow Americans, but was barely tolerable to those whose origins are British.

[Peg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I keep reading the Stone Barrington books. He ends up in bed with practically every woman he meets within twenty-four hours. It's kind of annoying and really not much to these stories. But I keep reading them; maybe it's for Dino. I much prefer him to Stone.

[Jerry B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe best Barrington yet - great action suspense & thrills!

We were growing a bit tired of Woods' Stone Barrington series, feeling that the last few were kind of lackluster -- more concerned about Stone's love life and lifestyle than delivering the suspenseful tales we have seen in numerous earlier outings and in Woods' new Holly Barker series. To our delight, "Dirty Work" brings Stone back in a great yarn -- one with such suspenseful action throughout we could hardly turn the pages fast enough. Reminiscent of John Sandford's "Mortal Prey", in which international assassin Clara Rinker is so clever and so successful we dern near wind up rooting for her instead of the good guys (!), "Dirty" features its own female assassin "La Biche", who is out to get revenge on the British secret service for offing her parents. This becomes the entree to re-introduce sexy Brit female agent "Carpenter", whom Stone met in the just prior novel "Short Forever". More than just a fun dinner (and bed) partner for Stone, Carpenter is the link between Stone's efforts as a private eye, Dino Bacchetti's (Stone's best cop friend) work to catch La Biche for the NYPD, and various FBI hangers-on. Woods' imagination worked overtime as he fills the alternating efforts of La Biche to knock off all her foes (we began to lose count she's so good) and the resolve of everybody else to nail her. Some clever work by Stone to actually engage himself as her lawyer (so that he can twist lawyer/clent confidentiality to their mutual purposes) re-surfaces late in the book as a very unusual twist at the end.

Woods is at his very best -- this is a must read not merely for his fans but for anybody enjoying a fast-paced thriller featuring clever bad "guys" and a horde of chasers. The ending brings not only great satisfaction, but who gets theirs brings ample surprise. Enjoy this great read!

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spies and espionage in this one: specifically MI5 (or maybe MI6?)

A new side to Stone's personality emerges -- one I don't like. He forces Herbie into a job and when things go wrong, he pretty much tells Herbie that he's on his own. (Although later he does an about-face.) He later tries the same thing with Dino. I've not thought of Stone as a pushy manipulator before.

[Tgordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m blowing through this series at break neck rate. This is a fun series that does have nearly everything. Romance sex and murder. Stone is reunited with his female agent from London but she’s in New York chasing a women who is also chasing her! Stone in the middle as always!

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing to read the older books this being the ninth in the series. It is nice to see the early backstory of characters that are big in the later books like Felicity. Stone is working for a client that wants proof of infidelity to justify her divorce filing and to trigger a prenuptial clause that would stop her husband from getting any of her money. He hires Herbie Fisher to get pictures but that ends in a mess when he falls through a skylight. From there the political intrigue begins including the reappearance of Carpenter from earlier who we find out is actually Felicity. Lots of action and intrigue make for a fast paced fun read.

[DaShannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this back in 2004 and I also read Wood's Under the Lake. I liked them both enough to keep picking up his books and just finished Choke, which I finished in days and really liked. But admittedly I don't remember much of this one 18 years later. That's ok. This kind of book does what it is suppose to do. It entertains with a great PI or cop, in this case in NYC, who has a disturbing case where someone ends up dead. Along the way he meets a beautiful woman and they end up in romantic tangles. I'll read any Stuart Woods.

[ML · Rating 3 out of 5]

A morally superior acting Stone. Epic eye roll.
This was a tangled mess where no one was a good guy.

Carpenter is back and she’s on a mission and even Stone will not get in her way. Dino tries to keep Stone from making serious mistakes but is not always successful. Nobody comes out of this looking good.

