Briar Patch Books

Category: Mysteries

  • Channeling Robert B. Parker

    A new writer is keeping an old favorite series alive, and Bob Moyer thinks that’s quite OK. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer Robert B. Parker’s SLOW BURN: A Spenser Novel. By Ace Atkins. Putnam. 304 pages. $27. Robert B. Parker may have passed from this mortal coil, but Spenser, his iconic Boston P.I., still packs…

  • Keeping the seas safe in a perilous world

    Here’s another reviewing collaboration with my U.S. Navy officer son, currently assigned to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in seamanship and navigation. Although the two of us approach this book from markedly different backgrounds, we both heartily enjoyed it. That statement in itself is quite a commendation. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson and…

  • One war ends, another simmers

    Bob Moyer takes a look at the latest book in a series about a detective in Germany during the World War II era. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE: A Bernie Gunther Novel. By Philip Kerr. Putnam. 400 pages. $27. Some things change. In this accomplished series about the moral and…

  • Saucy Jack strikes again

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson LOST AND GONE FOREVER. By Alex Grecian. Read by John Curless. Books on Tape. 9 CDs; 10 ½ hours. When reviewing the newest book in a series, I usually try to judge whether someone who hasn’t read all the earlier entries will understand and appreciate the new one. This time,…

  • From morning sickness to mortal danger

    We’re all blessed when Bob Moyer takes time out from his world travels, drama, poetry and petanque to review some books. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer MOST WANTED. By Lisa Scottoline. Delacorte Press. 438 pages. $27.99 Chances are Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe never had a “best friend forever” who said “Ruh-ro” like Scooby Doo. Never did we…

  • Lifestyles of the rich and vapid

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson DISHONORABLE INTENTIONS. By Stuart Woods. Read by Tony Roberts. 7 CDs, 8 hours. Penguin Audio. $35. When a prolific author cranks out books in a series with astonishing rapidity, a reviewer is often left with little to say other than that those who like this series will probably like the…

  • Down on the street

    Reed Farrel Coleman, an established master of the hard-boiled detective genre, has a novel out that’s billed as the start of a new series, about Gus Murphy, a retired cop in Suffolk County, N.Y. Bob Moyer, an established fan of noir books, finds it a promising beginning. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer WHERE IT HURTS.…

  • The real pursuit of truth

    A series has taken a new turn, and Bob Moyer hopes for a course correction. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE CROSSING. By Michael Connelly. Little Brown. 388 pages. $28. Harry Bosch has been banging around the Los Angeles Police Department for a lot of years.  He’s a unique creature, a badge-carrying paean to the…

  • Lifestyles of the rich and criminal

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson FAMILY JEWELS. By Stuart Woods. Penguin Audio. Read by Tony Roberts. 7 hours; 6 CDs. $35. Also available in hardback from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Stuart Woods cranks his Stone Barrington thrillers out pretty quickly. This one is, if I count correctly, No 37. Family Jewels, with some interesting plot twists…

  • Rough winds and murderous seas

    My partner for this review is my younger son, a U.S. Navy officer who has served two deployments aboard Navy ships and is now an instructor in seamanship and navigation at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson and Lt. Samuel F. Brinson THE ADEN EFFECT. By Claude Berube. Naval Institute…