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A Southern town afire
Bob Moyer reviews a new novel that seems to fit into a genre that might be called Southern noir psychological family drama – or thriller. Whatever the classification, the book sounds well written. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer KING OF ASHES. By S.A. Cosby. Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar. 333 pages. $28.99 Everything burns. In…
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A 14-year-old girl tackles the forces of evil
James Lee Burke has a new novel out, so, fortunately for Burke fans and anyone looking for a good historical mystery/thriller to read, Bob Moyer has a new review. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer DON’T FORGET ME, LITTLE BESSIE. By James Lee Burke. Atlantic Monthly Press. 360 pages. $28. Reading a James Lee Burke novel takes…
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One corpse after another
Are you a fan of Alex Delaware books? Bob Moyer is, and he’s just read No. 40 in the series. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer OPEN SEASON. By Jonathan Kellerman. Penguin Random House. 273 pages. $30. Possible to probable to resolution. That’s how most mysteries proceed, from the moment the crime comes to the attention…
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A detective in island exile
Michael Connelly introduces a new detective, and reviewer Bob Moyer is on the case. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer NIGHTSHADE. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown. 241 pages. $30. He’s not like Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly”s hard-boiled, hard-bitten ex-LAPD detective, who drives an old jeep around, drives women away and lives on a downtown hillside. Los…
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Good story, great writing
Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer BEEN WRONG SO LONG IT FEELS LIKE RIGHT: A King Oliver Novel. By Walter Mosley. Mulholland Books. 336 pages. $29. “You been wrong so long it feels like right to you.” That’s just one of the great sentences in book three of Walter Mosley’s Joe King Oliver series, in which…
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A good story, and some pointers too
Do you need some really entertaining reading – escape reading, in more ways than one? Bob Moyer offers a review of a book he thinks you’ll find a good distraction in these troubled times. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer HERO. By Thomas Perry. Mysterious Press. 277 pages. $27.95 $27.95 Thomas Perry gives the reader not…
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Tough times in the Big Easy
Bob Moyer reviews a thought-provoking, haunting novel about justice – and lack of it – in New Orleans. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer SERAPHIM. By Joshua Perry. Melville Press. 272 pages. $18.99 In post-Katrina New Orleans, a woman, a local legend, is shot and killed on the street. Sixteen-year-old Robert is arrested and confesses. Except…
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Vanished without a trace…
Iceland’s most successful author has teamed up with the country’s prime minister to write a mystery/crime thriller that’s one of the best books I’ve read in quite a while. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson REYKJAVIK. By Ranger Jonasson and Katrin Jakobsdottir. Minotaur Books. 363 pages. $19, paperback. It’s 1956, and Kristjan Krisjtansson, a rookie policeman…
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Behind the glitter…
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE QUEEN CITY DETECTIVE AGENCY. By Snowden Wright. William Morrow. 260 pages. It’s 1985 in Meridian, Mississippi. It’s the Ronald Reagan era, morning in America, so they say. But in Meridian, once known as the Queen City but now more of a dump, there’s often more darkness than dawn, especially…
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Surprise! Be prepared…
Bob Moyer has found a new mystery/ thriller writer, and he likes her literary debut. It probably helps that the setting is Louisiana, one of Bob’s favorites. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer BROKEN BAYOU. By Jennifer Moorhead. Thomas & Mercer. 265 pages. $16.99. Very few writers can make a reader both gasp and wince. Jennifer…