9780060842055
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Orchid Beach audiobook

  • By: Stuart Woods
  • Narrator: Debra Monk
  • Length: 5 hours 26 minutes
  • Publisher: HarperAudio
  • Publish date: April 19, 2005
  • Language: English
  • (10089 ratings)
(10089 ratings)
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Orchid Beach Audiobook Summary

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stuart Woods delivers a riveting thriller that introduces his first female protagonist, Deputy Chief of Police Holly Barker.

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.

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Orchid Beach Audiobook Narrator

Debra Monk is the narrator of Orchid Beach audiobook that was written by Stuart Woods

Debra Monk is a veteran actress who has won a Tony(r) Award for Redwood Curtain and an Emmy(r) for her work on NYPD Blue.

About the Author(s) of Orchid Beach

Stuart Woods is the author of Orchid Beach

Orchid Beach Full Details

Narrator Debra Monk
Length 5 hours 26 minutes
Author Stuart Woods
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date April 19, 2005
ISBN 9780060842055

Additional info

The publisher of the Orchid Beach is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780060842055.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Avigail

September 01, 2018

Well, now I understand what is the meaning to read a book in one seating. I started the book at 18:30 and finished it at 02:25. I am a slow reader, but the booked sucked me in from the first sentence. I was browsing through a bookshelf that I usually don't look for books, but this time Orchid Beach did captivate me. It is my first Stuart Woods book, but it indeed isn't my last, and as I saw he has a lot of books. Holly is a solid female character, mainly working in a very patriarchal type of work, she is very opinionated and will put men at their place if she has to. I will give a trigger warning for violence and rape, but if you picked to read a murder mystery, you know the chances of that.Daisy the Doberman is a very smart one, she is faithful, and I can't wait will Holly and Daisy have in the next books.The only thing that I didn't like is the fast love interest, for me, it was fast, and that is the reason I give this book a 4.5-stars. I liked the collaboration between Orchid Beach PD and the FBI, you don't see it so much in books, and it was an interesting one. In this book you two generations of military, the generation of Holly's father and Holly's generation. This book was published in 1998 and I really like it.

Tony

October 11, 2018

The book starts well and it looked like ‘Holly’ was going to be an interesting character, but it didn’t take long before she began to worry me.(view spoiler)[She already knows that there is a problem in the police force and it is highly likely that these corrupt members of the department had something to do with the Chief’s murder, but she is happy to accept that the shooting was committed by a couple of hippies. Why? She is an experienced investigator, but didn’t even try to follow up the problem of the wrong gun until the case was thrown out of court. (hide spoiler)]Fortunately this improved and I found Holly and ‘Daisy’ made quite a proficient partnership, although I could have done without the love interest.By the end of the book I had forgotten the earlier worries and was happy to give four stars.

Lyndsy

March 21, 2012

I like the main character, Holly Barker. It's nice to see him write a female lead character. Woods does an okay job building up her character, but I dislike how quickly things move for her with respect to some aspects of her personal life. It's missing a bit of development. Of course, these aren't romance novels, but if you're going to throw it in, do it right.I also really like that her dad's a part of the books. I think it'll add some fun people dynamics to it. Parents ALWAYS complicate things.Otherwise, the story packs the same kind of punch that all of his other series books do. I look forward to reaching the intersection of this series with the Stone Barrington books.

Pierre

April 10, 2017

This was a fun book to read. Stuart Woods came up with a good story line and lots of entertaining and complex plot lines. I thought he use of military/police and the introduction of Holly into his Stone Barrington series has made the web that much more interesting. I did not know the Holly Series existed but it has been around for a while. It would do you good to read Holly #1 as you start the Barrington series. I have enjoyed both. I am anxious to see where Holly actually gets involved with Stone from the Holly perspective.

Olivermagnus

August 23, 2022

It's been a number of years since I read this series so I decided to go back and see how Holly Barker started out. She's a major in the Army's Military Police but when she loses a sexual harassment suit she's filed against her boss, she knows her career is over. She accepts a job as Deputy Police Chief in Orchid Beach Florida under her dad's old pal Chet Marley,. When she arrives in Orchid Beach she discovers that he has been shot and is in critical condition. Holly heads out to meet Chet's close friend, wheelchair bound Hank Doherty, and finds him killed in a similar manner. She also meets one of the most amazing dogs, a Doberman Pinscher named Daisy. Holly is also met with resistance by some members of the town police and has to fight them as well as find out who shot Chet and HankThe plot progresses quickly and the book is a fast read with likable characters. If you already read Stuart Woods novels, you'll be familiar with the style. I've grown weary of his Stone Barrington series and this was a nice change if you're not looking for anything too detail oriented.

Cecily

November 29, 2017

When I first started this novel, I really was worried that I was not going to like it. The cover really didn't give me much of an impression and I had chose it just because it fit a challenge that I was working on. Well I was pleasantly surprised with Holly Barker, I love her take no prisoners attitude. I liked that she was both soft and likable, but can lead a group of powerful people. People seem to underestimate her and it always seems to give her the advantage!! And the dog! Though dobermans are not my favourite type of dog (and I'm a cat person), I loved her, and I loved the extra dynamic she gave the story. I can't wait to see where this series goes. Great Read!

Debby

January 16, 2011

Orchid Beach is the first book in Stuart Woods' "Holly Barker police/murder series. I've been a fan of Stuart Woods way back to the first book I read of his, Chiefs, Under the Lake and White Cargo, in the 1980's. I really like Woods' writing style and the characters in his books. I think I developed my love of high energy and edgy police/crime mysteries from reading Stuart Woods, Ed McBain and Robert B. Parker. So, I highly recommend you check out Stuart Woods' numerous series and novels at: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/s...

Andrea

January 12, 2014

Title: Orchid BeachAuthor: Stuart WoodsNarrator: Debra MonkLength: Unabridged; 5 hours 29 minutesPublisher: Harper AudioPublished: August 1998Genres: Fiction; MysteryVisit my review/blog HERE!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!

Kathy

January 14, 2019

Fast read. Really silly when you think about it. There is a murder. The body removed and cremated and house emptied and sold....all in 24 hours. That happens a couple of times. Anyway, the book is good and keeps you reading no matter how unrealistic it is. But who cares? It is entertainment. Cant wait to read the next in the series. I have never read any of Wood's series books. I have only read Chiefs and it was so good, I went in search of more Stuart Woods works. Just remember, if you are in law enforcement, you may find this book more comedic than thriller. I do enjoy a good story and this is just that.

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