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Seeking redemption in a harsh land
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson MIDNIGHT SUN. By Jo Nesbo. Random House Audio. Read by Kim Gordon. 5 CDs; 6 hours. $30. Also available in print from Knopf. Jo Nesbo is best known for his series of crime novels starring the Norwegian detective Harry Hole, but he also has written several stand-alone novels. Midnight Sun,…
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One terrible mistake
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE GUEST ROOM. By Chris Bohjalian. Doubleday. 318 pages. $25.95. When I tried to tell a friend about the novel I was reading – a story about a man who offers his home for his younger brother’s bachelor party, only to find himself embroiled in a horror involving two murders,…
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East side, west side, all around the town
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson BROOKLYN ON FIRE. By Lawrence H. Levy. Read by Cassandra Campbell. Books on Tape. 10 hours; 9 CDs. Mary Handley was the first woman to work as a detective with the Brooklyn Police Department. Her success there gained her quite a bit of fame, or maybe notoriety. She’s not giving…
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The swans and their darling
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE. By Melanie Benjamin. Delacorte Press. 341 pages. $28. Think of Truman Capote not as he was in his later years: dissipated, bloated, outrageous, abusing drugs and alcohol, given to public breakdowns, unable to complete a novel. Think of him instead as slight, blond and young,…
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A fresh perspective: Nerd fiction
Reviewed by Jessica Coates WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE .By Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Harper Perennial. 401 pages. $19.99 Welcome to Night Vale is probably the most highly anticipated piece of 2015 nerd fiction you’ve never heard of. It debuted at No. 4 on The New York Times bestseller list, just below J.K. Rowling’s Career…
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A fresh perspective: Bold gambit
Here’s another of our interesting and well-done reviews by students in the opinion-writing class at the University of North Carolina’s School of Media and Journalism. Reviewed by Nick Niedzwiadek DISCLAIMER. By Renée Knight. Harper. 336 pages. $25.99. Starting a story by introducing a book-within-a-book — and having it be central to the plot— is a…
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A fresh perspective: Not just formula
Reviewed by Brianna Crane SEE ME. By Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central. PAGES? $27.00 An unlikely couple looks out across the Atlantic, letting their thoughts drift gently with the tide; all is well. As the waves begin crashing, however, the couple is consumed by a wave of fear. The early plot of See Me is similar…
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A fresh perspective: Grisham’s lawyer pushes the limits
Here’s another review by a student in the opinion writing class at UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism. Reviewed by John Thomas ROGUE LAWYER. By John Grisham. Doubleday. 344 pages. $28.95, hardcover. John Grisham’s latest legal thriller, Rogue Lawyer, follows the story of defense lawyer Sebastian Rudd, a self-described “lone gunman” who loves…
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Behind the lines
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson MADELEINE’S WAR. By Peter Watson. Nan A. Talese Doubleday. 366 pages. $26.95. World War II is grinding toward an end in Europe, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less dangerous to be a spy in occupied France. If anything, the Nazis, knowing an Allied invasion is imminent, have grown more…
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A delicious tale
Crime fiction, the lovely French countryside, a sense of history AND lavish meals – there’s a lot to like in the Bruno books, and Bob Moyer relishes the opportunity to review another book in the series. THE CHILDREN RETURN. By Martin Walker. Knopf. 320 pages. $24.95 ‘To Protect and To Serve.” Police forces around the…