Reviews

New York Dead by Stuart Woods

thelonebookwyrm's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

therealbel's review against another edition

3.0

Clunky start, but it improved as I ploughed though it, and by the end I was totally hooked. A great twist.

dabrit's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

iamkallia's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I feel like I need to clarify my "It's Complicated" on the diversity of the characters.

This book has a lesbian, a bisexual woman, and a transwoman in it's character list. I would even say that the trans character is treated fairly well for a book from '91. Even once the characters realized that she was AMAB they still refer to her with female pronouns and by her name, and she's only deadnamed to stop the main character from being killed. That being said, it's all handled... well, rather like a book from '91 can be expected to handle subjects that people still struggle with today. If I had to read the word 'dyke' one more time, I would have filed for compensation.

janko27's review against another edition

1.0

I almost didn't finish this one - the racist, homophobic characters did nothing but annoy me.

deeofbkb's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

No a fan of Dino character.

caseandwrite's review against another edition

5.0

Soooooo good!

shreela_r's review against another edition

4.0

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will definitely read more of this series!

jakewritesbooks's review against another edition

2.0

I’m always on the look out for fun New York tales, especially ones set in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Despite the bad reviews, I was tempted to try Stuart Woods’ Stone Barrington debut. I read a Woods book ten years ago, it was a fun beach read, no more. I figured that’s what I was getting.

Well…

In the beginning, it was! Woods writes the kind of Manhattan fantasy I wish I could live: where the suave detective has a town home in Turtle Bay and hangs out at Elaine’s while being on a first name basis with the proprietor. And it was light on the Macho Guy talk I assumed I was getting. Plus, the mystery genuinely intrigued. And…

Well…

Then as the twists resolved we got some…

(please avoid if triggered by LGBTQIA+ violence, physical and verbal).



Some really, really bad queer/trans phobia. Like bad even for the times. Throw in that I though the murderer was obvious from the jump (though it took a cleverly circuitous route to get there) and this wound up falling flat. Plus Woods relies on coincidence, which is my least favorite cliche.

I don’t want to wait another ten years to read Woods’ books but I’m certainly cooled to them after the second half of this one.

cdicky82's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed this. It was fast paced and kept me guessing throughout. Stuart Woods is a very popular author, I see why now.