Briar Patch Books

Category: Thriller/Suspense

  • Law, order, love and money, Stone Barrington style

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson SHAKEUP. By Stuart Woods. Penguin Audio. Read by Tony Roberts. 7 hours; 6 CDs. $35. Also available in print from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. OK, here’s the book to take you from the craziness we are in to a fantasy world in which the United States has just inaugurated its second…

  • A story for our times

    I’ve enjoyed many of Chris Bohjalian’s books, some more than others. This one sounds especially — even oddly — timely, and pretty scary. I’m not sure I want to read it, but I’ll pay attention to what Bob Moyer has to say. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer RED LOTUS. By Chris Bohjalian. Doubleday. 367 pages.…

  • Not Bosch, but a determined reporter

    If you need a good detective story to read, Bob Moyer can help you out. Here he takes a look at the latest from Michael Connelly. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer FAIR WARNING. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown and Company. 417 pages. $29. He’s not Harry Bosch. Poor Jack McEvoy. He has appeared in only three Michael…

  • A dangerous trap

    Bob Moyer reviews the latest John Sandford Prey novel starring Lucas Davenport. If you like what he’s describing, and haven’t yet encountered this series, you have some reading to do. Enjoy. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer MASKED PREY. By John Sandford. G.P. Putnam. 416 pages. $29. Over the course of 29 previous Prey novels, John Sandford…

  • Short and not sweet

    Bob Moyer just keeps on reading, finding books to recommend for the entertainment and edification of the rest of us socially distanced folks. He’s a trouper! Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer TROUBLE IS WHAT I DO. By Walter Mosley. Mulholland Books. 176 pages. $24. It’s too short. The brevity of Walter Mosley’s latest book deprives…

  • Bad guys, beware

    Bob Moyer invites us to follow the Hawk as she pursues her prey – and is pursued. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer A SMALL TOWN. By Thomas Perry. Mysterious Press. 320 pages. $26. The opening pages of this book might just be the most painful Thomas Perry has ever penned.  A gang of prisoners kills…

  • Amid the chaos…

    Wherever Jack Reacher goes – and that covers some pretty interesting and dangerous ground – Bob Moyer isn’t far behind. Here’s his review of No. 24 in the Reacher series. BLUE MOON. By Lee Child. Delacorte Press. 356 pages. $28.99. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer PFHHT!  BLAM! THUD! THUNK!  SNAP! CRACK! AIEEE! Did you hear…

  • Virgil Flowers takes on academia

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson BLOODY GENIUS. By John Sandford. Penguin Audio. 11 hours; 9 CDs. Read by Eric Conger. $40. Also available in print from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. First, Margaret Trane, the police officer who is handling the case, doesn’t really want his help and is annoyed that the governor has yielded to pressure…

  • Bad guys, beware

    I can’t keep up with the peripatetic Bob Moyer as he travels hither and yon, going to exotic places and doing interesting things, but I’m always glad when he finds time to send a book review. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer A DANGEROUS MAN. By Robert Crais. Putnam. 339 pages. $28. Joe Pike is indeed A…

  • Gamache amid the storms

    Gamache amid the storms

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson A BETTER MAN. By Louise Penny. Minotaur Books. 437 pages. $28.99. Some critics are calling this, the 15th in Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series, one of her best. Others are pointing out what they consider minor weaknesses and saying maybe A Better Man isn’t quite up to Penny’s highest standards. My take? There…