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Saving the world, once again
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson SHADOW TYRANTS. By Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison. Penguin Audio. Read by Scott Brick. 11 hours; 9 CDs. $45. Also available in print from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. This latest in the Oregon Files books by Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison offers, in addition to the usual action and drama, food…
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Death in the Catskills
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson AN UNWANTED GUEST. By Shari Lapena. Penguin Audio. Read by Hillary Huber. 8 ½ hours; 7 CDs. $35. Also available in print from Pamela Dorman Books. This latest suspense novel by best-selling author Shari Lapena is set in a remote, small hotel in the Catskills in winter. Various reasons bring…
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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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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…
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The mysteries of life, solved – or are they?
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson ORIGIN. By Dan Brown. Random House Audio. Read by Paul Michael. 18 hours; 15 CDs. $50. Robert Langdon, intrepid Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, is at it again, with all the expected mystery, codes, drama, action, danger, beautiful women, evil villains, cosmic ideas and earth-shattering revelations. My audio…
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Something’s rotten in Denmark…
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE SCARRED WOMAN. By Jussi Adler-Olsen. Penguin Audio. Read by Graeme Malcolm. 12 CDs; 14 ½ hours. $45. Only recently have I become aware of some of the fine mystery/detective fiction coming out of Scandinavia. Bob Moyer introduced me to the fiction of Norway’s Jo Nesbo, and that rewarding experience…
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Remembrance of things better left forgotten
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson A LEGACY OF SPIES. By John le Carre. Read by Tom Hollander. Penguin Audio. 8 ½ hours; 7 CDs. $40. Could it be? With word that John le Carre had written another novel, and this one bringing back George Smiley after many years of absence, legions of fans hoped that…
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Whom we love, what we see
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson WATCH ME DISAPPEAR. By Janelle Brown. Random House Audio. Read by Tavia Gilbert with Kaleo Griffith. 13 ½ hours; 11 CDs. $45. Also available in print from Spiegel & Grau. Billie Flanagan was a force of nature, almost larger than life. Everybody loved and admired her. Right? When Janelle Brown’s…
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War, independence and family ties
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE LOYAL SON: The War in Ben Franklin’s House. By Daniel Mark Epstein. Random House Audio. Read by Scott Brick. 16 ½ hours; 13 CDs. $60. Also available in hardback from Ballantine Books. Most of us probably think we know the story of Benjamin Franklin, and certainly the story of…
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A most misunderstood president
Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor HERBERT HOOVER: A LIFE. By Glen Jeansonne. Berkley. 464 pages. $28. Also available from Penguin Audio, read by Mark Deakins. 16 hours, 28 minutes. $29.95. Head west across Interstate 80 from Chicago, and you’ll come across a National Park Service surprise in West Branch, Iowa: The Herbert Hoover National Historic…