Category Archives: Contemporary literary fiction

Mystery, history and the lives of women

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson ASHTON HALL. By Lauren Belfer. Penguin Random House Audio. Read by Jayne Entwhistle and Kristen Sieh. 12 hours, 38 minutes. Also available in hardback from Ballantine Books. Don’t start listening to (or reading) this book … Continue reading →

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Dark, eerie – and beautiful

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Linda

Paul O’Connor may have grown up in Connecticut, gone to college in Indiana and spent many productive decades in North Carolina, but there’s a lot of Ireland in him. He’s discovered a book by an Irish author that’s not exactly … Continue reading →

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When things get really strange…

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Linda

Paul O’Connor reviews a novel that transcends categories while revealing a lot about human nature. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THE ANOMALY. By Herve’ Le Tellier. Translated by Adriana Hunter. Other Press. 391 pp. $16.95, softcover. On March 10, 2021, … Continue reading →

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Up to the challenge

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Linda

Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor CLOUD CUCKOO LAND. By Anthony Doerr. Scribner. 622 pages. $30, hardcover. In his latest novel, Anthony Doerr has challenged himself with a monumental task: Establish three distinct storylines, set apart from each other by more … Continue reading →

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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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