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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…
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Words and language, served with laughter
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson DAMN ENGLISH! By Gary Sherbell. Black Rose Writing. 131 pages. $15.95, paperback. If you are a writing and word nerd, or if clever humor and good laughs would lift your spirits, you’ll probably enjoy spending time with Gary Sherbell’s new book, Damn English! Sherbell, a New Yorker who has also…
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Telling the future who you were
This book particularly resonates with Paul O’Connor because it applies to a project he’s been involved in for quite a while, but, he says, this useful guide has a message for all of us. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THE BOX OF LIFE: A GUIDE TO LIVING LIFE WITH PURPOSE AND PRESERVING WHAT MATTERS MOST.…
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Apple’s predicament, detailed
Paul O’Connor has long been a fan of Apple computers and other products, but a book about how Apple is in thrall to China has given him much to consider. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor APPLE IN CHINA: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company. By Patrick McGee. Scribner. 448 pages. $32. Also in audiobook…
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Murder most foul – yet again – in that Scottish village
I’ve enjoyed many of the books in the Hamish Macbeth series, and now that Bob Moyer has let me know about this latest, I will be looking for it. I have two questions: What would I do without Bob? and How does he get hold of these books before I do? Reviewed by Robert P.…
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One corpse after another
Are you a fan of Alex Delaware books? Bob Moyer is, and he’s just read No. 40 in the series. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer OPEN SEASON. By Jonathan Kellerman. Penguin Random House. 273 pages. $30. Possible to probable to resolution. That’s how most mysteries proceed, from the moment the crime comes to the attention…
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A detective in island exile
Michael Connelly introduces a new detective, and reviewer Bob Moyer is on the case. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer NIGHTSHADE. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown. 241 pages. $30. He’s not like Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly”s hard-boiled, hard-bitten ex-LAPD detective, who drives an old jeep around, drives women away and lives on a downtown hillside. Los…