Briar Patch Books

Category: Detective fiction

  • A step back in time

    For 16 novels, Charles Todd has brought us the detective adventures of Ian Rutledge, who returned to police work at Scotland Yard while battling the lingering effects of his time as a British officer in World War I. Now, the mother-son writing team that is Todd brings us a prequel: The newest novel steps back […]

  • Flesh, blood and bones enough to go around

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson DUST. By Patricia Cornwell. Read by Kate Reading. Penguin Audio. 14 hours. $39.95. FLESH AND BLOOD. By Patricia Cornwell. William Morrow. 369 pages. $28.99. BONES NEVER LIE. By Kathy Reichs. Read by Katherine Borowitz. Random House Audio. 9 CDs, 11 hours. $40. Patricia Cornwell deserves lots of credit for creating […]

  • Say it ain’t so, Bo

    While I’m still more or less in holiday mode, Tom Dillon is back to business with a review of what threatens to be the last in one of his favorite mystery series. He’s right: It’s time to get things going for 2015. My New Year’s resolution is to be as industrious as Tom! Reviewed by […]

  • Looking through Easy’s eyes

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson I’ve come late to the Easy Rawlins mysteries, mostly because my longtime reviewer friend Robert P. Moyer always snatched them up. Bob’s thoughtful praise for Walter Mosley’s books always made me want to read them, but the downside of running a book review page or site is that you feel […]

  • Where angels watch

    Here’s the latest in a long-running crime-novel series. Don’t worry if you missed out on the earlier books. You can always go back and enjoy them, too. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson DEATH ANGEL. By Linda Fairstein. Read by Barbara Rosenblat. Penguin Audio. 11 CDs, 12½ hours. Also available in hardcover from Dutton. Alex Cooper, […]

  • When the smoke clears

    A new novel from Deobrah Crombie is always a welcome arrival. She’s one of those much-to-be-envied American writers who have made a career of writing detective stories set in contemporary London. Too bad about all the time she has to spend traveling from her home in Texas to do research across the pond… Reviewed by […]

  • A chilling Barcelona tale

    Antonio Hill’s day job, according to the blurb on the cover of this audio book, is translating English-language fiction into Spanish. He must have analyzed what makes fiction successful as he pursued his translations. Like his debut thriller, The Summer of Dead Toys, published a year ago, his new book is expertly plotted, intelligently written, […]

  • Crime and politics in Scotland

    It’s always a pleasure to read a book review by Tom Dillon. He reads such interesting books. This time, he’s enjoying a bit of detective fiction, but as you might expect, it’s a bit more complicated than shoot-’em-up and whodunit. SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE. By Ian Rankin. Little, Brown and Co. 389 pages. $26 […]