Run before the wind (Reader's Digest condensed books)

Technically, the first book to feature Will Lee as a main character ( he makes a brief appearance in Chiefs as a kid) and also the only book Woods' has written in first person POV. It all begins with Lee at law school bored. So he asks his father if he can take a year off and travel to Ireland to see his maternal grandfather. It is there he finds his dream job, building sail boats. He makes friends with a couple who are going to sail a large yacht across the ocean in a race. He also has time to court two women, one who has a past with IRA. Soon, bodies start falling and Will becomes imbroiled in a sinister plot of revenge. The pacing in the novel is slow at first but picks up. The first person narrative really makes the story flow smoothly, unlike some novels.

Another Stuart Woods book that was awesome. I have either bought every book I can find or been to the library to check them out that Stuart Woods has written. Just wish there was a site that would tell me in what order to read them.

Perusing my local library this week I noticed that nearly 4 feet of shelving space were devoted to books from this author, so I figured "what the heck...if I try one of his books and like it, I'll have quite a few more to keep me entertained for awhile." I chose this one because it appeared to be one of his first books and I usually like to start at (or near) the beginning rather than randomly choosing something from the middle of an author's career.

I was impressed with Woods' writing style, and will definitely be back for more. In fact, as I write this review, I'm already on my 2nd book by Woods', a novel called "Chiefs" that I'm actually enjoying much more than "Run Before the Wind."

"Run Before the Wind" is a coming-of-age story about a recurring character in several of Woods' books: Will Lee.

We find young Mr. Lee, the son of a wealthy Georgia politician, in law school, sitting in the dean's office. Lee isn't there to receive an "atta boy." Qutie the contrary -- he's being expelled. The dean sees much potential in the young Lee, but not enough effort and an inability to persevere. He's told to go out, take at least a year off, and come back again only when he's ready to approach his endeavors with a significant change of attitude and study habits.

Lee finds himself in Ireland, where his grandparents live, and quite literally stumbles into a job as a boatbuilder, drawing on his skills as an experienced sailor. His project is a 60' racing yacht, whose owner is as mysterious as he is wealthy. While Lee befriends several of those on the boatbuilding crew, it soon becomes apparent that others on the crew are involved with the IRA -- and that they have a grudge to settle with both the boat's owner and some of the other builders. The ensuing story is more the tale of Lee finding himself than a deep mystery, but isn't withoug its action and intrigue.

It was enjoyable read, but I'm afraid I can't call it a gripping read. Suspense but not thriller.

The book does not have a particularly satisfying ending. I won't spoil it here for those who haven't read it, but suffice to say that "happily ever after" isn't the template for most (if any) of the characters.

After finishing the book, I visited Woods' website (..) and it features a very nice tool that I've never seen before: a printable checklist that you can take the library (or bookstore) that organizes Woods' books according to year of publication and main character. Unlike many authors that have only one or two protagonists and one or two series, Woods' has quite a range that currently encompasses 9 "stand alone" novels that aren't part of a series, as well as 24 other novels that fall into 5 different series. I like this very reader-freiendly approach to organizing the author's work.

As I said, this was a good book, but not a great book. And, as I mentioned, I am currently reading one of his other books (Chiefs) and although only 1/3 of the way through the book, it will easily garner 5 stars if it finishes as strongly as it has started. Seems I'm not the only one who likes it, given that a 25th anniversary edition has been printed and it was made into a CBS mini-series a number of years ago. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of this author before, given his prolific writing, but regardless of how I discovered him (in this case, just perusing the library shelves), I'm glad I did. He'll be part of my reading diet for quite some time as I work my way through his 30+ novels.

I found this novel hard to get into but about half way through it does get better. I really enjoy the Stone Barrington novels so was expecting this one to be on a par with those. I didn't think this one measured up.

I really enjoyed this thriller book. I think that is is a little less suspense full than some of the other books written by Woods. This is my first time reading a Will Lee novel and greatly enjoyed this character. I think it had a good plot and good characters. This is a good book to read on the back porch during a nice night. I would reccommend it to anyone who enjoys this author.