Now I’m back to reading the Will Lee universe since I skipped him in the reading order.. “The Run” it is…

[Gary Gallucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly skilled female assassin is trying to kill select members of British Intelligence, including a woman Stone Barrington recently became involved with and who has been staying with him in New York. Stone comes to understand the assassin's rationale behind the selection of her targets. While British Intelligence musters their troops for the purpose of killing the assassin, Stone makes contact with this rogue killer and attempts to find an accord between the warring parties. Exciting.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Kept me entertained especially the bantering between Stone and Dino. I’ve only read one other Stone Barrington novel and didn’t like it as much as this one. I really need to get the first one and start reading them in order.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stone is wearing thin. I don't find him as charming as the author tries to make him out to be.

[Geri · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a life Stone Barrington lives.
The people that are his right hands
certainly keep everything running smoothly.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one started off well but went off the rails halfway through. The level of Stone's stupidity was mind-boggling.

[Terry Steinborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our man Stone is at it again. It is quite amazing how he gets himself into these situations involving high-level players, high secrets, murder, etc, from more or less casual acquaintanceships with beautiful and sophisticated women. This book is a case-in-point. He is asked to do a simple catch-the-errant-husband investigation (photos through a skylight), but in the first few pages it turns into high intrigue involving the British Secret Service, the FBI, and, of course, the NYPD. Who would have guessed? The book is definitely and entertaining thriller, but the plot is too incredible to believe. Hopefully the next SB adventure will be a bit more down-to-earth.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me to pass along to someone else (uncle bud!) But I started reading it and quite enjoyed it. Action, adventure detective style, fun premise of not a little too murderous. I would read other books by this author and he has many to choose from. I will drop this one off to uncle bud today😃

[John Mulholland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woods is funny. Throughout all of his boofs.

[Claudia Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good plot & characters!

[David Erickson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Handling the less than savory cases for the law firm of Woodman and Weld, Stone Barrington is assigned to look into the philandering of a rich woman’s husband, but the photographer Stone hires literally drops in on the subject of the surveillance, and it looks like the fall killed him. But a simple peep and click turns into a search for an international killer and an intimate assignation with an alluring British spy.

This is Stuart Woods doing what Stuart Woods does – writing entertaining stories, but about two thirds of the way through I was stopped cold and found it difficult to continue, though I did.

As the case unfolds, Stone discovers that the death of the object of the surveillance wasn’t an accident and involved spies and assassins. Stone gleans from Carpenter and her colleagues that it was an injustice that started young Marie-Therese on her murderous rampage. Now it’s clear that British intelligence wronged her by killing her parents (the justification being somewhat unclear) and Stone sees it as his moral obligation to rescue her, which is laudable but for one truly horrendous aspect that gets shoved under the rug. Not only does this woman hire out as an assassin for Middle Eastern terrorists, but she routinely murders gay women so she can assume their identity, often for only a few hours.

The whole tale turns on Stone doing the morally upright thing for a morally impoverished and cold-blooded demon. While it mattered what transformed this young lady, Stone’s riding to her rescue like the Eagle Scout he was is laudable for someone who routinely steps outside the law, but ignoring the innocent lives lost at the hands of this troubled young woman was far too jarring.

Excellent writing, believable characters, great attention to detail and a solid story arc made this an entertaining read, but the premise drew down on that so much that I would suggest Wood’s fans let this one slip on by, untouched.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really, really bad. "Hey, I think someone is out to murder you." "Oh, ok. Do you have plans for dinner?" "No" "Let's go to a fancy, popular restaurant and order steak."

