Stone Saves Centurion. Stone is asked by Arrington to represent her in the sale of stock in Centurion Studios, which is under seige as a takeover target for the land it occupies. He grabs Dino and heads for the Bel-Air guest house, only to be advised by Arrington that she's leaning towards selling her shares and cleaning the cash to buy a horse farm in Virginia. Stone steps in to represent her and discovers that she is being lied to about the property and that she is worth billions. In LA, Stone allies with Rick Barron-the aging Centurion head-and finds that Terry Prince, an abrasive realtor backed by drug money, is aggressively positioning himself for the takeover and is the buyer of Arrington's existing estate in Virginia. Stone joyously reengages star Charlene Joiner to discuss her Centurion holdings while swapping bodily fluids. As the body count mounts among share holders in LA as Prince corrals shares, Stone secures Arrington's business and is finally voted in as a full partner at his law firm. Heading into the fateful shareholder meeting, Rick produces a staggering film production starring the deceased Vance Calder, as Stone and Arrington reacquaint themselves with bedroom gymnasics. Prince is ultimately outvoted and Barbara Eagle surfaces as an irritant in the ointment for Stone and Ed Eagle. I enjoyed Bel-Air Dead by Stuart Woods more so that many apparently, judging from the reviews. I must admit thought that this was only my third Stone Barrington read. I love the characters but I can see where after 20 books of Stone hopping in an out of bed with anything in a skirt and a pretty face and the super fast way the uber wealthy can do business (like close on multi-billion dollar real estate deals in 5 days or less) appear to be pretty unrealistic. I do still enjoy Woods' ability to weave storylines together nicely and keep me turning the pages well into the night and finishing one of the books never takes longer than 48 hours.
What do You think about Bel-Air Dead (2011)?
Great read, love Woods writing style. On to another great book. Love the Stone Barrington series.
—Monu
Stone is helping past girlfriend and mother of his son. Enjoyable story in Hollywood.
—Jay
another Stone Barrington novel by Stuart Woods...good read...predictable
—lovely
Always full of rich people and lush settings. A good Stone Barrington.
—Ilse
