-
A chase with a twist
In advance of his homecoming from his European junket, Bob Moyer has been sending book reviews. I’ll have to reward him with more books when he arrives stateside. By Robert Moyer THE DEVIL SHE KNOWS. By Bill Loehfelm. Farrar Straus Giroux. 322 pages. $26. By page 43, both the bar maid Maureen and the reader…
-
Listening and laughing
There’s an odd thing about audio books. I find that I can enjoy listening to books that I most likely would not read. That’s been true of some pretty heavy nonfiction. And now I’ve found it to be true of one of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books. I started to say “mysteries” or “thrillers” instead…
-
Goodbye, and thanks for the series
Bob Moyer says this about this review: “I had the privilege to hear Robert B. Parker read from his excellent baseball novel Double Play. Afterward, he answered questions in his gruff but somehow gracious way – until someone asked him about his ‘research’ on the times, Jackie Robinson, etc. Parker interrupted him and said, ‘Wait…
-
Bricks and bullets
Here’s Bob Moyer again, this time in D.C., taking a look at the second book in a new series. By Robert Moyer AGENT X. By Noah Boyd. William Morrow. 391 pages. $24.99 Take a deep breath before you begin this book. The Bricklayer, a cross between James Bond and Sherlock Holmes (with a touch of…
-
No. 2 in the spotlight
Bob Moyer is prowling the mean streets again. By Robert Moyer THE SENTRY. By Robert Crais. Putnam. 320 pages. $26.95. For most of his life between the pages, Robert Crais’ Joe Pike has played a terse Tonto to Elvis Coles’ loose-lipped Lone Ranger. Joe has a symbiotic albeit secondary relationship — Elvis detects, Joe protects.…
-
Victorian England as you’ve never seen it
If you’re looking for a fictional change of pace, and want a heroine who’s definitely not like the girl next door, Carol K. Carr’s debut novel may be just your cup of tea – or perhaps, more aptly, your glass of whiskey. By Linda C. Brinson INDIA BLACK: A Novel of Espionage Mystery. By Carol…
-
A breakout book?
Anne Barnhill, who spends much of her literary time these days in 16th-century England, steps into a different world to review a book by a fellow North Carolina writer. By Anne Barnhill THE BANKER’S GREED. By p.m. terrell and T. Randy Stevens. Drake Valley Press, Palari Publishing. 441 pages. $16.95, paperback. p.m. terrell is a…
-
Moonlight Mile
World traveler Bob Moyer sometimes finds it hard to stay home long enough to write a review, but recently he touched down in Winston-Salem long enough to dish this one out. By Robert Moyer MOONLIGHT MILE. By Dennis Lehane. William Morrow. 324 pages. $26.99. It’s been 12 years since Patrick and Angie found the baby…
-
A Christmas Odyssey
Anne Perry’s Christmas novels have become as much a part of the holiday tradition for me as cutting down and decorating the tree or hanging the stockings by the wood stove. Here’s a look at this year’s. By Linda Brinson A CHRISTMAS ODYSSEY. By Anne Perry. Ballantine Books. 193 pages. $18. In Victorian England, it…
-
Worth Dying For
Here’s a new review by Robert Moyer of Winston-Salem, who’s been traveling and reading. Keep watching: In the next few days we’ll have a post by a reviewer who is new to Briar Patch Books. By Robert Moyer WORTH DYING FOR. By Lee Childs. Delacorte Press. 384 pages. $28. Page 128. That’s when fans of Lee…