Having read all the series by woods I went back to read some of the earlier free standing books and have enjoyed reading them. This is set in Key West where a rich newcomer dies in a diving incident. As the newly hired police detective starts to look into it the fast paced action takes off. A really fun read.

Fantastic short story and the ending was unpredictable

Pure pulp. Enjoyable and fast reading, but pulp. Picked this one up after a deep and very enjoyable book, needing something simple and speedy and this fit the bill. Lots of sex, violence, money and backstabbing set in a tropical paradise in the keys, with the requisite boats and tennis pros abounding throughout. I read it in a day so definitely not one you pore over for long periods of time and while not going to win any prizes, does the job. Good beach book.

(2 1/2). I saw this on a couple of lists and wanted to see what life was like for Stuart Woods without Stone Barrington. I was pleasantly surprised. We have a terrific setting in Key West, a femme fatale who is quite the dish, an old tennis pro, a cop who has moved down from New York and a full complement of other fun characters. The plot moves right along in a very entertaining way with a dollop of violence and sex, and a couple of very nice twists and turns. All but one I was able to figure out, but Woods does a nice job keeping it all together. Not as fluffy as Stone, a fun read. Good Stuff.

Surprise! Five stars for a Stuart Woods novel? I've found I can't read any recent "Stone Barrington" novels by Woods, but CHOKE was written in 1996, so I gave it a try. The novel was quite interesting, well-written, and easily held my interest. But, warning, for those of you who don't like "bad words" this isn't for you. It has crude elements. But I'm sure many readers (who don't run screaming from the room when they see/read an F-bomb) would enjoy it. The writing is quite a bit better than what I'm seeing in recent works by authors who write "military/spy thrillers" [the writing and characters in BLACKMAIL by Rick Campbell was so utterly tasteless and bland that I gave up at page 61].

Fun characters with witty exchanges. This is definitely one of my favorite reads from Stuart Woods.

As I read the story, I couldn't help but wonder why this is only a standalone and not made into a series. That is how much I enjoyed this book. Although the ending felt rushed - it could have been more, reading this was worth it.

This was the first Stuart Woods book that I read. My mom is an avid reader, so she always had books around the house. I just happened to grab this book because I had a long train ride to Brooklyn, and needed something to read. Needless to say I was halfway through this book on my way back to Bronx. Great read!

I always enjoy reading Stuart Woods' books. This one had characters I'd never encountered before but they were spellbinding nonetheless. Twists and turns throughout the storyline which kept me interested from start to finish - read it in one day!

This is the second book I've read from Woods. The first one was his first book, Chiefs. I love that book, which is a sweeping epic spanning decades with many characters and multiple themes. I avoided anything else by him only because I knew compared to Chiefs his other books would seem small. I have to admit, this turns out to be true. However, taken on its own merit without comparing it to his first book, Choke is a taut thriller, a who-done-it that moves along at an exciting pace. He is a hell of a good writer, and this book has encouraged me to read more of his books. He's written like a bazillion!

This was entirely quotes from the players. Easy reading. I thought Chuck would be the protagonist but that was a red herring. The ending was a surprised to me. Very easy read book but it was worth it.

This is an example of how difficult it is to write an intriguing book. I saw the ending about a third of the way through and the distractions were kind of transparent. Thinking as an editor I don't know what I would have done to fix it. The book is good but not compelling.

Recommend for the beach.

Chuck Chandler has a blown career as a top touring tennis professional and a series of teaching jobs at plush clubs, usually because he has been unable to keep his hands off the female students, especially the married ones. At Key West’s Olde Island Racquet Club Chuck yields to temptation, again, with the beautiful Clare Carras, who is married to an enigmatic older man with no apparent past, and who turns out to be a great deal more than the tennis pro can handle. Suddenly the easygoing Chuck is in over his head, suspected of murder.

Enter Tommy Scully, a former NYPD homicide detective, augmenting his pension with a job on the Key West force, and his neophyte partner, Daryl, who may be smarter than he looks. The two detectives find themselves barely afloat in a shark infested investigation that stretches from the Florida Keys to Los Angeles and back.

Fun read with a couple of great twists I didn't see coming!