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A young man’s death, and the price of corruption
Paul O’Connor, himself now the published author of a nonfiction book, takes a look at the latest offering from a recent book by someone he deems “a master of narrative nonfiction.” Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor LONDON FALLING: A MYSTERIOUS DEATH IN A GILDED CITY AND A FAMILY’S SEARCH FOR TRUTH. By Patrick Radden Keefe.…
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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
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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
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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…