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The tough side of the Big Easy
Bob Moyer knows New Orleans, and he knows good police procedurals. He finds much to praise in this lively novel. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE DEVIL’S MUSE. By Bill Loehfelm. Farrar Straus Giroux. 258 pages. $26. Mardi Gras. Most people see a chance to party, beads flying through the air, beads on the ground,…
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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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Watch out for Miss (Deputy) Kopp
Bob Moyer takes a slight diversion into history and an entertaining novel based on the true story of a woman crime fighter. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer MISS KOPP’S MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS. By Amy Stewart. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 384 pages. $26. Don’t judge this book by its cover. Although the titillating title suggests some salacious material inside, there is…
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Dinosaurs, gunslingers, Indians and more
This novel arrived right about the time my husband and I were moving from the farm where we’d lived for more than 40 years to a new home 300 miles to the east, in Currituck County, N.C. The book made the move, but ended up under the stack of other books waiting to be read.…
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A mad and maddening world
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE GOLDEN HOUSE. By Salman Rushdie. Read by Vikas Adam. Random House Audio. 14 ½ hours. 12 CDs. 45. Salman Rushdie’s new novel captures this moment in time in America in a brilliant and disturbing way. Yes, The Golden House is frenetic, hyperbolic, often over the top and sometimes confusing…
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A wreck, a murder, a mystery
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE. By Shari Lapena. Penguin Audio. Read by Tavia Gilbert. 9 hours; 7 CDs. $47. If Shari Lapena’s first suspense novel, The Couple Next Door, was as good as most people seemed to think it was, then she’s suffering from sophomore slump with A Stranger in…
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Same place, new face
Bob Moyer takes time out from his traveling, petanquing, haikuing, swing dancing and other passions to get caught up on a book review. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE LATE SHOW. By Michael Connelly. Little, Brown. 405 pages. $28. Michael Connelly has been granted the mantle of successor to Raymond Chandler, and he has worn it…
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One last taste…
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE PAINTED QUEEN. By Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess. William Morrow. 352 pages. $27.99. Fans of Elizabeth Peters’ beloved Amelia Peabody series can enjoy this final installment if they read it as light entertainment, a glimpse of sorts of the beloved characters and perhaps a reminder of just how extraordinary…
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Beware the beasts
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson DEADFALL. By Linda Fairstein. Penguin Audio. Read by Barbara Rosenblat. 11 ½ hours; 10 CDs. $40. Alex Cooper is back – sort of – after her kidnapping ordeal, but she’s supposed to be on leave from work, and she’s struggling emotionally. A quiet time of healing is not in the…