Category Archives: Contemporary literary fiction

Tarheel troubadour

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Linda

Bob Moyer has returned from his latest adventures to give us another fine book review.   Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer IN THE VALLEY. By Ron Rash. Doubleday. 220 pages. $26.95   There’s gold in them thar mountains. North Carolina mountains, … Continue reading →

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What he left behind

Posted on May 1, 2021 by Linda

Bob Moyer takes on a different kind of mystery – not a whodunit, but a look at the strange realm of human love and relationships. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer MONOGAMY. By Sue Miller. Harper. 338 pages. $28.99     … Continue reading →

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Choosing the words, telling the stories

Posted on April 9, 2021 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS. By Pip Williams. Ballantine Books. 371 pages. $28. Pip Williams’ remarkable debut novel is imaginative, original, intelligent and delightful. The Dictionary of Lost Words is also a book for our … Continue reading →

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Anchored in the dilemma

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Linda

Bob Moyer, an avid reader, often goes through books at a rapid pace. But those tend to be mysteries. This novel, he says, forced him to slow down. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer JACK. By Marilynne Robinson. Farrah Straus Giroux. … Continue reading →

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Walter Mosley, the short version

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Linda

Years ago, a review by Bob Moyer introduced me to the works of Walter Mosley. Since then, I have read many of Mosley’s outstanding  and evocative mysteries, including many  of the early ones I had missed.  Now I’ll have to … Continue reading →

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A story for our times

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Linda

I’ve enjoyed many of Chris Bohjalian’s books, some more than others. This one sounds especially — even oddly — timely, and pretty scary. I’m not sure I want to read it, but I’ll pay attention to what Bob Moyer has … Continue reading →

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A storm brewing…

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Linda

Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer WEATHER. By Jenny Offill. Alfred A.  Knopf. 224 pages. $23.95. Lucy toggles. “Toggles” is the word author Jenny Offill used in a recent interview to describe the interior switching in the life of her narrator. In … Continue reading →

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Why we read fiction…

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Linda

Yes, Bob Moyer reads a lot of mysteries, detective stories and thrillers. But he also savors a good literary novel from time to time. Here’s one of his recent finds. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE DUTCH HOUSE. By Ann Patchett. HarperCollins. … Continue reading →

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A story to savor

Posted on November 20, 2019 by Linda

Bob Moyer reviews a book he says takes a familiar story and makes it new, a story that’s a pleasure to read. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THIS TENDER LAND. By William Kent Krueger. Atria. 460 pages. $27.  You’ve met … Continue reading →

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She’s back…

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson OLIVE, AGAIN. by Elizabeth Strout. Random House Audio. Read by Kimberly Farr. 12 1/2 hours; 10 CDs. $45. Also available in print from Random House. Anyone who met Olive Kitteridge in Elizabeth’s Strout’s Pulitzer Prize-winning … Continue reading →

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