Briar Patch Books

Category: Thriller/Suspense

  • 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…

  • Survivalist in a high-tech world

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE NEVER GAME. By Jeffery Deaver. Penguin Audio. 11 ½ hours; 9 CDs. Read by Kaled Griffith. $40. Also available in print from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Jeffery Deaver gives us not only a gripping thriller but also a timely story in The Never Game, the first novel in his new…

  • A fitting farewell

    Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer I love it when Bob Moyer is in reading/reviewing mode. So many books to add to my list…. METROPOLIS. By Philip Kerr. Putnam. 381 pages. $28. In 13 books, Philip Kerr established detective Bernie Gunther as a German noir  detective equivalent to Raymond Chandler’s Marlowe. He also established himself as not just…

  • On the rough streets of D.C.

    Bob Moyer is on a roll when it comes to book reviews. Here he takes a look at the latest installment in a crime series that’s worth a try. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer TRIGGER. By David Swinson. Mulholland Books. 352 pages. $27. Frank Marr is a good detective with some bad habits – Laphroag 18,…

  • Putting those skills to work

    It’s so nice to have Bob Moyer busy reviewing books again. Now, if we can just keep him from gallivanting around the world for a while…. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE BURGLAR. By Thomas Perry. Mysterious Press. 288 pages. $26. Thomas Perry sure knows how to keep his readers turning the pages. He’s used the…

  • Tangled web, suburban style

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson SOMEONE KNOWS. By Lisa Scottoline. Penguin Audio. 11 ½ hours; 10 CDs. Read by Ari Fliakos and Brittany Pressley. $45. Also available in print from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Lisa Scottoline has written more than 30 novels, been on best-seller lists forever and won lots of big awards. She was a…

  • A taste of violence

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson NEON PREY. By John Sandford. Penguin Audio. Red by Richard Ferrone. 11 ½ hours; 9 CDs. $40. Also available in print from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. There’s no mystery why John Sandford’s thrillers routinely make it to the top of the best-seller lists. They are tautly written, with intriguing surprises and…

  • Betting on a killer

    Bob Moyer is flushed with pleasure after reading this novel, and he hopes you’ll go straight out to get a copy. More poker puns welcomed. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer BLUFF. By Jane Stanton Hitchcock. Poisoned Pen Press. 264 pages. $26.99. When “Mad” Maud steps into a Manhattan restaurant and shoots billionaire financier Sun Sunderland,…

  • Only the truth

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE SUSPECT. By Fiona Barton. Penguin Audio. 11 ½ hours; 10 CDs. Read by Susan Duerden, Fiona Hardingham, Nicholas Guy Smith and Katharine McEwan. $40. Also available in print from Berkley. Fiona Barton’s latest suspense novel is gripping, heartbreaking and thought provoking. It’s a story that any parent will find…