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Maggie Hope, back in the U.S.A.
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson MRS. ROOSEVELT’S CONFIDANTE. By Susan Elia MacNeal. BOT (Random House). Read by Susan Duerden. 10 ½ hours; 9 CDs. Also available in paperback from Bantam, $15. This is the fifth novel in Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope mystery series, and, like the others, it combines the intrigue of a mystery,…
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The inside story
Much has been written about the morality, efficacy and safety of drones. But what about the pilots of those unmanned killer planes? Paul O’Connor reviews a first-hand account about what it’s like to be the person who flies deadly drones for the Air Force. Reviewed by Paul T. O’ Connor HUNTER KILLER: INSIDE AMERICA’S UNMANNED…
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A simply delicious novel
It’s quite evident that Bob Moyer read this latest Bruno novel with relish. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE PATRIARCH. By Martin Walker. Knopf. 321 pages. $24.95 When Martin Walker concocts a Bruno, Chief of Police novel, he tosses in so many appetizing ingredients — French culture, French history, his love of cooking, Bruno’s love…
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Deprivation, survival and life lessons
Paul O’Connor takes a break from his readings of history to review a book about something that, unfortunately, is as contemporary as it is terrible: life in North Korea. By Paul T. O’Connor IN ORDER TO LIVE. By Yeonmi Park. Penguin Audio. 9 hours and 30 minutes. Read by Eji Kim. 8 CDs. $40. Download…
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Elizabeth George back in top form with her new novel
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson A BANQUET OF CONSEQUENCES. By Elizabeth George. Read by John Lee. 18 CDs; 21 ½ hours. $50. Also available in print from Viking. Fans of Elizabeth George’s long-running British detective series starring Inspector Thomas Lynley and company can rejoice. A Banquet of Consequences is the best novel in this series…
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The deepest mystery of all
Bob Moyer takes a look at a new stand-alone novel by the author of one of his favorite series, and he likes what he sees. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE MURDERER’S DAUGHTER. By Jonathan Kellerman. Ballantine Books. 364 pages. $28. Early in this one-off, stand-alone book, the new kid, The Murderer’s Daughter, meets with…
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Not ‘Hitler’s Pope’
Chances are, you’ve heard more than once the criticism that the Pope was silent while Hitler was perpetrating the Holocaust. Paul O’Connor reviews a fascinating book that tells the story of what was going on behind the scenes. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor CHURCH OF SPIES: THE POPE’S SECRET WAR AGAINST HITLER. By Mark Riebling.…
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History with a lesson
Paul O’Connor reviews a history that can tell many Americans much they don’t know about the Eastern Front in World War II, including an important lesson about how to wage a war. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THE DEVIL’S ALLIANCE: HITLER’S PACT WITH STALIN, 1939-1941. By Roger Moorhouse. Tantor Audio (through Audible.com), $22.04. Read by…
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Money and power
Thank goodness Tom Dillon has wide-ranging tastes in books. He reads and reviews some fascinating ones we might otherwise overlook. Reviewed by Tom Dillon THE RICHEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED. By Greg Steinmetz. Simon and Schuster. 283 pages. $27.95 hardback. Augsburg in Bavaria, my home for much of the 1960s, is a middling-size German city…