Stone Barrington is a classic old-school investigative type, with a penchant for liquor at lunch and a string of lovely women at his beck and call. Fans of mid-century crime fiction and period TV shows will find plenty to remind them of hard-boiled literature and characters as resolute as TV attorney Perry Mason or as mesmerizing as Ian Fleming's version of James Bond.
Even Joan, his secretary, falls in the eminently reliable and resourceful Della Street category to Stone’s charming Perry Mason, plus Stone’s right-hand man Dino to supply him with manpower and investigative resources much as Paul helped Mason.
Stone and Dino will occasionally echo TV’s Golden Age by quipping, “What’s the beef?” to ask about law enforcement charges or using other anachronisms while a female British agent implausibly allows Stone to check the safety for her while she loses her composure.
Calling to mind a hard-boiled guy who’s seen it all plus added a few modern accessories, Stone finds a hint of unease in his latest set of cases. Oddly, it’s not working on a highly classified case for the British government that worries him, but instead the accidental acceptance of a retainer for a bumbling fool whose clinginess appalls the self-sufficient lawyer.
British Spies on This Side of the Pond
Dame Felicity Devonshire owns both her red-headed nature and self-contained independence as a British agent who hires Stone to locate a rogue agent believed to be selling secrets. Felicity conveniently stays with Stone, allowing them to combine business with pleasure, even as they avoid full disclosure about their personal loyalties.
While Stone concentrates on Felicity’s propositions, Joan realizes that the law firm’s overdue bills and tax payments could be wiped out by accepting an enormous retainer from newly wealthy man about town, Herbie Fisher.
Ex-con Herbie provides humor due to both Stone’s horrified reactions of working for a man who has always annoyed him and by Herbie’s cluelessness after he scores millions in a state lottery, making him popular with both prostitutes and real estate agents.
Through all this, Stone’s ex-wife has escaped her handlers, allowing her to stalk Stone while he conducts his affairs. Fortunately, her father adds a new dimension with his own interesting but unproven connections.
Modern Hard-Boiled Fiction
By remaining in the confines of the genre, Stone remains a bit too smooth and a little too perfect but Woods adds a couple of twists (although one celebrates its unlikely occurrence) to satisfactorily tie up both cases while staying true to the characters’ personalities.
Lucid Intervals may be a light read, but should be a pleasure for readers who prefer their heroes to bask in self-assurance and endless resources while maintaining their senses of humor.
Publishing Information
Woods, Stuart. Lucid Intervals. New York, NY: Putnam. 2010. ISBN: 978-1-61664-297-6
Bonnye Good - Bonnye Busbice Good received an Editor's Choice award for her article on Your Historic Home's Interior Design Secrets and has also written ...
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