Authors: Stuart Woods
Choke (35 page)
I
am grateful to Victor Mulcahy for being a good sport about all this and for teaching me everything he knows about tennis. If I got any of the tennis stuff wrong, it’s his fault.
I am also grateful to my editor, HarperCollins vice president and associate publisher Gladys Justin Carr, and her staff for all their hard work, and to my literary agent, Morton Janklow, his principal associate, Anne Sibbald, and all the people at Janklow and Nesbit for their careful attention to my career over the years.
Resounding praise for
New York Times
Bestselling
author
and
“
A
real page turner … [with] surprises along the way.”
Boston Globe
“
W
oods is a world-class mystery writer. And he’s getting better and better…. I try to put Woods’s books down, and I can’t. The pace is terrific without being breathless. His prose style is fluid, his dialogue plentiful and excellent.”
Houston Chronicle
“
O
ne of the best around at tense, fast-paced plotting.”
St. Petersburg Times
“
E
nthralling suspense.”
Denver Rocky Mountain News
“W
oods has gotten the formula for page turners down to a fine art…. But the author’s true talent lies in spinning a good story.”
Atlanta Journal Constitution
“
I
n Woods’s novels, the writing is crisp and the pace is fast.”
Omaha World Herald
“
W
oods is a master of his writing craft:
Choke
is a delightfully well-written, highly readable thriller…. Readers will not be able to put this genre gem down and will probably lend it to several neighbors before returning it. Buy this? Absolutely.”
Library Journal
“
A
top-notch entertainer: He’s a master storyteller who knows how to engineer surprise-studded plots that rivet readers.”
Buffalo News
“
S
tuart Woods keeps the action quick and the entertainment value high … [with] double-crosses, triple-crosses, and a twist.”
Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
“
T
he storyteller delivers in
Choke….
If you have read Stuart Woods’s books before, you know what to expect: good plot, well told.”
Knoxville New s-Sentinel
“
S
tuart Woods is nothing if not dependable…. Among the most popular of thriller writers.”
Washington Times
“
O
ne of the best mystery writers in the business.”
USA Today
“
H
e’s so good he cost me several sleepless nights.”
Anne Rivers Siddons
“
W
oods is an engrossing writer.”
Seattle Times
“
[A]
thriller that moves right along and carries the reader with it…. As a creator of a taut narrative that explodes with legitimate surprises, he won’t let you down…. A fast, lively read.”
Publishers Weekly
“
P
retty darned good…. Woods is such a good storyteller, perhaps the best around.”
Syracuse P ost-Standard
“
A
thoroughly absorbing thriller—a suspenseful romp through Key West’s bars, bistros, and bedrooms.”
Key West Citizen
“[
W
oods] always delivers a good story, nail-biting action and a mystery that needs to be unraveled.”
San Antonio Express-News
“
O
ne of the smoothest writers in the pop-literature biz and always a pleasure to read.”
Detroit News
“
W
oods doesn’t disappoint.”
Chicago Tribune
C
HIEFS
R
UN
B
EFORE THE
W
IND
D
EEP
L
IE
U
NDER THE
L
AKE
W
HITE
C
ARGO
G
RASS
R
OOTS
P
ALINDROME
N
EW
Y
ORK
D
EAD
S
ANTA
F
E
R
ULES
L.A. T
IMES
D
EAD
E
YES
H
EAT
I
MPERFECT
S
TRANGERS
C
HOKE
D
IRT
D
EAD IN THE
W
ATER
S
WIMMING TO
C
ATALINA
O
RCHID
B
EACH
W
ORST
F
EARS
R
EALIZED
T
HE
R
UN
L.A. D
EAD
C
OLD
P
ARADISE
O
RCHID
B
LUES
T
HE
S
HORT
F
OREVER
B
LOOD
O
RCHID
D
IRTY
W
ORK
C
APITAL
C
RIMES
R
ECKLESS
A
BANDON
T
HE
P
RINCE OF
B
EVERLY
H
ILLS
T
WO
D
OLLAR
B
ILL
I
RON
O
RCHID
D
ARK
H
ARBOR
S
HORT
S
TRAW
F
RESH
D
ISASTERS
S
HOOT
H
IM IF
H
E RUNS
B
EVERLY
H
ILLS
D
EAD
S
ANTA
F
E
D
EAD
H
OT
M
AHOGANY
M
OUNTING
F
EARS
L
OITERING WITH
I
NTENT
H
OTHOUSE
O
RCHID
K
ISSER
L
UCID
I
NTERVALS
ATTENTION: ORGANIZATIONS AND CORPORATIONS
Most Harper paperbacks are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, or fund-raising. For information, please call or write:
Special Markets Department, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, New York 10022-5299. Telephone: (212) 207-7528. Fax: (212) 207-7222
.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
HARPER
An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
10 East 53rd Street
New York, New York 10022-5299
Copyright © 1996 by Stuart Woods
ISBN 978-0-06-198733-5
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
First Harper Premium paperback printing: September 2010
First HarperTorch paperback printing: July 2001
First HarperPaperbacks printing: October 1996
First HarperCollins hardcover printing: October 1995
HarperCollins
®
and Harper
®
are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers.
Visit Harper paperbacks on the World Wide Web at www.harpercollins.com
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
EPub Edition © SEPTEMBER 2010 ISBN: 978-0-062-03504-2
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1 Auckland,
New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com
