Stuart Woods’ Finders Keepers

Danger, suspense, violence, and a new romance continue to take front stage in the sixty-sixth book in the Stone Barrington series. This series was started by Stuart Woods and is being continued by Brett Battles. Stuart Woods’ Finders Keepers starts with Stone returning from the newest Arrington property that will open soon in Martha’s Vineyard.

Jack Coulter asks Stone to help in settling his niece Sara into city life as she goes through a divorce. However, when both Sara’s and Jack’s pasts catch up with them, lives are in danger and Stone must put the puzzle together before someone dies.

By this time in the series, Stone’s character is well developed. He’s smart, depends on his executive assistant Joan to keep him organized, likes women, enjoys the finer things in life, and is a lawyer. There are always several new characters as well as some visits from characters from previous books giving the series even more continuity. Reconnecting with these old friends was effortless. This includes his best friend New York City Police Commissioner Dino Bacchetti, CIA Director Lance Cabot, and Dame Felicity Devonshire, the head of MI6. I enjoy the interactions and humor that Joan provides. This author has done a great job of capturing the vision of Stuart Woods’ characters while continuing to add nuances that provide even more depth.

In this adventure and crime novel, readers quickly learn the antagonists, but it’s the journey that Stone and his team take that keeps readers flying through the pages from start to finish. While readers get different points of view during the story, it is seamless and flows well and is well-balanced. There are plenty of disreputable, dishonest, and dangerous individuals in this multi-layered plot that is full of twists and a few surprises. Travel is also an expected part of each novel and this one doesn’t disappoint. Trips to Martha’s Vineyard and Stone’s country house in England add to the adventure. While it’s a fast read, it’s also entertaining despite the somewhat expected outcome. Themes include friendship, jealousy, greed, and revenge.

Overall, this was a tense, clever, and exciting novel with danger, action, well-developed characters, and some closed-door romance. I am looking forward to finding out what happens next in the series. If you enjoy quality drama, adventure, and mysteries that are packed with suspense then I recommend that you check out this series. While the series is best read in order, the crimes within this one are self-contained. However, readers would be missing a lot of background and character development.

PENGUIN GROUP Putnam – G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Brett Battles provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for June 03, 2025.