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Still going strong
Looking for a good detective story? Bob Moyer has a suggestion. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer Robert B. Parker’s BYE BYE BABY. By Ace Atkins. Penguin. 315 pages, $28 hardcover. Fifty books. Robert B. Parker’s one-name Boston private detective, Spenser, has quipped, cracked wise, and quoted Shakespeare through that many books, while dispensing his…
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The hunters and the hunted
Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE LEFT-HANDED TWIN. By Thomas Perry. Mysterious Press. 321 pages. $25.95 She survives. Again. No spoiler alert needed here; Jane Whitefield has withstood every danger Thomas Perry has thrown at her in this successful series. She’s a “loser,” someone who helps people in peril of death disappear. She has lost only…
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Out of control
Need a vacation novel, one that’s fun and easy to read? Paul O’Connor has a suggestion. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor CITY ON FIRE. By Don Winslow. William Morrow. 351 pages. $28.99, hardcover. Danny Ryan knows trouble when he sees it. So, when a beautiful woman emerges from the water along the Rhode Island shore,…
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Dark, eerie – and beautiful
Paul O’Connor may have grown up in Connecticut, gone to college in Indiana and spent many productive decades in North Carolina, but there’s a lot of Ireland in him. He’s discovered a book by an Irish author that’s not exactly new – published in 2017 – and not usually what would be Paul’s cup of…
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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…
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Another delicious crime entre’e
Thanks to Bob Moyer, I have another addition to my already lengthy must-read list. Martin Walker’s Bruno novels are pure pleasure, even if they do make me hungry. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE COLDEST CASE. By Martin Walker. Knopf. 315 pages, $27. In a Bruno, Chief of Police novel, the past is never past;…
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Murder, monks and mirth
Bob Moyer is back with a review of a book with plenty of “outlandish humor.” FELONIOUS MONK. By William Kotzwinkle. Blackstone Publishing. 278 pages. $26.99. William Kotzwinkle may be the most famous author you’ve never heard of. He has sold more than 10 million books across a swath of genres: the cult ‘70s favorite The…
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When things get really strange…
Paul O’Connor reviews a novel that transcends categories while revealing a lot about human nature. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THE ANOMALY. By Herve’ Le Tellier. Translated by Adriana Hunter. Other Press. 391 pp. $16.95, softcover. On March 10, 2021, Air France Flight 006, high above international waters off the coast of Nova Scotia, encounters…
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Scarpetta’s back, in fine form
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson AUTOPSY. By Patricia Cornwell. William Morrow. 398 pages. $28.99, hardback. I have to admit that my first thought upon hearing that Patricia Cornwell has a new novel out called Autopsywas: “Hasn’t she named one that already?” After all, Cornwell has written lots of popular books starring Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a…
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A terrifying and delightful collaboration
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson STATE OF TERROR. By Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny. St. Martin’s Press. 494 pages. $30. I couldn’t get my hands on this book – a political thriller – fast enough. Louise Penny is one of my favorite all-time crime/mystery writers, and certainly one of my favorites who’s writing currently.…