For a more in depth review, please visit my blog, Chorley Chronicals, HERE!I must say that I normally take to female authors, but I can certainly tell the difference between a male's writing and a female's writing, especially with this series! The subject of each book has been a more "manly" subject, per say, than many female authored mystery books! Which is actually a great thing for me, because it throws something new into the mix!I have quickly come to love the Holly Barker series, and am upset that I am halfway through it now! Typically I will wait a good while between reading books in a series, however, I have managed to read the first three books in the Holly Barker in a month's time, and I don't intend to stop until I'm finished with the last book!The narrators, Dick Hill and Susie Breck, really do an awesome job partnering up to read the books in this series! I appreciate having the same narrator throughout the series thus far, and especially appreciate one narrator of each gender to help distinguish between the characters! I have really come to know and love their voices and think that they do a wonderful job of reading the story! I also appreciate the music at the opening and closing of each disc! Nice extra added!I have really grown to like the writing of Stuart Woods, and the more I read of this series, the more I like the characters and want to know what happens with Holly Barker, the main character of this series! I appreciate that as a man, Woods was able to create one of the best female fictional characters out there! She is everything that I would want to be...strong, beautiful, independent Chief of Police who isn't afraid of what's out there or to tell anybody what she thinks or how she is going to run her town! I appreciate her bluntness and humor! I also really enjoy Ham, which I was disappointed to hear from a lot less in Blood Orchid! Instead, we meet his secret girlfriend, Jenny, which seems to be a great fit with Ham! I love the relationship between Holly and Ham!The plot, of a real estate scheme brings us back to Palmetta Gardens and the purchase of it by a retired New Yorker! It is definitely not a plot that you're going to read anywhere else, so I enjoyed the creativeness of the book!Overall, I loved Blood Orchid just as much as I have the past two books in the series, and I am going right out to get the next book in the series, Reckless Abandon. I see that it is a series combo, with Stone Barrington, so I am hoping that the fact that it is book #10 of the Stone Barrington series isn't going to damper my reading since I've not yet read any books from that series (although we briefly met him in Orchid Blues!) Until next time...
Woods female lead Holly Barker overshadows Barrington !We had begun to tire of Woods' jet-setting playboy and sometime sleuth Stone Barrington, so this relatively new series starring Orchid Beach FL Police Chief Holly Barker has to our eye brought new life to his writing. In this third of the series featuring Holly, there are killings galore with a plot that moves along at a "murderous" pace. Indeed several attempts on our heroine's own life only add to the suspense as she unravels a tale stretching back and forth to Miami, with mob and drug connections bringing help from the FBI to the scene. That latter element is almost more a hurdle than anything -- we even wondered for a while if the agent in charge, Harry Crisp, who hindered Holly while constantly pumping her for leads, was one of the bad guys. Meanwhile, Grant Early, a federal agent working undercover in Orchid Beach, adds a little romantic interest to the story, leading to a climax or two other than the one at the end of the book!The villain was probably a little more obvious than usual -- one player seemed a little fishy almost from the start, but it's quite a while before enough facts and clues converge to spell out the whole scheme of things. In between, we turned pages and burned the chapters almost as fast as they would go to reach the satisfying conclusion.Holly is a tough but likable character; her father Ham and one of her local officers, Hurd, plus her faithful hound Daisy add some good support roles in this well written, lively mystery which we thoroughly enjoyed. Some good scenes involving small aircraft added interest as well. So -- a step up from a beach read, but a tale that moves quickly 'longside the fireplace. All in all, Woods in great form.
What do You think about Blood Orchid (2003)?
I shall keep in mind that Stuart Woods would be a safe bet should I come up against needing something to read in the future. I had recently enjoyed another Woods’ novel (Doing Hard Time) where another reviewer said he was disappointed that Woods had gone to short novels such as it was. “Blood Orchid” is a different series, but the story-telling seems similar – and not really at all bad. I must admit that in the process of transferring the work to my iPhone, part 3 was placed after part 6 in the queue. When, at the end of part 2 the player started in on part 4 I really didn’t notice anything out of sorts. UNTIL, when part 3 started playing after part 6 I realized something was amiss. But not so amiss that I wasted more than a few minutes figuring it out, and fast forwarded to part 7 – and didn’t go back to piece together how the “missing” part may have affected my understanding of the story. Anyone who really enjoys cop/crime novels could do far worse than give Blood Orchid a chance.
—Eric
Synopsis: Blood Orchid is the third adventure of Chief of Police Holly Barker. This time out, Holly is trying to get her life back together after the shattering loss of her fiancé Jackson. With the help of her wily Doberman, Daisy, and her father, Ham as well as Ham's girlfriend Ginny who's a pilot, she throws herself back into the job with a vengeance. At a local restaurant, Holly and Ham meet a gentleman new to the area, rich and dapper developer Ed Shine, who has found an evocative name for both his favorite flower and his latest real-estate venture: the "Blood Orchid." But before Holly can settle into her routine again, bullets crash into the home of a friend and a floater is found bobbing in the Intercoastal Waterway. Holly connects these events to the death-by-sniper-fire of two Miami businessmen and a man evading questions at a Federal agency-but she can't imagine how these violent occurrences could be related to her own quiet, unspoiled town of Orchid Beach. Joining forces with a handsome FBI agent, she tracks the clues straight to their source, only to find a scam more lucrative and more dangerous than any this idyllic town-or Holly-has ever seen. **Review** As the book opens, two out of three Miami bidders for are shot and killed. Ed Shine, narrowly escapes the same fate. It seems the Miami mob has no intention of allowing anyone access to this property. Meanwhile, Barker, discovers that her beach house is being bugged. Along with Ginny, Dad's girlfriend, the two women make an emergency landing on the beach and scare the perp away, but his body is soon found floating in the Indian River. Several attempts on Holly's life add to the suspense of the book. FBI agent Harry Crisp continues to hinder Holly's investigation while constantly pumping her for leads, was one of the bad guys. Meanwhile, Grant Early, a federal agent working undercover in Orchid Beach, adds a little romantic interest to the story.Holly is a likable character and her father Ham, officer Hurd, plus her faithful hound Daisy add some good supporting roles to this 3rd novel in the series.
—Shelley aka Gizmo's Reviews
Much better than the first two books. Really liked that Holly has a new love interst. I really like Grant and hope things continue between the two of them. Might be hard since he's FBI but I think they could make it work. I was a little surprised by Ed but at the same time expected it. Just like I expected Harry's reaction to it all. After Holly got him to his promoted position he became a bit of an ass. Slowly more and more. I really didn't like him much in this book. His withholding pertinent information almost got her killed. If not for Grant she wouldn't have even suspected anything going on at Blood Orchid. I understand not giving away their operation but leaving out all the information he could have given her but didn't almost got her and Grant killed.
—Evil Twin One (Ange)
