Orchid Beach by Stuart Woods
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: Orchid Beach
Author: Stuart Woods
Narrator: Debra Monk
Length: Unabridged; 5 hours 29 minutes
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: August 1998
Genres: Fiction; Mystery

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My Rating: ✮✮✮✮

Synopsis:
New York Times bestselling author Stuart Woods delivers a riveting thriller that introduces an exciting addition to the pantheon of fictional sleuths.
Forced into early retirement at thirty-seven, smart, attractive, and fiercely independent Major Holly Barker trades in her bars as a military cop for the badge of deputy chief of police in Orchid Beach, Florida. But below the sunny surface of this sleepy, well-to-do island town lies an evil that escalates into the cold-blooded murder of one of Holly's new colleagues.
An outsider, Holly has little to go on for answers and no one to help her—except Daisy, a Doberman of exceptional intelligence and loyalty that becomes her companion and protector. The closer Holly gets to the truth, the more she knows that it'll take one smart dog with guts to sniff out this killer—before he can catch her first.

My Review:
I typically don't pick up older books to read, but it just happen to be that the end of the year was nearing and I needed to complete a challenge with a flower/plant in the title, and I came across Orchid Beach. I had never read anything by Stuart Woods before, but I must say that this was a gem of a find! Once I finished, I was already trying to figure out how to get my hands on Orchid Blues, book 2!

The narrator was a wonderful fit for Major Holly Barker, whose character I absolutely adored! I loved her carefree don't give a crap what anybody thinks attitude and her drive to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible! The narrator kept me entertained throughout the entire book and made it seem like the story was over in no time! She also did a great job distinguishing herself between the different characters, so as not to confuse the reader as to who was actually talking! Her reading was smooth and animated in all the right spots! I hope to hear her on the next book!

Back to the characters...there was an interesting cast of characters in this book! All of their personalities were so unique of that from anything that I've read before, and I think I enjoyed that the most! Of course, Daisy the Dog is my favorite, but Holly is a close second!

I enjoyed the writing of Woods and his style. I felt that it flowed smoothly and concisely. He is really in tune with creative writing at its best and provides the perfect amount of romance and suspense, without the romance overpowering the suspense. He has a great since of climax and did a wonderful job of keeping the reader going until the very end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and have just found myself a new author and series to follow! I've already got Orchid Blues and will be starting it soon, on audio as well! Thanks for a great book/series, Mr. Woods!

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