false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183585766m/410741.jpg 410741 12 Talk about a bad first day. Major Holly Barker thought she was getting out of a mess when she left the army. She'd been sexually harassed by her superior, but the exigencies of the military legal system wound up wrecking <I>her</I> career. Orchid Beach seemed like the perfect place to start over. Though Chief Marley, an old family friend, was worried about some local increases in the drug trade, the Florida barrier island was not a crime mecca. As the new deputy police chief, Holly would be stepping on the toes of a few Orchid Beach P.D. regulars who were being overlooked for the job, but she would prove her worth in short order. After installing her trailer in Riverview, though, the bad news started to flood the Beach. The chief was found along the side of highway A1A with a bullet through the head, and his closest friend just had his skull blown apart with the chief's shotgun. Now, Holly is the acting chief in a town she hardly knows and with a police force that's full of animosity towards its newly minted leader. Just about the only consolation is that Holly has inherited Daisy, a Doberman who's about the best and most faithful friend a troubled gal could ask for; Daisy's a fierce defender of her master and she knows how to retrieve a beer on command. Holly is a new character for Stuart Woods, and the author wastes no time getting readers into the thick of the mystery. This means that character takes a bit of a back seat to plotting in <I>Orchid Beach</I>, but with a mystery this fast-paced, the tradeoff is worthwhile. <I>--Patrick O'Kelley</I> 2781069 1998 Orchid Beach (Holly Barker, #1) total:777|5:144|4:293|3:290|2:44|1:6| 777 2856 1026 69 4 2 true false Thu Jun 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 23 11:14:20 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 05 22:05:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Dec 22 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 01 17:41:52 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 01 17:44:40 -0800 2009 Holly Barker grew up as a military brat, got hooked on her father’s trade and climbed through the military ranks and OCS to major in charge of a military police division. Her immediate superior, a West Point grad, tried to woo the attractive major and when that didn’t work he attempted to ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Dec 04 12:26:03 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 12:26:32 -0800 2008
Woods has a clever way with setting, and the small island com...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 02:51:24 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 06:11:06 -0700 2009
Stuart Woods doesn't bother with much foreplay,...more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 13 12:56:26 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 13 13:08:42 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Feb 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 20:48:51 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 20:53:00 -0800 2009 early in the opening
but once the story took hold
who paid attention
to style
It's a page turner
made more interesting
because I've been along that road
through connected barrier islands
although I never quite found
that ...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Oct 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 08:59:39 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 09:16:44 -0700 2009
The plot and story line is excellent. Another best seller for Stuart Woods]]> 4 0 false false Mon Apr 19 00:00:00 -0700 1999 Tue Aug 25 13:07:18 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 13:07:40 -0700 2009 ]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Sat Aug 29 03:24:25 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 03:24:25 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Jun 18 18:22:03 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 18:39:37 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Apr 11 18:26:45 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 18:28:33 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Jun 15 07:34:42 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 07:35:45 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 12:41:11 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 12:41:11 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Mon Mar 02 14:02:47 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 14:04:17 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Thu Nov 26 12:26:08 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 26 12:26:42 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Mon Jul 06 15:15:49 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 15:34:18 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Feb 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 10:27:14 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 10:28:23 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 14:49:59 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 14:49:59 -0700 2009 3 1 false false Mon Jan 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 21:15:31 -0800 2009 Tue Sep 01 19:50:20 -0700 2009
Characters: B
Character Development: B
Plot: C
Pacing: A
Narrative: B
Dialogue: B
OVERALL: C+

A good new protagonist and a solid supporting cast combine with great pacing to form the strengths of this work. The author d...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Wed Jul 22 09:14:21 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 09:18:50 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=410741