-
Flavia, unbanished
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THRICE THE BRINDED CAT HATH MEW’D. By Alan Bradley. Read by Jayne Entwistle. Random House Audio. 9 hours; 7 CDs. Hardback print edition form Delacorte Press. 331 pages. $26. It’s happy days for the many fans of Flavia DeLuce, the 12-year-old sleuth and chemist. After a brief “banishment” to a…
-
FDR and the huddled masses
Our references to history can be as selective as our use of current “facts.” Paul O’Connor takes a look at a recent book that tells the uncomfortable story of the Roosevelt administration’s dealings with Jews and other refugees before the U.S. entered World War II. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor 1944: FDR And The Year…
-
Absurdity, meet reality
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson RAZOR GIRL. By Carl Hiaasen. Read by John Rubinstein. Random House Audio. 12 ½ hours; 10 CDs. $54. In hardback from Knopf: 333 pages. $27.95. Razor Girl is Carl Hiaasen at his hilarious best, and that is very, very good. It’s wacky fiction that’s somehow crazily connected to reality. It’s…
-
Short but tasty
Bob Moyer sent this review of from Germany. How can he read this book when so close to France and not go there? It’s a mystery to me. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer FATAL PURSUIT. By Martin Walker. Alfred A. Knopf. 320 pages. $25.95 Stuffed neck of duck. That’s the solution for a minor mystery…
-
Prepare to be charmed
Also a big fan of Lee Smith, I reviewed this book earlier for the Greensboro News & Record: http://www.greensboro.com/go_triad/arts/books/review-dimestore-a-writer-s-life/article_f691fad4-cd46-5b96-9c54-3269b6c73c98.html Not to be outdone, Bob Moyer has reviewed it for Briar Patch Books. Such a fine book merits a lot of attention. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer DIMESTORE. By Lee Smith. Algonquin Books. 202 pages. $24.95.…
-
A wild tale, well told
The 1970s were crazy times, but enough time has elapsed to allow a good researcher and writer to make sense of the senseless. Paul O’Connor says Jeffrey Toobin has done just that. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor AMERICAN HEIRESS: THE WILD SAGA OF THE KIDNAPPING, CRIMES AND TRIALS OF PATTY HEARST. By Jeffrey Toobin. Doubleday.…
-
A writer’s own stories
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE PIGEON TUNNEL: STORIES FROM MY LIFE. By John le Carre. Read by the author. Penguin Audio. 10 CDs; 11 ½ hours. $40. Also available in hardcover from Viking. Imagine that you could visit John le Carre, the highly successful author of British spy novels, who will turn 85 in…
-
Where’s the gold?
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson CURIOUS MINDS. By Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton. Read by Lorelei King. Random House Audio. 7 hours; 6 CDs. $47. Also available in print from Bantam Books. For just plain fun, I adore Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, and I’ve also enjoyed some of Evanovich’s forays into other series, sometimes…
-
In a strange land
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson DODGERS. By Bill Beverly. Read by J.D. Jackson. Random House Audio. 10 ½ hours; 9 CDs. $40. Also available in print from Crown. I’m ashamed to admit that, after having received the review copy I had requested of Bill Beverly’s unforgettable new book, I dragged my heels about listening to…
-
Murder – or is it? – in WWII New York
Many newspaper reporters dream of one day writing a novel. Dan Fesperman is living the dream – he just published No. 10. Paul O’Connor isn’t a big fan of mysteries, but he found this one quite entertaining. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THE LETTER WRITER. By Dan Fesperman. Knopf. 372 pages. $26.95 The last few…