A Complete Guide To The Series Written By Stuart Woods

Stuart Woods is a famous American writer known especially for his series books. The novelist has gained many awards in his career for his amazing talent of writing such as Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author, Grand Prix de Littérature Policière – International Category.

Stuart Woods is undoubtedly one of the greatest writers of the era. The critically acclaimed writer is not just commercially successful but his books are on every passionate reader’s shelf. Known especially for his work in writing series the writer gained a larger fan base over the years.

Considered one of the greatest mystery writers from South America, the Sociologist has started his career by writing commercials and advertisements. Since the publication of his first-ever book, Chiefs, the writer experienced a huge turn in his career and eventually became the best selling author of mystery.

In his career, the author has written, about 7 series. These series are called Will Lee, Stone Barrington, Holly Barker, Ed Eagle, Rick Barron, Teddy Fay, Herbie Fisher. Apart from this, the author also has some standalone novels published in his name. The total number of standalone novels are 8.

Below we have listed the Stuart Woods books in order and the best book amongst it. Also, we have given a glimpse of his best standalone novels.

Dive into the list to find the best Stuart Woods books to read.

1. Will Lee Series

The Will Lee Series marks the beginning of Stuart Woods’s writing. Chief is the first-ever book released by the author which is a part of this series. Will Lee Henry is basically a character around which the writer has created his whole series. There are a total of seven books in the Will Lee Series. The series contains some great books like Chiefs, Run Before The Wind, Deep Lie, and several more.

Will Lee is basically a police chief based in Georgia. The cop specializes in investigated crime scenes. In the beginning, you will learn how the Police chief tackles the crime but later on, the author has also introduced Will’s son, Billy Lee.

Billy Lee is a war hero and now a lawyer. He later starts building his career in Politics but he is still keen towards investigating the crime that happens around him. In each of the books, you will either find Teddy Fay or Holly Barker who are the main characters of Stuart Wood’s other series.

Will Lee Series Books In Order

  1. Chiefs, 1981 (Best of the series)
  2. Run Before the Wind, 1983
  3. Deep Lie,1986
  4. Grass Roots,1989
  5. The Run, 1995
  6. Capital Crimes, 2003
  7. Mounting Fears, 2008

Chiefs

Chiefs

Chiefs is the first-ever novel written by Stuart Woods which is part of the Will Lee series. The book was published in the year 1981. The book is set in the 1920s. During this time the Police Chief Will Lee Henry is sent to a fictional town Delano in Georgia. The officer is sent there to investigate the crime when the dead body of a teenage boy is found.

The Police Chief gradually learns that there is a serial killer out there who has a pattern of killing and the teenage boy is killed in that specific pattern. Now the police officers uncover some of the vital details about the investigation that will have ramifications for three generations of police officers.

This includes the police officer in the 1940s who is rather a racist one, then the police officer in the 1960’s who becomes the first black police chief.

2. Stone Barrington Series

Stone Barrington is the wildly famous book series of Stuart Woods. There are a total of 54 books in the Stone Barrington Series which now will seem a lot but once you start reading it, you will crave more. The series of Stuart Woods features Stone Barrington as the main character. He lives in Massachusetts and is the son of a very wealthy family.

Stone Barrington grows up to become a police officer in New York City. After being a part of it for 12 years, he left the department as he has some disagreement with his superiors. Later on, Barrington becomes a lawyer and a private investigator who is keen on helping people who are in need.

Different main characters from Stuart Woods’s other series have also been introduced in several of them.

Stone Barrington Series Books in Order

  1. New York Dead, 1991
  2. Dirt, 1996
  3. Dead in the Water, 1997 (Best of the series)
  4. Swimming to Catalina, 1998
  5. Worst Fears Realized, 1999
  6. L.A. Dead), 2000
  7. Cold Paradise, 2001 There are 47 more books to read as a part of this series.

