Stone Barrington has barely arrived in St. Marks, a lovely Caribbean island nation, for a planned sailing vacation when something very strange happens: a beautiful young woman sails into the harbor, entirely alone on a large yacht.

Before long she is under the intense scrutiny of local authorities in the very considerable person of Sir Winston Sutherland, the Minister of Justice. The problem is, though she arrived alone, she had departed the other side of the Atlantic in the company of her husband, a well-known writer, who is no longer in evidence.

Evidence is what fascinates Stone, and before many pages have been turned, he is all that stands between the apparently innocent Allison Manning and the patently evil intent of Sir Winston, whose motives are unclear. What is clear is that the St. Marks' system of justice bears little resemblance to the American courts to which Stone is accustomed, and his smallest error could prove fatal to his client.

Librarian's note: the first five books in the Stone Barrington series are #1, New York Dead, 1991; #2, Dirt, 1996; #3, Dead in the Water, 1997; #4, Swimming to Catalina, 1998; and #5, Worst Fears Realized, 1999.

Reader Reviews

Diane Wallace

(4/5)

Apr 29, 2024

Exciting read! cleverly crafted writing with a good plot-twist combine in a great series...highly recommend...(paperback!)

Eli Hornyak

Kind of an odd situation for a lawyer to get himself into in a foreign country, while waiting for his girlfriend to show up for vacation. The twist wasn't completely unexpected, however still a well written story that kept my interest through the whole book.

Author Annabelle Leigha

(5/5)

Stuart Woods is the King of the plot twist! No spoilers but OMG!

Barb

(1/5)

I read the first two Stone Barrington books. I put up with the sex portions, although I felt it was a distraction from the (otherwise) good story. However, "Dead In The Water just went downhill for me. It was hard to figure out if there was a story line or just a listing of sexploits. Too bad as I bought about 12 or so of his books at our last library sale. All of his books will be donated back to the library for their next book sale, unread by me. He really seems to be a good author. Seems like...

Jack Heath

4 Stars. These things happen to Stone Barrington. Is it luck or bad luck? I truly enjoy the stories and keep returning for more. In the previous novel, "Dirt," he met the lovely Arrington Carter. They are now living together. But she is suddenly up to her ears in an exclusive interview with one of America's leading film stars, Vance Carter, for the "New Yorker" and can't make the sailing adventure he planned. He is already awaiting her in the fictitious island of St. Marks, which is not far from...

Katy

Please Note: Read and reviewed in 2006. Updating formatting.My Synopsis: After Stone Barrington is stood up by his girl during a trip to St. Mark's, he becomes involved in a murder trial for a fellow American, a young woman whom the local governmental big-wigs are apparently intent on railroading into a murder charge whether she is guilty or not. Stone, desperate to find some way to pressure the St. Mark's government into backing off, starts a major media blitz in the US and floods the island wi...

Doug

I love what Woods does here. Sure, Barrington stories are kind of campy and very soap opera-ish, but this is a fast read with all the components of a good murder mystery. For even those of us who think we have it all figured out halfway through, we don't. I sure like a challenge.

Kristina Deluise

(2/5)

i hate it when i think the detective is believing the damsel because she's pretty and he thinks he's going to get luckyFIRST.......... he's thinking of marriage on the plane etc.then he meets this woman, and gets a hard on, seriously..............and is in bed with her BEFORE he even gets the dear john letter,i really don't like that stone is forever going to bed with different womenthis guy has no morals...............................this one did not hold my attention, i am going to try and rea...

Barbara ★

Honestly this was more a sexfest than anything else. Allison Manning jumps right into bed with Stone Barrington (her lawyer) just days (weeks) after her husband whom she claims to love dearly has died. Stone is alone on vacation in St. Marks. Though that was not the intention. His girlfriend was supposed to join him but weasels out at the last moment. Now Stone is all set to propose to her so the man whore elements come as a real surprise to this reader.I am not impressed with Stone Barrington.

Robyn

Dead in the Water (Stone Barrington)Stuart WoodsSo, starting this series as a new reader to it, I have to say that I really enjoyed this action-packed and well-written novel. Barrington is on his way to a well-deserved vacation on a sailboat when his GF can't get away from work and has to reschedule her flight to the next day... and then the next day and the next and then she says she can't make it.. Love ya, see ya and then respectfully. But Woods holds no punches back and marches Stone Barring...

Anastasia

Dead in the Water by Stuart Woods is the 3rd book in the Stone Barrington series. Stone Barrington has planned a sailing vacation from St. marks in the Caribbean but when a young wealthy women sails in and is arrested for murdering her husband with no evidence, he is compelled to help her. It is difficult to believe the political and legal situation that Stone finds himself in and he seems to have no problems with sleeping with his client while waiting for his girlfriend to arrive. A fast paced

Kay

Another great novel from Stuart Woods.

Subscribe to Read | $0.00

Popular Genres

Subscribe to Read | $0.00

Dead in the Water

Dead in the Water

Dead in the Water

More books from Stuart Woods

New York Dead

Orchid Beach

Blood Orchid

L.A. Dead

Lucid Intervals

Bel-Air Dead

Dirt

Dirty Work

Swimming to Catalina

Reckless Abandon

Doing Hard Time

Santa Fe Rules

Palindrome

Chiefs

Imperfect Strangers

Under The Lake

Run Before the Wind

Deep Lie

A Safe House

White Cargo

Reader Reviews