Briar Patch Books

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  • You may care…

    One mark of a worthwhile, useful book review is whether it gives the reader a good idea of whether she or he would want to read the book. By that standard, Bob Moyer excels in this review. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer A DEATH IN DOOR COUNTY. By Annelise Ryan. Berkeley. 322 pages. $27. When […]

    March 9, 2023
  • A lot of stories to tell, with help

    Are you a fan of the funny man, Steve Martin? If so, Bob Moyer has the book for you. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer NUMBER ONE IS WALKING. By Steve Martin. Drawings by Harry Bliss. Celadon Books. 256 pages. $30. One of the funniest men on the planet, Steve Martin has made 40 movies ( […]

    February 13, 2023
  • A tale of redemption

    This is a book worth reading that has been too long overlooked. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson I ONCE WAS LOST: A TRUE STORY. Paperback. By Fred Moore. 265 pages. Price varies.  Fred Moore knew he was a golden boy. He grew up in East Winston, the predominantly black side of Winston-Salem, in a middle-class […]

    January 31, 2023
  • Fighting the invisible monster

    Bob Moyer has produced a review in which he manages to use, correctly,  the word “antepenultimate.” He even spelled it correctly. Impressive. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer. DESERT STAR. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown. 388 pages $29. “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” A witness being interviewed by […]

    January 27, 2023
  • The king, the duke, blood, toil and trouble

    Blimey! Paul O’Connor is angling for a new job. Read his review to find out what that would be. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor TRAITOR KING: THE SCANDALOUS EXILE OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF WINDSOR. By Andrew Lownie. Pegasus Books. 432 pages. $19.95, softcover. Also available as audiobook from Tantor Audio. 8 hours, 27 […]

    January 22, 2023
  • Playing for keeps

    Yeah, we know Vladimir Putin is a bad guy. But do we know all the ways he is bad? Paul O’Connor takes a look at a book that lays out some things you probably didn’t know. Very interesting things.   Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor   FREEZING ORDER: A TRUE STORY OF RUSSIAN MONEY LAUNDERING, […]

    January 14, 2023
  • The common folks vs. Boss Hog – a horror story

    Paul O’Connor reviews what he calls a nonfiction legal thriller – and warns that reading it might be hazardous to your appetite. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor WASTELANDS: THE TRUE STORY OF FARM COUNTRY ON TRIAL. By Corban Addison.  Knopf. 464 pages, hardcover. $30. Also available from Random House Audio. Read by Rob Shapiro. 16 hours […]

    January 9, 2023
  • When words come to life

    Bob Moyer says a lot in a few words about a book that does the same. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer KICK THE LATCH. By Kathryn Scanlan. New Directions. 144 pages. $17.95. Kathryn Scanlan writes minimalist fiction. Not short stories. Not flash fiction. Minimalist fiction. She eschews verbiage, and dismisses the drape of narrative novelists usually […]

    January 3, 2023
  • Popular history that deserves the adjective

    Paul O’Connor starts the New Year off right with a review of a work of popular history that he says is as gripping as any fictional account. Maybe more…   Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor   PRISONERS OF THE CASTLE: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis’ Fortress Prison. By Ben […]

    January 2, 2023
  • Murder at the salvage yard

    Here’s a remarkably good first novel by the latest addition to my list of outstanding North Carolina authors. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson IT DIES WITH YOU.  By Scott Blackburn. Crooked Lane Books. 304 pages. $27.99. When Hudson Miller was just a boy, his dad “dismantled” what had been a reasonably happy, church-going, middle class […]

    November 29, 2022
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