Dead in the Water

Dead in the Water

Dead in the Water is the third novel of the Stone Barrington Series. The New York Times bestselling novel was published in the year 1997. The book continues with the story of Stone Barrington who is a retired police chief and a private investigator. The theme of the book is set on the island of St. Marks.

Stone Barrington who is off to a romantic getaway on the island of St. Marks soon realizes that something has horribly gone wrong and he has been ditched by his traveling companion. Now at the Island, as the change of plan appears, Stone Barrington investigates the case of a beautiful widow.

He tries to defend the woman who is charged guilty with her husband’s murder and then dumping his dead body in the ocean.

3. Ed Eagle Series

Another series by the New York Times bestselling author, Ed Eagle series. The theme of the book is set in New Mexico. The book features a Santa Fe Lawyer as its main character named Ed Eagle. Ed Eagle is passionate about his work and holds a great track record. He has always helped his clients and provided them with satisfying results but he has been really unlucky in marriage.

Readers will find in the second book of the Ed Eagle Series that his wife has drugged him and has stolen all of his money and ran away. In total, there are four books in the Ed Eagle series. Teddy Fay, Rick Barron, and Holly Barker have appeared in some of these books of the series. The series contains books like Santa Fe Rules, Short Straw, Santa Fe Dead, and Santa Fe Edge.

Ed Eagle Series Books in Order

  1. Santa Fe Rules, 1992 (Best of the series)
  2. Short Straw, 2006
  3. Santa Fe Dead, 2008
  4. Santa Fe Edge, 2010

Santa Fe Rules

Santa Fe Rules

Santa Fe Rules is the first novel in the Ed Eagle series that was published in the year 1992. The book features Wolf Willett. The wealthy movie producer who is shocked to learn that he along with his wife and a friend has been reported dead. The cause of their death is said to be the triple homicide.

Now Wolf Willett is thoroughly confused because he doesn’t remember any of the details of the night. Also, he is unaware of the identity of the third corpse. This is where Ed Eagle comes in picture. The ace lawyer is hired by Wolf Willett to investigate the case and find out the truth.

Ed Eagle does everything in his power to defend Wolf Willett with the murder charges that he has been accused of. Soon he learns that somebody definitely wants him dead and that is why they have created this whole trap for him.

4. Holly Barker Series

The Holly Barker series has a total of six books in the series, namely, Orchid Beach (1998) Orchid Blues (2001) Blood Orchid (2002) Reckless Abandon (2004) Iron Orchid (2005) Hothouse Orchid (2009). It features a Florida-based small-town police officer as its main character named Holly Barker. The police officer later went on to become the CIA special agent.

The thrilling series about the police officer features Stone Barrington and Teddy Fay in several of the books.

Holly Barker Series Books in Order

  1. Orchid Beach, 1998
  2. Orchid Blue, 2001
  3. Blood Orchid, 2002 (Best of the series)
  4. Reckless Abandon, 2004
  5. Iron Orchid, 2005
  6. Hothouse Orchid, 2009

Blood Orchid

Blood Orchid

Blood Orchid is the third book that was released in the Ed Eagle series. The book was published in the year 2012. The book will let you explore the life of Holly Barker further. In previous of the books, you will learn that Holly Barker has recently lost someone who was really close to her.

In Blood Orchid, you will learn further about the life of Holly Barker as she joins the forces. But wait, there’s a handsome FBI agent in the picture. Both of them team up and investigate murder cases. With their intelligence and wit, they try to uncover the details of the murder that seems to have a connection with the real estate deals in the area.

5. Rick Barron Series

You must have noticed that the series written by Stuart Woods is either about a police officer or centralizes a detective. The author is known for his mystery novels. The majority of the works done by the author focuses on the investigation of a murder case or just finding the reality with the detective works.

Rick Barron is a similar series that features a demoted police detective as the main character named Rick Barron. The man is now working in Hollywood. The series is set in the 1930s and 1940s. In the Rick Barron series, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, and Bugsy Siegal have made cameos.

