In bestseller Woods's serviceable 52nd Stone Barrington novel (after 2019's Stealth), CIA director Lance Cabot calls on New York attorney Stone, a part-time CIA consultant, for help in exposing a State Department mole who's working for the Russians. Stone is soon distracted by airplane broker Callie Stevens, who persuades him to buy a private jet, an upgrade for his existing one, in a deal that goes smoothly until, in an undeveloped subplot, an act of vandalism on the new jet suggests that Callie's ex-husband is out to get her. Stone flies his new plane to Paris, where by chance he encounters American entrepreneur Peter Grant, who may be in thrall to Russian oligarch Yevgeny Chekhov. A poisoning and a murder raise the stakes as Stone's dealings with the shifty Grant and generic villain Chekhov start to dovetail with the original mole investigation. The witty banter among Stone and friends and his frequent bedding of willing women keep the reader turning the pages to the mildly exciting showdown on a giant yacht anchored off Martha's Vineyard. Woods seems to be treading water. Agent: Anne Sibbald, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Jan.)

There's a mole in her agency, says U.S. Secretary of State Holly Barker, who comes to Stone Barrington, her occasional lover, for help. This is not only a potential problem for national security but also one that needs to be solved before Barker declares as a candidate for the presidency. So Barrington, now a CIA deputy director, thinks an off-the-books investigation is in order, which takes the jet-setting Barrington to various high-level events in Paris and New York. Along the way, he meets the dangerous Russian oligarch Yevgeny Chekhov and the enigmatic Peter Grant, whose background is a blank. Then Barrington's new acquaintance and bedmate, Vanessa Baker, who owns a string of bakeries in New York, is poisoned by a toxin known to be used by Russians, spurring his quest for answers. Despite a hasty wrap-up, this is trademark Woods, with Barrington's Bondian need for luxury and sex satisfied as he mixes with the rich and beautiful in posh settings. Smooth escapism for voyeurs everywhere.--Michele Leber Copyright 2019 Booklist

Uber-lawyer Stone Barrington, now officially a special adviser to the CIA (Stealth, 2019), takes on a delicate government job that keeps shape-shifting into other jobs.How much higher can they fly? Stone, a former New York cop, succumbs to aviation broker Callie Stevens' pitch and buys a Gulfstream 500 so he can commute nonstop to his stately home in England. His longtime lover, Holly Barker, plans to resign from her position as secretary of state to run for president. But every silver lining has a cloud. On Holly's way out the door, deputy director Maclean McIntosh warns her that there's a mole in the State Department, and Holly asks Stone to find out more. A bit of sabotage against Stone's expensive new plane points to Callie's abusive ex-husband, pilot Eddie Casey, but the Gulfstream still makes it across the Atlantic, where an invitation from Stone's friend Marcel du Bois, France's answer to Warren Buffett, brings Stone into contact with slippery Boston investor Peter Grant and, through him, with Russian oligarch Yevgeny Chekhov, who wastes no time pumping Grant for insider trading tips. Some of the plot strands peter out; others lead somewhere, often in unexpected ways. Stone's amorous couplings with party arranger Tessa Martindale and Vanessa Baker, owner of the Baker's Half Dozen chain, both end abruptly, though not for the same reason. Rumbling in the background like summer thunder is the search for that mole. But the most sublime moment, limited to the regular cast, comes when Joan Robertson, Stone's long-suffering secretary, asks, "Who left the house on the gurney?" and he replies, "A woman of my acquaintanceyou don't know her." Bon apptit to readers who like their international intrigue sweet and weightless as a souffl. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.