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A taste of violence
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson NEON PREY. By John Sandford. Penguin Audio. Red by Richard Ferrone. 11 ½ hours; 9 CDs. $40. Also available in print from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. There’s no mystery why John Sandford’s thrillers routinely make it to the top of the best-seller lists. They are tautly written, with intriguing surprises and…
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Betting on a killer
Bob Moyer is flushed with pleasure after reading this novel, and he hopes you’ll go straight out to get a copy. More poker puns welcomed. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer BLUFF. By Jane Stanton Hitchcock. Poisoned Pen Press. 264 pages. $26.99. When “Mad” Maud steps into a Manhattan restaurant and shoots billionaire financier Sun Sunderland,…
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Sons and mothers and Jackie O.
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE EDITOR. By Steven Rowley. Penguin Audio. Read by Michael Lee. 10 ½ hours. 9 CDs. $40. Also available in print from G. P. Putnam’s Sons. What an original and wonderful idea for a book: James Smale is a struggling would-be writer in New York City in the early 1990s,…
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Cat and criminal
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson CAT CHASE THE MOON. By Shirley Rousseau Murphy. William Morrow. 288 pages. $24.99. Those who love both cats and mystery novels know there is a whole genre of mysteries involving cat sleuths. Years ago I had the privilege of interviewing Lilian Jackson Braun, whose “Cat Who…” mysteries featured a very…
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Escaping the trap
“Not a mystery” was the subject line on the email in which Bob Moyer sent me this review. He knows that I know that most of his reviews are of mysteries, especially detective stories. But I also know that Bob has diverse interests, a lively intellect and a big heart, so I’m not really surprised…
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Bosch, times two, with a twist
Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer DARK SACRED NIGHT. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown. 433 pages. $29. It’s fitting that Rene Ballard and Harry Bosch share a book. She’s the latest Michael Connelly character with one book under her belt, and Bosch has more than two dozen. They’re both cut from the same creative cloth Connelly has been…
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The courage to love
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson WE MUST BE BRAVE. By Frances Liardet. Penguin Audio. Read by Jayne Entwistle and Juliet Mills. 16 hours; 13 CDs. $66. Also available in print from G. P. Putnam’s Sons. This beautiful, moving novel is the first to be published in America by Frances Liardet, a British writer and translator,…
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Back from the dead
I’m catching up with all the reviews Bob Moyer sent we when he was catching up. And now you can catch up on your pleasurable reading. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer ONLY TO SLEEP. A Philip Marlowe Novel. By Lawrence Osborne. Hogarth. 256 pages. $26. The world’s oldest hard-boiled detective is alive and living between…
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Flavia on the case(s)
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE GOLDEN TRESSES OF THE DEAD. By Alan Bradley. Random House Audio. Read by Jayne Entwistle. 9 hours; 7 CDs. $35. Also available in print from Delacorte Press, 323 pages. $26. A new novel starring Flavia de Luce, the precocious young English girl who uses her extensive knowledge of chemistry…