There are just two books in the series namely The Prince of the Beverly Hills and Beverly Hills Dead. Stone Barrington has appeared in one of these books.

Rick Barron Series Books in Order

  1. The Prince of Beverly Hills, 2004 (Best of the series)
  2. Beverly Hills Dead, 2008

The Prince of Beverly Hills

The Prince of Beverly Hills

The Prince of Beverly Hills is the first book of the Rick Barron series. Rick Barron who is a Beverly Hills detective has been recently demoted after a run-in with his captain to security detail. Barron witnessed a car accident on the very first day of his back in the uniform.

Rick Barron investigates and handles the case that made him get the promotion. But soon he discovers some of the chilling details about the death of the man who held the position before him.

6. Teddy Fay Series

Teddy Fay series is the first every series by the writer to not feature any law-abiding citizen. Fan-favorite Teddy Fay is an ex-CIA who is known to be a master of disguise. In pursuit of his own brand of Justice, Teddy Fay is a gentleman who is not known for abiding the law. The extraordinary story of Teddy Fay in the series is definitely worth a read.

There are a total of three books in the series that are released yet, they are Smooth Operator, The money shot, and Skin Game. The fourth book of the series is soon going to be released in the year 2020. Stuart Woods wrote all of the books in the Teddy Fay series with Parnell Hall.

Teddy Fay Series Books in Order

  1. Smooth Operator, 2016
  2. The Money Shot, 2018 (Best of the series)
  3. Skin Game, 2019
  4. Bombshell, 2020

The Money Shot

The Money Shot

The Money Shot is the second book released in the Teddy Fay series. The book will take you an exhilarating adventure of Teddy Fay as he disguises himself as Mark Weldon. Mark Weldon is a stuntman and an actor in a new film in the studio named Centurion Studios.

Soon he learns that the life of the main lead of the film is in danger as she starts receiving some blackmailing threats. Teddy Fay realizes he is in a perfect position to protect the actress and investigate the case. But the villains are not after the money, they want something else. They are after the reputation of the studio and wants the prestige.

Now as you read the book you will get how Teddy Fay saves the career of the actress, finish shooting the film on the Centurion Studios and saves the reputation of the studio.

7. Herbie Fisher Series

Herbie Fisher is the last series of Stuart Woods. It focuses on the protege of Stone Barrington at the Law Firm named Herbie Fisher. In this book, you will learn how after winning the lottery, Herbie Fisher has hired Stone Barrington in order to help him with straightening out his life.

So far there is only one book in this series written by Stuart Woods named Barely Legal which was released in the year 2017. The book also features Stone Barrington.

Barely Legal

Barely Legal: Stuart Woods Books in Order

Barely Legal which is the only book of the series featuring Herbie Fisher was released in the year 2017. The non-stop thriller will introduce you with the hero Herbie Fisher who gets caught in the whole web of corruption, greed, and deceit. The man after winning the lottery hires Stone Barrington to help him straighten out his life.

The book will introduce the adventures of Herbie Fisher as he investigates a drug case. The case involves a mob and a loan shark. Herbie finds himself in the center of the crosshair that he unwillingly gets into because of the case. Herbie needs to be one step ahead of his enemies he wants to solve the case. But will he be able to make it to the end?

Conclusion

Stuart Woods is definitely one of the greatest writers of the era. He has introduced a whole new level of a thriller with his books. Not just the series but the author has also written some standalone novels, but it was his series that got him the name and fame that he has now. There are a total of seven standalone books of the writer and he has also written one non-fiction book named Blue Water, Green Skipper published in the year 1977.

In his career, Stuart Woods has written a total of seven series from which the Stone Barrington series is the most famous one which is also the longest one featuring 54 books.

In this complete guide of Stuart Woods books in the order we have given you a glimpse into each series and also stated the best book amongst it. If you are a thriller reader, these books will definitely provide you with a great read that you won’t be able to forget for a long amount of time.

If you have any questions or feedback concerning this article, please let us known about them in the comment section below.

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