Month: July 2016

  • A (very different) tale of Vietnam

    Long before he was a public school teacher and principal, my husband, Lloyd Brinson, was a Marine officer who served in Vietnam. Who would have thought he’d find so much of value in a children’s novel set in contemporary times in that country? Reviewed by Lloyd Brinson LISTEN, SLOWLY. By Thanhha Lai. HarperCollins. 272 pages. $16.99,…

  • Portrait of the artist as a young resistance fighter

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson A COUNTRY ROAD, A TREE. By Jo Baker. Read by David Rintoul. Random House Audio. 10 ½ hours; 9 CDS. $40. Also available in print from Knopf. Ah, what a heady thing to be an aspiring young writer in Paris – until the Nazis come goose-stepping in. In her new novel,…

  • Channeling Robert B. Parker

    A new writer is keeping an old favorite series alive, and Bob Moyer thinks that’s quite OK. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer Robert B. Parker’s SLOW BURN: A Spenser Novel. By Ace Atkins. Putnam. 304 pages. $27. Robert B. Parker may have passed from this mortal coil, but Spenser, his iconic Boston P.I., still packs…

  • Keeping the seas safe in a perilous world

    Here’s another reviewing collaboration with my U.S. Navy officer son, currently assigned to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in seamanship and navigation. Although the two of us approach this book from markedly different backgrounds, we both heartily enjoyed it. That statement in itself is quite a commendation. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson and…

  • One war ends, another simmers

    Bob Moyer takes a look at the latest book in a series about a detective in Germany during the World War II era. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE: A Bernie Gunther Novel. By Philip Kerr. Putnam. 400 pages. $27. Some things change. In this accomplished series about the moral and…

  • Saucy Jack strikes again

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson LOST AND GONE FOREVER. By Alex Grecian. Read by John Curless. Books on Tape. 9 CDs; 10 ½ hours. When reviewing the newest book in a series, I usually try to judge whether someone who hasn’t read all the earlier entries will understand and appreciate the new one. This time,…

  • From morning sickness to mortal danger

    We’re all blessed when Bob Moyer takes time out from his world travels, drama, poetry and petanque to review some books. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer MOST WANTED. By Lisa Scottoline. Delacorte Press. 438 pages. $27.99 Chances are Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe never had a “best friend forever” who said “Ruh-ro” like Scooby Doo. Never did we…