Severe Clear, by Stuart Woods. Unabridged audio.I have read every one of Stuart Woods' novel, through this one. I have not read the last couple, but they are on my list.
Woods continues his recent habit of including many of his characters in a single book. This one stars Stone Barrington, but Will and Kate Lee, Holly Barker, Herbie Fisher, and Felicity Devonshire all play critical roles. Only Dino Bacchetti gets less page time than usual.
The action starts when the NSA picks up the word "The Arrington" -- and since this is the new hotel at which the US President will be signing a treaty in a few days, they pay attention. The plot involves a British national leading a cell of three Americans who want to bring revenge on the US for killing Osama.
The scope of the novel is that of an epic thriller, but it is still the size of the mystery stories that Woods was writing fifteen years ago. This means the book moves at a breakneck pace, and the sheer speed with which the plot moves helps overcome some of the issues that the book has in terms of its unrealistic plot.
As I've mentioned before, the good guys in Woods' books seem to have the greatest luck in the world. Everything seems to work out for them, personally and professionally. One of them even won the lottery a few dozen novels ago. Literally won the lottery. At least in this book, one character points that out, and I appreciate Woods acknowledging this criticism.
As always, Tony Roberts does a fine job reading the book. He is able to bring nuance to all of the characters, including the females characters, and the foreign characters.
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