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The day the Nazis came
What the Nazis did to Germany’s Jews – and others – is something we should never, ever forget, one of those lessons that history offers us and that we should take to heart. Paul O’Connor has found an unusual, and he, says, outstanding addition to the literature available about what happened during those terrible times.…
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Police work – and so much more
Bob Moyer and I are both fans of Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police novels, but lately he always manages to get the new one first. Here he reviews the 2025 addition to the series – No. 18. There’s already a 2026 book in the works. One of us will keep you posted. As Bob…
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When it all came tumbling down
Paul O’Connor takes a look at one of the top-ranked books of 2025 – the story of the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression that resulted – and finds it’s well worth the investment of your reading time (pun intended) (sorry, Paul). Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor 1929: INSIDE THE GREATEST CRASH IN…
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To the moon and beyond
Men walking on the moon was just a beginning. Here’s your chance to learn about today’s space race, as earthlings compete to colonize the moon, and maybe, someday, Mars. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor ROCKET DREAMS: MUSK, BEZOS AND THE INSIDE STORY OF THE NEW, TRILLION-DOLLAR SPACE RACE. By Christian Davenport. Crown Currency Publishing Co.…
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The thrill of the crime, the thrill of the hunt
Paul O’Connor finds that this 2023 nonfiction book ranks right up there with the best of thrillers. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THERE WILL BE FIRE: Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, and Two Minutes That Changed History. By Rory Carroll. G.P. Putnam & Sons. 416 pages. $30, hardcover. Also available from Penguin Audio, read by John…
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A good story, a troubling history
Lucky Bob Moyer: He’s already read No. 17 in the Easy Rawlins mystery series. And lucky us: He’s written a review for the rest of us. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer GRAY DAWN. By Walter Mosley. Mulholland Books. 336 pages. $29. They’re all here. In this 17th episode in the life of Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins,…
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Originality – the spice of spy fiction
World traveler Paul O’Connor reads a lot of popular fiction these days, maybe while stranded in airports when flights are canceled. Fortunately for fellow fans, he also sometimes finds the time to write reviews and alert us to diversions we might enjoy. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor PARIAH. By Dan Fesperman. Knopf. 369 pages. $30,…
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The will, the need to win
Paul O’Connor, a proud Notre Dame alum and fan of the Fighting Irish, takes a look at a new biography of one of Notre Dame’s most successful and storied football coaches. The saga takes readers into the tensions between football and academics at a great university in the 1940s and ’50s, and it describes developments…
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A Southern town afire
Bob Moyer reviews a new novel that seems to fit into a genre that might be called Southern noir psychological family drama – or thriller. Whatever the classification, the book sounds well written. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer KING OF ASHES. By S.A. Cosby. Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar. 333 pages. $28.99 Everything burns. In…
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A 14-year-old girl tackles the forces of evil
James Lee Burke has a new novel out, so, fortunately for Burke fans and anyone looking for a good historical mystery/thriller to read, Bob Moyer has a new review. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer DON’T FORGET ME, LITTLE BESSIE. By James Lee Burke. Atlantic Monthly Press. 360 pages. $28. Reading a James Lee Burke novel takes…