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Mystery and history, with a nod to Agatha Christie
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE PRISONER IN THE CASTLE. By Susan Elia MacNeal. Books on Tape. Read by Susan Duerden. 10 hours; 8 CDs. Available in print from Bantam. 300 pages. Through eight novels now, Maggie Hope’s adventures have given readers a thoroughly enjoyable World War II history lesson wrapped up in lively mysteries…
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A tangled case, a lot of laughs
Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer Bob Moyer finds much to like in Jonathan Kellerman’s latest whodunit. NIGHT MOVES. By Jonathan Kellerman. Ballantine. 395 pages. $28.99 Psychologist Alex Delaware and LAPD Detective Milo Sturgis have been tackling tangled cases over a number of books, a number of years. The astute intuition of Alex, the steely procedure…
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Women to the rescue
While I’ve been on a bit of a vacation, Bob Moyer has been keeping the book reviews coming. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer SAFE HOUSES. By Dan Fesperman. Knopf. 401 pages. $26.95. Spy novels too often teem with testosterone-driven heroes of all makes and models, particularly the male versions. It is refreshing, then, that Dan…
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When the dream becomes a nightmare
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson ALL WE EVER WANTED. By Emily Giffin. Random House Audio. 10½ hours; 9 CDs. Read by Dorothy Dillingham Blue, Milton Bagby and Catherine Taber. $45. Also available in print from Ballantine Books. First things first: Emily Giffin’s All We Ever Wanted is a great listen or read for summer or anytime.…
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To have and have not…
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson LOVE AND RUIN. By Paula McLain. Random House Audio. Read by January LaVoy. 11 ½ hours; 9 CDs. $40. Also available in print from Ballantine Books. Paula McLain is brave, choosing to write historical fiction/memoir about well-known people about whom much has already been written and movies have been made.…
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Lights, camera, action, love and friendship
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE GIRLS IN THE PICTURE. By Melanie Benjamin. Random House Audio. Read by Kimberly Farr. 16 ½ hours; 13 CDs. $50. Melanie Benjamin has made quite a successful career by spinning the real-life stories of famous people into entertaining novels. As she does so, she largely sticks to the known…
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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…
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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…
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Zombies, a giant snake and a Plum good story
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR. By Janet Evanovich. Random House Audio. Read by Lorelei King. 7 hours; 6 CDs. $32. Also available in print from Putnam. How does she do it? This is No. 24 in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, and it’s just as outrageous, hilarious and entertaining as any of the…