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A murder mystery with much to discover
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson DETECTIVE AUNTY. By Uzma Jalaluddin. Harper Perennial. 324 pages. $17.99, trade paperback original. Uzma Jalaluddin’s debut murder mystery is both familiar and different, a well plotted and well written whodunit that should appeal both to mystery fans and to readers who have enjoyed Jalaluddin’s earlier novels, which are generally considered…
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So many clues, so many possibilities
Looking for a good mystery? Paul O’Connor takes a look at a 2024 book by a mystery author who’s new to me. Sounds intriguing. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THE GOD OF THE WOODS. By Liz Moore. Riverhead Books. 476 pages. $30, hardcover. Liz Moore can really tell a story, as anyone who read her…
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A family saga, set in a coastal Eden
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson WHERE THE RIVERS MERGE. By Mary Alice Monroe. William Morrow. 352 pages. $30, hardcover. This is a lovely book, a well-written novel that spans 80 years of a remarkable woman’s life in the South Carolina Low Country. We first meet Eliza Rivers when she’s eight years old, in 1908, and…
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Stories from the heart
Paul O’Connor recently listened to Al Pacino’s memoir. He encourages us to do the same. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor SONNY BOY: A MEMOIR. By Al Pacino. Penguin Audio. 12 hours, 28 minutes. $45. Read by Pacino. Also available in hardcover: Penguin Press. 384 pages. $35. It sounds almost contradictory to say, but there are…
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Bending the rules – for justice
Bob Moyer starts our reading year off right with a review of the new novel from one of his (many) favorite authors. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE WAITING. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown. 403 pages. $30. Buy two, get one free That’s what happens when you get the latest Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch…
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Bruno, chief of police, is at it again
Bob Moyer reviews the latest in a much loved series rich in with French history, culture, food and, oh yes, crime. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer. A GRAVE IN THE WOODS. By Martin Walker. Knopf. 283 page. $29. The past is never past; it is always present. In this charming, slightly addictive (to some) series,…
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Mysteries and secrets in Victorian England
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE LIBRARY THIEF. By Kuchenga Shenje. Hanover Square Press. 358 pages. $29.99. The Library Thief is a remarkable, entertaining and ambitious debut historical mystery novel by Kuchenga Shenje, a writer, journalist and speaker who lives in Manchester, England. It’s the story of Florence Granger, who grew up a lonely, motherless…
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Mrs. Murphy and crew tackle the legislature
Bob Moyer keeps getting ahead of me to review some of my longstanding favorite series and authors. At least Bob is good enough to write the reviews and let the rest of us know what books we need to get caught up on. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer FELINE FATALE: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery. By…
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From chaos, violence comes a brilliant novel
Bob Moyer reviews the latest novel by one of his favorite authors. One note: Despite what Bob writes, not all Southerners called the conflict of the 1860s the War Between the States. Some – I think particularly of an elderly woman who owned a historic house in downtown Charleston that a group of graduate students…
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A friendship forged in fire
Paul O’Connor, intrepid journalist and discerning reader, reviews a new book about the long-lasting friendship between two very different American heroes. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THE WINGMEN: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams. By Adam Lazarus. The Citadel Press. 232 pages. $29, hardcover. There’s no explaining friendships. Often, people…