Briar Patch Books

Category: Thriller/Suspense

  • Charlie Lovett’s new novel is a thriller, for sure

    Charlie Lovett turns his considerable talents to writing an international thriller, with results that measure up to his fans’ high expectations. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE ENIGMA AFFAIR.  By Charlie Lovett. Blackstone Publishing, 350 pages, $26.99, hardcover. Through four fine novels now, Charlie Lovett has proved that he is an imaginative, skilled, thoughtful, intelligent…

  • Intricate, believable and gripping

    Paul O’Connor is a relatively new convert to the ranks of fans  who read thrillers involving crime and politics, and he can be a tough reader to impress. This novel impressed him. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON. By Chris Pavone. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux. Hardcover. 433 pages. $28. When Ariel Pryce…

  • Still going strong

    Looking for a good detective story? Bob Moyer has a suggestion. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer   Robert B. Parker’s BYE BYE BABY. By Ace Atkins. Penguin. 315 pages, $28 hardcover.   Fifty books. Robert B. Parker’s one-name Boston private detective, Spenser, has quipped, cracked wise, and quoted Shakespeare through that many books, while dispensing his…

  • The hunters and the hunted

    Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE LEFT-HANDED TWIN. By Thomas Perry. Mysterious Press. 321 pages. $25.95 She survives. Again. No spoiler alert needed here; Jane Whitefield has withstood every danger Thomas Perry has thrown at her in this successful series. She’s a “loser,” someone who helps people in peril of death disappear. She has lost only…

  • Out of control

    Need a vacation novel, one that’s fun and easy to read? Paul O’Connor has a suggestion.  Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor  CITY ON FIRE. By Don Winslow. William Morrow. 351 pages. $28.99, hardcover. Danny Ryan knows trouble when he sees it.  So, when a beautiful woman emerges from the water along the Rhode Island shore,…

  • Dark, eerie – and beautiful

    Paul O’Connor may have grown up in Connecticut, gone to college in Indiana and spent many productive decades in North Carolina, but there’s a lot of Ireland in him. He’s discovered a book by an Irish author that’s not exactly new – published in 2017 – and not usually what would be Paul’s cup of…

  • All this and COVID too

    Bob Moyer reviews a Michael Connelly detective thriller that came out late last year. If you missed it in the holiday/pandemic craziness, you’ll thank him. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE DARK HOURS. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown. 388 pages. $29. She hates taking her mask up and down for a sip of coffee, she…

  • Murder, monks and mirth

    Bob Moyer is back with a review of a book with plenty of “outlandish humor.” FELONIOUS MONK. By William Kotzwinkle. Blackstone Publishing. 278 pages. $26.99. William Kotzwinkle may be the most famous author you’ve never heard of. He has sold more than 10 million books across a swath of genres: the cult ‘70s favorite The…

  • When things get really strange…

    Paul O’Connor reviews a novel that transcends categories while revealing a lot about human nature. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THE ANOMALY. By Herve’ Le Tellier. Translated by Adriana Hunter. Other Press. 391 pp. $16.95, softcover. On March 10, 2021, Air France Flight 006, high above international waters off the coast of Nova Scotia, encounters…

  • Scarpetta’s back, in fine form

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson AUTOPSY. By Patricia Cornwell. William Morrow. 398 pages. $28.99, hardback. I have to admit that my first thought upon hearing that Patricia Cornwell has a new novel out called Autopsywas: “Hasn’t she named one that already?” After all, Cornwell has written lots of popular books starring Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a…