Category: Popular fiction

  • Scarpetta’s back, in fine form

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson AUTOPSY. By Patricia Cornwell. William Morrow. 398 pages. $28.99, hardback. I have to admit that my first thought upon hearing that Patricia Cornwell has a new novel out called Autopsywas: “Hasn’t she named one that already?” After all, Cornwell has written lots of popular books starring Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a…

  • A terrifying and delightful collaboration

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson STATE OF TERROR. By Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny. St. Martin’s Press. 494 pages. $30. I couldn’t get my hands on this book – a political thriller – fast enough. Louise Penny is one of my favorite all-time crime/mystery writers, and certainly one of my favorites who’s writing currently.…

  • Madness in paradise

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson   THE MADNESS OF CROWDS. By Louise Penny. Minotaur Books. 436 pages. $28.99. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is back in Three Pines, the Quebec village faithful readers know and love, for the 17th novel in Louise Penny’s wonderful series. But that does not mean that all is well. The previous novel,…

  • When murder and fiction collide

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS. By David Bell. Berkley. 416 pages. $27 hardcover. David Bell’s latest thriller has all the ingredients for a great summer read. The fast-moving plot is gripping, with plenty of twists and turns, and more than a few surprises. It’s set in academia, at a fictitious Kentucky…

  • Flag waving, patriotism and spies

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE HOLLYWOOD SPY: A Maggie Hope Mystery. By Susan Elia MacNeal. Bantam. 352 pages. $27. If you believe the inspiring old stories about how patriotism united America during World War II, Susan Elia MacNeal’s latest Maggie Hope suspense novel will be an eye-opener. When we last spent time with Maggie,…

  • What he left behind

    Bob Moyer takes on a different kind of mystery – not a whodunit, but a look at the strange realm of human love and relationships. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer MONOGAMY. By Sue Miller. Harper. 338 pages. $28.99     In this fine novel, filled with authentic detail of time, place and demographics, the main…

  • The boy is back

    Bob Moyer takes a look at the latest book by one of America’s most respected mystery and thriller writers. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer EDDIE’S BOY. By Thomas Perry. Mysterious Press. 274 pages. $26. Thomas Perry never fails to produce a pager-turner. His protagonists, whether in stand-alone novels or series installments, Native American females or…

  • Reacher “Just Happens” to be at it again

    Bob Moyer reviews the latest in one of his favorite series (and one of mine, also, once he introduced me to it). But, as he explains, this involves a “new Jack Reacher.” Reviewed by Robert P Moyer THE SENTINEL. By Lee Child and Andrew Child. Delacorte Press. 351 pages. $28.99 Jack Reacher is the star…

  • Faded dreams and vanished worlds

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE SWEET TASTE OF MUSCADINES. By Pamela Terry. Ballantine Books. 288 pages. $27. Pamela Terry has a winner in “The Sweet Taste of Muscadines,” her debut novel. The book is billed as a Southern novel, and it is – in the best sense of that descriptive. The geography is right:…

  • In the swamps, Burke takes it up a notch

    Bob Moyer has been busy, moving to a new home and doing all the other things Bob Moyer does. Including reading. Now, at last, he’s found time again to write some book reviews and share his literary finds with us. Thank goodness. Reviewed by Robert P.  Moyer A PRIVATE CATHEDRAL: A Dave Robicheaux Novel. By…