This is a good one. Son of Stone (2012) is #21 in the long Stone Barrington series.
Barrington marries his one true love, Arrington Calder, and gets to know his 15-year-old son for the first time.
Very fast paced. Lots of action.
Plenty of money.
If you read just one of these entertaining books, this is it.
Not the best of the series.
Stone Barrington has even more beautiful women than usual — throwing themselves at him.
Kisser (2010) is #17 in the series.
At Elaine’s, his favorite New York City restaurant, Barrington meets Carrie Cox, an aspiring actress and singer intent on landing a big Broadway musical part. In the meantime, she works as a lipstick model for an advertising agency.
Meanwhile, Barrington is hired to investigate artist Derek Sharpe and convince him to stay away from Hildy, a rich girl who’s soon to come into trust fund big money .
There are yet more women.
“Sapphire” by Ed Sheeran is Western pop with Indian – specifically Punjabi – musical influence.
Something completely different.
It’s the 3rd single from Sheeran’s 2025 studio album, Play
Ed has backpacker cred since he spent a year travelling the world, staying in cheap hostels, drinking cheap beer.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch Making of Sapphire (Studio Behind The Scenes on YouTube.
For some reason I downloaded a kids book ➙ Middle School: Too Uncool for School (2025) by James Patterson and Martin ‘Ed’ Chatterton.
Surprisingly entertaining. An easy read, only 3 hours on audio.
It’s #17 of the popular Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life series.
Rafe Khatchadorian has never been cool. But all that changes when he becomes the guitarist in an awesome rock band and wrangles a part-time job at Hills Village’s trendiest new coffee shop slash yoga studio. No more being at the bottom of the middle school food chain—Rafe is finally going to be popular!
He just has two teeny problems: the awesome rock band is led by none other than the school bully. And the band actually isn’t awesome—they absolutely stink, and Rafe has to whip them into shape for the Best Band Competition.
With Rafe’s newfound coolness on the line, will he find a way to hit the stage in style or is he doomed to dorkdom forever?
The CBS made for TV movie looks entertaining, as well. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Not the best King I’ve read — but very good.
Never Flinch (2025) is a crime novel by Stephen King.
A stand alone book, but one that includes fan favourite recurring character Holly Gibney.
Two stories run in parallel, then converge for the finale.
For me, the Izzy Jaynes storyline was more interesting. That bad guy truly bizarre.
Gospel singer Sista Bessie is one of those terrific King characters with whom you can truly relate.
He’s one of our best storytellers.
Hidden Nature (2025) is another of her terrific romance novels. Uplifting.
She’s one of the best storytellers.
The murder mystery is less compelling. Too drawn out. (Her fans like LOONNNGGGG books.)
I did like the bad guys, however.
I love the details she includes in every book. You always learn something. In this case, I learned much about home renovation.
Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, is the focus. An interesting job.
She’s shot. Died. And shocked back to life on the operating table.
Sloan searches online for similar cases of people who have come back from the dead — as the killers seem to be targeting them.
I got sick of Ava and Deborah fighting at the start of this season. Too much negativity.
I’m finally tiring of the drama in this comedy.
Michaela Watkins as Stacey, the HR representative is great, however.
And there are some laughs in every episode.
Dance Mom is fantastic.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The 6th book in the Jane Whitefield series — Runner (2009) — is good, but the weakest of the collection, so far.
For more than a decade, Jane pursued her unusual profession: “I’m a guide . . . I show people how to go from places where somebody is trying to kill them to other places where nobody is.”
Then she promised her husband she would never work again, and settled in to live a happy, quiet life as Jane McKinnon, the wife of a surgeon in Amherst, New York.
But when a bomb goes off in the middle of a hospital fundraiser, Jane finds herself face to face with the cause of the explosion: a young pregnant girl who has been tracked across the country by a team of hired hunters.
That night, regardless of what she wants or the vow she’s made to her husband, Jane must come back to transform one more victim into a runner.
Smolder — Stone Barrington Novel #65 — is first in the long series written completely by Brett Battles.
The original Barrington author, Stuart Woods, died in 2022 at age-84. Battles has taken over.
I’m impressed at how similar this book is to the Stuart Woods style. I really couldn’t tell the difference. Battles reread the entire series in order to stay consistent.
An entertaining plot.
I was interested to see that Battles had self-published most of his own novels. This one is published by Putnam’s.
Stuart Woods had been working on a new novel in his popular series of books about cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington when he died. Would Battles be willing to come on and write the rest of the book?
… I said, ‘Well, yes, please, I would love to do that,’” says Battles, who immediately got to work on what would be published as 2023’s “Near Miss.” …
Battles, a novelist with more than 40 books to his credit, including his Jonathan Quinn thriller series, had served as a co-writer on a Stuart Woods’ novel, “Obsession,” …
How Stuart Woods’ character Stone Barrington lives on in Brett Battles’ ‘Smolder’
Finally enjoying some downtime in Santa Fe, Stone Barrington agrees to attend an art exhibit with a dear friend. There, he encounters an intriguing woman who is on the trail of a ring of art thieves. Always one to please, Stone offers his help.
From Santa Fe to Los Angeles, it quickly becomes clear that her investigation has links to Stone—particularly to rare Matilda Stone art, his mother’s paintings. And when old grudges come to light, Stone is forced to reckon with a familiar enemy.
Rick McCharles 