Briar Patch Books

Like fine wine, a good novel grows better with age

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson. RUIN CREEK. By David Payne. Cedar Lane Books, an imprint of Ingram. 367 pages. $18, paperback. If you’re looking for a beautifully written, moving, wise novel to read while you’re lounging on the beach under a shady tent or umbrella, you couldn’t do better than Ruin Creek, the second of…

July 22, 2023
Every page a gem

Bob Moyer reads a lot and reviews a lot of books. If he had to name his favorite authors, I’m guessing Walter Moseley would be at or near the top of the list. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer EVERY MAN A KING. By Walter Mosley. 324 pages. $28. Joe King Oliver doesn’t really want to…

July 16, 2023
Genius in the making

Bob Moyer finds much to interest him in a collection of early Tennessee Williams stories. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE CATERPILLAR DOGS AND OTHER EARLY STORIES. By Tennessee Williams. New Directions. $14.95, paperback. There are pleasures aplenty in the youthful writing of what will become genius. This slim volume of Tennessee Williams’ writings exhibits…

July 10, 2023
Come along for an exciting ride in Mexico

Tom Dillon, retired newspaperman, may not exactly be a “young adult,” but that doesn’t keep him from appreciating this novel aimed at that category. ACROSS THE FACE OF THE STORM. By Jerome R. Adams. Guernica Editions. 186 pages, $17.95 paperback. Reviewed by Tom Dillon You may know something about the American Revolution, but chances are…

June 20, 2023
A mystery within a mystery

Bob Moyer takes a look at a novel set in New Orleans and full of fire, murder, mystery, repentant nuns – and (no surprise) heat and humidity. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer SCORCHED GRACE. A Sister Holiday Mystery. By Margot Douaihy. Gillian Flynn Books 320 pages. $27.95. Before Sister Holiday joined the tiny New Orleans…

June 17, 2023
Young love in this world and beyond

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson MY LIFE ON EARTH AND ELSEWHERE. By Peggy Payne. Hydra Publications. 332 pages. $18.99, paperback. Peggy Payne’s new novel is both a bold departure from her past books and another way of exploring the themes that have run through her fiction from the start. Payne, who lives near Chapel Hill,…

May 23, 2023
Lee Smith alert!

Once I get over being envious and annoyed that Bob Moyer got hold of this new Lee Smith novel before I did, I will find it and read it. She’s a bright star of contemporary Southern and North Carolina fiction. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer. SILVER ALERT. By Lee Smith. Algonquin Books. 224…

May 17, 2023
Bad guys beware: This guy has perseverance and a bag of crafty tricks

Bob Moyer knows a good mystery/thriller when he reads it. He says Thomas Perry is in fine form with this new one. THE MURDER BOOK. By Thomas Perry. Mysterious Press. 394 pages. $27.95. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer If you’ve read a Thomas Perry novel before, or if you’ve seen the Netflix adaptation of The…

May 6, 2023
Looking for Mayberry? Try Roanoke Island

I’m catching up on a few books that slipped through the cracks last year when the newspaper I’d been writing freelance reviews for no longer was able to pay for such things. It’s sad what’s happening to regional newspapers as they are bought by distant enterprises that strip them of staff and resources; it’s a…

April 28, 2023
Looking for love and a whole lot more

If you’re looking for a good detective novel, Bob Moyer is the man to ask. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer RACING THE LIGHT. By Robert Craig. Putnam. 355 pages. $29. In the pantheon of L.A. crime writers, Michael Connelly stands head and shoulders above a crowded field. His Hieronymous “Harry” Bosch manifests a modern-day version…

April 15, 2023