I was crawling along the Mopac Expressway at 15 miles per hour—standard Austin gridlock—when Stone Barrington got the call that started it all. The weapon of choice in this thriller isn't a suppressed pistol or a cyber-attack. It's a fax machine. Yeah, you heard me. A fax machine.
Listening to a plot hinge on anonymous faxes dates this book faster than a Humvee in a hybrid parking lot, but honestly? I enjoyed the nostalgia. It took me back to the mid-90s when we actually thought those things were secure comms.
The Intel Report
Let's talk about the mission parameters. Stone Barrington is the guy you hire when you have too much money and too many skeletons. This time, his client is Amanda Dart, a gossip columnist who makes a living destroying reputations. Naturally, someone is leaking her own dirty laundry to the press. Classic case of the hunter becoming the hunted.
Usually, I prefer my thrillers with a bit more cordite and a little less champagne, but the "social assassination" angle here works. It's basically psychological warfare played out in penthouses. The stakes aren't national security, but watching these high-society sharks eat each other is satisfying in a weird way. Reminds me of some corporate boards I've consulted for—smiles up front, knives in the back.
Audio Analysis: A Mixed Bag
Tony Roberts takes the stick for the narration. Here's the unvarnished truth: when he's narrating the prose or doing Stone's voice, the man is an ace. He sounds like he's wearing a tuxedo—smooth, confident, perfect for the Manhattan setting. He captures that arrogant, effortless vibe of the Barrington universe. I heard that same polished command from Roberts in Cat's Cradle, where the material actually challenged him a bit more and he delivered one of the better narrations I've come across.
But—and this is a significant "but"—his female voices nearly caused me to drive off the road. When he voices Amanda Dart, it doesn't sound like a sophisticated socialite; it sounds like a caricature. It's grating. Pulls you right out of the immersion. If you're sensitive to bad falsettos, this might be a dealbreaker. For me, I just gritted my teeth and pushed through because the pacing was fast enough to compensate.
Who Should Listen (And Who Should Skip)
If you want a fast, breezy thriller for your commute and don't mind dated tech, this one delivers. Skip it if bad female voice acting is a dealbreaker for you, or if you need explosions and high-stakes action to stay engaged.
SITREP
Stuart Woods knew how to write a page-turner, even if it's fluff. Dirt moves fast. There's murder, blackmail, and enough rich-people drama to make you glad you work for a living. White Cargo is Woods operating at a higher intensity—more field work, less penthouse—and it held up better on repeat listens. It's not deep literature—you won't be pondering the human condition when it's over—but it made two weeks of commuting significantly less painful.
Ranger slept through the whole thing, which is usually a sign that there weren't enough explosions, but he didn't howl at the female voices, so maybe I'm just being picky.
