Tag: detective fiction

  • All this and COVID too

    Bob Moyer reviews a Michael Connelly detective thriller that came out late last year. If you missed it in the holiday/pandemic craziness, you’ll thank him. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE DARK HOURS. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown. 388 pages. $29. She hates taking her mask up and down for a sip of coffee, she…

  • Hollywood noir gets a new star

    Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer A MAN NAMED DOLL. By Jonathan Ames. Mulholland Books. 208 pages. $26. For some time, the niche of mystery novel called Hollywood noir has been depleted. Not L.A., but Hollywood. The territory was once inhabited by the likes of Stuart Kaminsky’s Toby Peters, who helped Hollywood stars out of trouble,…

  • A treat for Spenser fans

    Bob Moyer reviews the latest in a venerable detective series that has outlived its creator. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer Robert B. Parker’s SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME. By Ace Atkins. Putnam. 306 pages. $27. Since Ace Atkins took over the Spenser franchise, he has aptly inhabited not just The Spenser voice, but the habits,…

  • A voice of pain and passion

    Bob Moyer reviews the latest in a venerable detective series that’s set decades ago but, he finds, has much to say that’s relevant to today’s readers. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer BLOOD GROVE. By Walter Mosley/ Mulholland Books. 307 pages. $27. Long before Black Lives Matter, before George Floyd, a voice articulated the plight of…

  • Not Bosch, but a determined reporter

    If you need a good detective story to read, Bob Moyer can help you out. Here he takes a look at the latest from Michael Connelly. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer FAIR WARNING. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown and Company. 417 pages. $29. He’s not Harry Bosch. Poor Jack McEvoy. He has appeared in only three Michael…

  • Watch out, Chicago…

    Bob Moyer is my hero. Undeterred by all that’s going on in the world around us, he keeps  reviewing books so the rest of us will have some idea of what to read when we want some respite. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer DEAD LAND. By Sara Paretsky. William Morrow. 405 pages. $28.99 Private eye…

  • Familiar, but new

    Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer HI FIVE. By Joe Ide. Mulholland Press. 337 pages. $27. He seems familiar, but Isaiah Quintabe is the most unusual private eye in current mystery fiction. Undersized and overbrained, this African-American unlicensed detective can solve any crime, and does — just for the sake of doing it. He’s been known…

  • Back from the dead

    I’m catching up with all the reviews Bob Moyer sent we when he was catching up. And now you can catch up on your pleasurable reading. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer ONLY TO SLEEP. A Philip Marlowe Novel. By Lawrence Osborne. Hogarth. 256 pages. $26. The world’s oldest hard-boiled detective is alive and living between…

  • Flavia on the case(s)

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE GOLDEN TRESSES OF THE DEAD. By Alan Bradley. Random House Audio. Read by Jayne Entwistle. 9 hours; 7 CDs. $35. Also available in print from Delacorte Press, 323 pages. $26. A new novel starring Flavia de Luce, the precocious young English girl who uses her extensive knowledge of chemistry…

  • Spenser: The magic continues

    Bob Moyer takes a look at the latest Spenser novel and finds it worthy of the tradition. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer ROBERT B. PARKER’S OLD BLACK MAGIC (SPENSER). By Ace Atkins. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 336 pages. $27. Spenser, the singularly named Boston P.I., shares both a name and a proclivity for poetic expression with…