Order of Stone Barrington Series #ReadTitlePublishedDetails1New York Dead19912Dirt19963Dead in the Water19974Swimming to Catalina19985Worst Fears Realized19996L.A. Dead20007Cold Paradise20018The Short Forever20029Dirty Work200310Reckless Abandon200411Two Dollar Bill200412Dark Harbor200613Fresh Disasters200714Shoot Him If He Runs200715Hot Mahogany200816Loitering with Intent200917Kisser200918Lucid Intervals201019Strategic Moves201020Son of Stone201121Bel-Air Dead201122D.C.
The complete series list for - Stone Barrington Stuart Woods. Series reading order, cover art, synopsis, sequels, reviews, awards, publishing history, genres,.
So, is Stone Barrington a guy you want to spend a lot of time with? Here’s what you need to know: His parents were both born to wealthy families, but were both disinherited because they refused to conform to familial expectations, a strain of rebelliousness that Stone himself inherited. He grew up in New York and attended public schools and graduated with a law degree, but after a ride-along in a police car decided to join the NYPD. In New York Dead he’s at the tail-end of his career as a Lt. Detective, rehabbing an injury and at odds with his superiors; in the middle of that story he’s forced out of the force and takes the Bar Exam to become a lawyer, and is hired by a tony law firm to be “of counsel.” Basically, the firm uses Stone to handle cases they don’t want sullying their reputation, and the work slowly makes Barrington a pretty wealthy guy—which is good, because he already had some very expensive tastes.
You can’t help but see in Barrington; much of Barrington’s jet-setting lifestyle seems like a slightly exaggerated version of Woods’ own life, from the pilot’s license to the knowledge of wines and food (Woods once wrote a very successful guide to restaurants and hotels in England and Ireland). Barrington travels the world, can handle himself in almost any situation, has a very active love life, and is a lot of fun to spend time with. His dislike of authority and his sense of humor are ideal for a character who is always sticking his intelligent nose where it’s not wanted. (1991). Dirt (1996). Dead in the Water (1997). Swimming to Catalina (1998).
Worst Fears Realized (1999). L.A.
Dead (2000). Cold Paradise (2001). The Short Forever (2002). Dirty Work (2003).
Reckless Abandon (2004). Two Dollar Bill (2005). Dark Harbor (2006). Fresh Disasters (2007). Shoot Him If He Runs (2007). Hot Mahogany (2008). Loitering With Intent (2009).
Kisser (2010). Lucid Intervals (2010). Strategic Moves (2011). Bel-Air Dead (2011).
Son of Stone (2011). D.C. Dead (2011). Unnatural Acts (2012). Severe Clear (2012). Collateral Damage (2013).
Unintended Consequences (2013). (2013).
Standup Guy (2014). Carnal Curiosity (2014). Cut and Thrust (2014). Paris Match (2014). Insatiable Appetites (2015).
![Stuart Stuart](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125489891/144625302.jpg)
Hot Pursuit (2015). Naked Greed (2015). Foreign Affairs (2015). Scandalous Behavior (2016). Family Jewels (T/K 2016). The series does follow a very loose chronology in the sense that past events and characters do occasionally pop into new stories (and some of Woods’ other characters from other series show up from time to time, as well.
That said, this is a series you can read in any order, really, with only the occasional mystery reference to past events. Barrington is one of those characters whose charm is their consistency.
![Order Order](http://stuartwoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/NewYorkDead.jpg)
The two caveats are: One, read New York Dead first. It’s not only the first-published, it’s the book that sets up Barrington’s back-story, so it’s really the one essential starting point; Two: 2004’s Reckless Abandon is a continuation of a story begun in Woods’ novel Blood Orchid, so you might want to read that one first.