In "Short Straw" Santa Fe Lawyer Ed Eagle had gotten his psychotic wife, Barbara, arrested on a murder charge. "Santa Fe Dead" picks up a year later. Ed has just been a witness in the trial against his ex and is awaiting the verdict. Barbara, fearing she will be found guilty, escapes out a bathroom window of the courthouse in a strangely far fetched opening chapter. Ed hears about this on a local news broadcast and realizes he has a problem on the horizon since Barbara has tried to kill him before.

So begins a series of cat and mouse games. Barbara remarries a man she meets while on vacation who husband dies suddenly of natural causes before she has devised a murder plot herself. Meanwhile, Ed takes a strange case where his clients family has been found murdered. The man calls him on the phone to tell him about a ransom instead of calling the police.

Everything leads back to L.A. where we arrive at the Centurion Studios. This story has some interesting twists and turns. Although isn't Woods' best effort, its an entertaining read.

What can I add to geniedances review except that I enjoyed this Stuart Woods effort, as I have enjoyed the other books he has written... One thing I like most about Woods is that he has 4 heroes in different series, so if you aren't particularly fond of one of them, try another!

Left on waiting area table with other books and magazines.