A high-end attorney and "fixer" finds himself drawn into a case that includes jewel thefts, art robberies and more than a bit of treachery. Stone Barrington is a very successful attorney and former police officer. He's also one of those guys who has no trouble attracting women. So when the very sexy insurance adjuster Crane Hart ends up in bed with him, he doesn't think much of it. He even gallantly offers to help her with a messy divorce from her soon-to-be-ex husband Don Dugan. But it doesn't take long for him to realize that he might have just made a big mistake.
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It isn't just that Crane and Don seem to still be together after their court settlement or that she's now wrangled a job with one of Stone's friends. It's that a series of robberies seem to be tied to Dugan and the information for the robberies seem to have come from Crane's insurance industry job. Not that Stone is exactly heartbroken. He has already begun dating the lovely Ann Keaton, who happens to be the assistant to First Lady Kate Lee. Kate is an old platonic friend of Stone's and he gets sucked into her fledgling Presidential campaign after rumors surface about a possible affair between Stone and Kate.
While battling the nosy press, Stone and former police partner Dino Bachetti continue tracking Dugan and the gang of thieves. Stone and Ann happen to be at a society party hosted by two old friends and even though the robbers are wearing masks, Stone recognizes one of the thieves as being an associate of Dugan's. Things get even worse for Stone when he gets home and discovers that someone has stolen ten paintings created by his late mother which are worth about $10 million. He's sure that Crane had a part in the theft, since she knew about the paintings. But how to prove it?
Then Stone gets a call out of the blue from an art dealer who has just been shown one of Stone's missing paintings. The seller is only asking $10,000 and Stone makes arrangements to buy that painting and his other missing paintings for only $100,000. It turns out the paintings were stolen out of a van from the original thieves who stole them from Stone. He's recovered the paintings and the police use the info to trap and arrest Dugan, Hart and their band of crooks just as they are trying to get away from a major jewelry heist. Things are back to normal, or at least as normal as they ever are for Stone Barrington.
Best part of story, including ending:
I'm a big fan of the Stone Barrington books and this is one of the best ones in the series. The sexy and ruthless Crane Hart character is fascinating and joyfully manipulative in a way that's very fun to read. She's worthy of her own book, just to see the various ways she can play men to get what she wants.
Best scene in story:
When the high society party is robbed, Stone comes up with a great way of preventing the thieves from robbing him and his date Ann. He tells the crook that his expensive watch is engraved, making it dangerous to fence. He also figures out a way to protect Ann's family jewels.
Opinion about the main character:
Stone Barrington is a very likeable character, because in some ways he's a throwback to those classic Cary Grant caper films. He's a smart ladies man who can eventually win the day. Even when he's been fooled by a woman or two along the way.
