Briar Patch Books

Category: Mysteries

  • 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,…

  • Cat and criminal

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson CAT CHASE THE MOON. By Shirley Rousseau Murphy. William Morrow. 288 pages. $24.99. Those who love both cats and mystery novels know there is a whole genre of mysteries involving cat sleuths. Years ago I had the privilege of interviewing Lilian Jackson Braun, whose “Cat Who…” mysteries featured a very…

  • Bosch, times two, with a twist

    Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer DARK SACRED NIGHT.  By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown. 433 pages. $29. It’s fitting that Rene Ballard and Harry Bosch share a book.  She’s the latest Michael Connelly character with one book under her belt, and Bosch has more than two dozen. They’re both cut from the same creative cloth Connelly has been…

  • 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…