Book Review - Iron Orchid by Stuart Woods
Category Book Reviews
I recently checked out Iron Orchid by Stuart Woods from the library. I normally look forward to his Holly Barker and Stone Barrington novels, but this one left me a bit puzzled and flat...
Holly Barker has officially joined the CIA and is undergoing her training down at "The Farm". But the training is cut short when Teddy Fay, a rogue ex-CIA employee who was killing right-wing officials in a prior novel, turns out not to be as dead as everyone expected. A mid-air plane explosion was a carefully crafted diversion to make it look as if Fay was no more, but he is now back in New York killing off foreign spies and enemies of the US. Barker has had some level of success in breaking cases that stymied the local police, so she's brought in to track down Fay, who is a master of disguise and leaves absolutely no trace of himself behind...
So, why puzzled and flat? Because this novel appeared to be marking time between the last Barker installment and some yet-to-be written/released novel in the future. I never did understand the motivation behind why Fay was picking his targets, considering he could have just walked away from it all and retired peacefully. Other than Barker now working for the CIA and living in New York, I didn't really see how this novel advanced her as a character. And the ending had "in the next book, Fay and Barker..." written all over it. I got to the end and thought, "That's it?"
Iron Orchid was an easy book to read and follow, and I enjoy Wood's writing. It's just that this story didn't seem to go anywhere...
I recently checked out Iron Orchid by Stuart Woods from the library. I normally look forward to his Holly Barker and Stone Barrington novels, but this one left me a bit puzzled and flat...
Holly Barker has officially joined the CIA and is undergoing her training down at "The Farm". But the training is cut short when Teddy Fay, a rogue ex-CIA employee who was killing right-wing officials in a prior novel, turns out not to be as dead as everyone expected. A mid-air plane explosion was a carefully crafted diversion to make it look as if Fay was no more, but he is now back in New York killing off foreign spies and enemies of the US. Barker has had some level of success in breaking cases that stymied the local police, so she's brought in to track down Fay, who is a master of disguise and leaves absolutely no trace of himself behind...
So, why puzzled and flat? Because this novel appeared to be marking time between the last Barker installment and some yet-to-be written/released novel in the future. I never did understand the motivation behind why Fay was picking his targets, considering he could have just walked away from it all and retired peacefully. Other than Barker now working for the CIA and living in New York, I didn't really see how this novel advanced her as a character. And the ending had "in the next book, Fay and Barker..." written all over it. I got to the end and thought, "That's it?"
Iron Orchid was an easy book to read and follow, and I enjoy Wood's writing. It's just that this story didn't seem to go anywhere...
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