Briar Patch Books

Category: Thriller/Suspense

  • The more things change…

    Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer TWO KINDS OF TRUTH. By Michael Connelly. Little Brown. 402 pages. $29. ‘Things change.” On his way to downtown L.A. from San Fernando, Harry Bosch reflects on how the landscape, the office he’s going to, the former partner he’s meeting, have all changed. Not to mention his own life, of…

  • Waiting for the gun

    Bob Moyer’s New Year’s resolution is to review more books even when he’s on the road, as he often is. He just doesn’t know about this resolution yet, but one hopes he will after reading this post. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE CUBAN AFFAIR. By Nelson DeMille. Simon and Schuster. 429 pages. $28.99. Looking…

  • Hard-won rewards

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE MIDNIGHT LINE. By Lee Child. Random House Audio. Read by Dick Hill. 13 hours; 11 CDs. $45. Also available in print from Delacorte Press. I’d heard about Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, of course – 21 or so best-selling thrillers, some short stories and, oh, a movie or two, among…

  • The mysteries of life, solved – or are they?

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson ORIGIN. By Dan Brown. Random House Audio. Read by Paul Michael. 18 hours; 15 CDs. $50. Robert Langdon, intrepid Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, is at it again, with all the expected mystery, codes, drama, action, danger, beautiful women, evil villains, cosmic ideas and earth-shattering revelations. My audio…

  • Remembrance of things better left forgotten

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson A LEGACY OF SPIES. By John le Carre. Read by Tom Hollander. Penguin Audio. 8 ½ hours; 7 CDs. $40. Could it be? With word that John le Carre had written another novel, and this one bringing back George Smiley after many years of absence, legions of fans hoped that…

  • A wreck, a murder, a mystery

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE. By Shari Lapena. Penguin Audio. Read by Tavia Gilbert. 9 hours; 7 CDs. $47. If Shari Lapena’s first suspense novel, The Couple Next Door, was as good as most people seemed to think it was, then she’s suffering from sophomore slump with A Stranger in…

  • A perilous “fairy story”

    Bob Moyer may have been traveling in Japan in real time, but in his reading world, he’s been in post-war Germany, courtesy of the latest in one of his favorite series. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer PRUSSIAN BLUE. By Philip Kerr. Putnam. 523 pages. $27. In this now-venerable series, Bernie Gunther has made his melancholy way from…

  • A comfortable ride

    Bob Moyer, traveling  gourmet, has found time to sample a new book and write a review. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer Robert B. Parker’s LITTLE WHITE LIES. By Ace Atkinson. Putnam. 304 pages. $27. After dozens of Spenser adventures by Robert B. Parker, and now seven by his chosen successor, Ace Atkinson, the formula is pretty clear. There’s never…

  • The mean streets of L.I.

    The Briar Patch has a little catching up to do. Our excuse is that the Briar Patch’s physical location has moved. More about that later. But for now, fortunately, faithful correspondent Bob Moyer has taken time from his own travels to write a review. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer WHAT YOU BREAK. By Reed Farrel…

  • The chase is on

    This new book by one of Bob Moyer’s (many) favorite authors came out late last year, but we’ll forgive him for not getting around to reviewing it until now. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE OLD MAN. By Thomas Perry. Mysterious Press. 337 pages. $26. The Old Man looks like a harmless retiree, having lived…