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 9th book in Woods’ Stone Barrington series. And I will say at the outset, one of the better ones I have read (or listened to as these books make good choices for audio books). Stone is hired to prove that the husband of an heiress is guilty of infidelity. He in turn hires the nephew of one of his associates, Herbie Fisher, to obtain evidence, but all goes haywire when Herbie falls through the skylight onto an already dead husband, and his paramour has disappeared without a trace. Stone knows something is amiss when it is determined that the husband was dead before Herbie fell upon him. Stone is drawn into dangerous circumstances which he finds connected to Carpenter (a beautiful British intelligence agent who has appeared in an earlier book) who has shown up in New York to an investigation. Working as always with NYPD homicide chief Dino Bacchetti, the action is fast and furious in this one. A fun read (listen) as always.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

October 2024. The rise and fall of Labiche plus the complexities of governments and leaders “knowing” the rightness of their cause, at any cost.diary 10/26/25……

May 2023 Herbie is a “weak link” inthis story. The British involvment is a high point.
Nov 2021. still a fav.

April 2020 This is a classic Stone Barrington story. I just upped rating to 5 stars.
The sub-plot of Carpenter and companies quite central to the story.

Dec 2018 ditto
April 2017 ditto
6-14-2015 still recommend it!!!!!
01-01-2015 This is one of my favorite Stone Barrington books.
It is surprising that Herbie is such a putz here and becomes such a trusted mench a little later.
From "get away from me" to "go to" guy. I liked the cropping up of moral dilemmas between Stone, Dino and Carpenter. Highly recommend it!

[BookCrazy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking for a new author to read and based on this book, I will continue to look. The story was not new and the characters were poorly developed.

The story line lurched from one murder to another with a few bouts of sex in between. Everything happened too quickly and easily (changing appearances, moves to safe houses, trip to St Thomas). There was little drama or tension. It was hard to believe that the villain made so many mistakes after all of her prior successes. Even the hero's conscience and choices near the end versus his "girlfriend"'s lack of conscience was predictable and trite.

The whole story from setup to denouement went like a 1 hour crime drama. Maybe that was what the book was meant to be - a script for a TV show.

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way better than the last Stone Barrington book I read (D.C. Dead — rated 1/5 stars). Then again this is only the 9th book in the series (versus the 30-somethingth book), so Woods isn’t burnt out yet. I loved Marie-Therese and how somehow, I was cheering for her even though she was a “bad guy.” She was SO badass and also never slept with Stone so I give her an A+ rating for that since basically every other woman in the series falls at Stone’s feet begging to have sex with him. She did not. Very admirable — and unusual in such a white male baby boomer fantasy read as this series tends to be.

[Diana Suddreth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whenever I need a quick read to keep on track for my Goodreads goals, I can count on Stuart Woods to deliver a few hours of fun with Stone Barrington. In this one Stone has a little help bungling into an assassin who manages to elude him while dropping people all over NYC. Carpenter, a character in one of the other books, comes to town for a little work and a little fun, which provides Stone the always necessary opportunity to spend some time in bed. I don't expect much from the Stone Barrington series, and that way, I just have fun with the read.

[Sue Merrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Stone Barrington novel and I plan to revisit this updated sleuth noir. I love the banter between him and his cop buddy Dino. This plot is full of twists and turns with lots of excitement and danger, not to mention quite a few deaths. But Barrington's response to the international intrigue surprised me. Who looks at an assassin and says "there's gotta be a better way"? And for a while it looks like his logical approach just might work. But the biggest surprise is that he sticks to the moral high ground in the end. I could learn to like this guy.

[Jayme Pendergraft · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars, I think, mainly because I listened to this on audio book. I could not stand the narrator- his New York accent, of which he had to voice more than one character, was horrible. I think I got distracted by the story trying to remember whose voice was whose.

I do think I like Stone Barrington and would enjoy more of Woods' books. The story was completely preposterous as you can expect with many noir, international mystery books. It was a nice short listen over all.

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books about the character Stone Barrington are always entertaining. James Bond stories are more exciting, but Stone, and his police officer friend, Dino Crocetti, get into many adventures. When Stone hires Herbie Fisher to take some pictures of a philandering husband, Herbie falls thru the skylight, which leads to involvement with an international female assassin. The British intelligence officer, Carpenter from Short Forever reappears as Stone's love interest.