by Stuart Woods
Part of Stone Barrington, book 1
First published 1993
Stone Barrington walks the night beat when chance puts him at the wrong place at the perfect time. He watches a terrible incident unfold before his eyes. The moment changes everything. Newspapers splash his name across front pages throughout New York City. His life becomes tangled with Sasha Nijinsky, the nation's most celebrated television news anchor. She is beautiful, famous, and possibly dead. Stone cannot escape the case no matter which direction he turns. The investigation follows him everywhere. His nights offer no peace. His days become torment. Stone discovers a network of horrific crimes connecting dangerous people. Sexual corruption runs through every lead. Friends become threats. Each clue points back to one person. Sasha stands at the center of everything that threatens to destroy him.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, enemies-to-lovers
Setting: New York City
Period: 20th-century
398 pages · Paperback · Fontana
Content warnings: sexual-content