Briar Patch Books

Tag: Mystery

  • Probing the past in L.A.

    Bob Moyer takes a look at the latest book in a series he’s long enjoyed. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer HEARTBREAK HOTEL. By Jonathan Kellerman. Ballantine Books. 351 pages. $28.99 The duo of LAPD Detective Milo Sturgis and child psychologist Alex Delaware has taken on a number of demeanors over the many volumes of their adventures…

  • The art of death in Detroit

    Bob Moyer takes a look at paperback original novel from a prolific writer of mystery stories. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer SHOT IN DETROIT. By Patricia Abbott. Polis Books. 302 pages. $15, paperback. The 12 bodies in this book don’t get dead the same way. Some are gunned down, some are stabbed, and one is…

  • Saving “runners”

    Here’s an intriguing review by Bob Moyer. The book is the latest in an interesting-sounding mystery series that I have somehow missed. What a treat to discover not just a new book that sounds good, but a whole series. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer A STRING OF BEADS. By Thomas Perry. Mysterious Press. 388 pages.…

  • A chilling Barcelona tale

    Antonio Hill’s day job, according to the blurb on the cover of this audio book, is translating English-language fiction into Spanish. He must have analyzed what makes fiction successful as he pursued his translations. Like his debut thriller, The Summer of Dead Toys, published a year ago, his new book is expertly plotted, intelligently written,…

  • Where there’s Hope, there’s a good story

    It’s always a pleasure when the latest installment in a good series arrives. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE PRIME MINISTER’S SECRET AGENT. By Susan Elia MacNeal. Bantam Books. 301 pages. $15, paperback. Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series has become one of my favorites. In Maggie, MacNeal has created an intelligent, sensitive, complex heroine…

  • The world according to dogs and cats

    Rita Mae Brown’s new book is pegged to Halloween, but it arrived at my house just a little late for me to get it read and reviewed in advance of that occasion. Not to worry; it’s a fun book to read at any time. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE LITTER OF THE LAW. By…

  • The return of Leaphorn and Chee

    For years, I loved reading Tony Hillerman’s mysteries. I enjoyed them even more after I was able to spend some time in the Southwest, the setting for his books starring two Navajo Nation police officers. I was privileged to meet Hillerman when he spoke at Elon College and generously granted an interview that lasted more…

  • Murder in wintry Oslo

    No, to my knowledge, the frequent flyer Bob Moyer has not visited Oslo in recent months – except through the excellent fiction of Jo Nesbo. But that was quite a trip. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE REDEEMER. By Jo Nesbo. Alfred A. Knopf. 397 pages. $25.95. Also available as a Random House Audio book,…

  • New battles, old murders

    Charles Todd, the mother-son writing team that’s had considerable success with the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries set after World War I, is back with another novel in their newer series starring Bess Crawford, a nurse in that Great War. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson A QUESTION OF HONOR. By Charles Todd. William Morrow. 309 pages.…

  • Mystery in Paris, in fine fashion

    When Bob Moyer isn’t traveling in physical terms, he’s traveling through his reading. Here, he visits Paris by way of a charming mystery. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer MURDER BELOW MONTPARNASSE. By Cara Black. SOHO Crime. 336 pages. $25.95. Cara Black has carved a comfortable niche out of the soft-boiled genre. She rambles around Paris, concocting…