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The mean streets of L.I.
The Briar Patch has a little catching up to do. Our excuse is that the Briar Patch’s physical location has moved. More about that later. But for now, fortunately, faithful correspondent Bob Moyer has taken time from his own travels to write a review. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer WHAT YOU BREAK. By Reed Farrel…
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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…
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Absurdity, meet reality
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson RAZOR GIRL. By Carl Hiaasen. Read by John Rubinstein. Random House Audio. 12 ½ hours; 10 CDs. $54. In hardback from Knopf: 333 pages. $27.95. Razor Girl is Carl Hiaasen at his hilarious best, and that is very, very good. It’s wacky fiction that’s somehow crazily connected to reality. It’s…
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One war ends, another simmers
Bob Moyer takes a look at the latest book in a series about a detective in Germany during the World War II era. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE: A Bernie Gunther Novel. By Philip Kerr. Putnam. 400 pages. $27. Some things change. In this accomplished series about the moral and…
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The real pursuit of truth
A series has taken a new turn, and Bob Moyer hopes for a course correction. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE CROSSING. By Michael Connelly. Little Brown. 388 pages. $28. Harry Bosch has been banging around the Los Angeles Police Department for a lot of years. He’s a unique creature, a badge-carrying paean to the…
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Hardboiled, served up right
Whether he’s in L.A. with Easy Rawlins or Manhattan with Leonid McGill, Walter Mosley delivers some fine books. Bob Moyer has a great time with the latest. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer AND SOMETIMES I WONDER ABOUT YOU. By Walter Mosley. Doubleday. 272 ages $26.95. What’s happened to the gunsels, the dames, the twists, the…
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X is for ….
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson X. By Sue Grafton. Read by Judy Kaye. Random House Audio. 11 CDS, 13 ½ hours. $45. Also available in print from Putnam. So much for speculation about what Sue Grafton would make “X” stand for in her long-running series of alphabet-named detective stories, dating back to A Is for…
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Where the fire always burns
Happy New Year, at last! Bob Moyer is back from wherever he’s been when he wasn’t writing book reviews. That’s always cause for rejoicing. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE BURNING ROOM. By Michael Connelly. Little Brown and Company. 388 pages. $28. Harry Bosch has been an L.A. cop so long it’s easy to forget…
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Looking through Easy’s eyes
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson I’ve come late to the Easy Rawlins mysteries, mostly because my longtime reviewer friend Robert P. Moyer always snatched them up. Bob’s thoughtful praise for Walter Mosley’s books always made me want to read them, but the downside of running a book review page or site is that you feel…