Briar Patch Books

Tag: detective fiction

  • D.C. cop takes on small-town murder

    Anytime you need a recommendation for a good crime/detective/mystery novel,  look up reviews by Bob Moyer. He knows and reads books by more authors in that world than anyone I know. Actually, he’s reviewed at least one David Swinson book on this blog  before – a quick search took to me to Bob’s review of…

  • One last, big case

    Bob Moyer has followed Arkady Renko, a Moscow police detective,  through 10 impressive mystery novels. Now he is ready to share his thoughts about what we are told is the last book in the series. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer HOTEL UKRAINE: The Final Arkady Renko Novel. By Martin Cruz Smith. Simon & Schuster. 273…

  • Mystery and history

    If you want to find a new, enjoyable mystery series, ask Bob Moyer. He is the expert. Here’s his review of No. 21 in what sounds like a good series set in Paris. Another one to add to my list… Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer HUGUETTE. By Cara Black. Soho Crime. 336 pages. $29.95, hardcover.…

  • A good story, a troubling history

    Lucky Bob Moyer: He’s already read No. 17 in the Easy Rawlins mystery series. And lucky us: He’s written a review for the rest of us. Reviewed  by Robert P. Moyer GRAY DAWN. By Walter Mosley. Mulholland Books. 336 pages. $29. They’re all here. In this 17th episode in the life of Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins,…

  • One corpse after another

    Are you a fan of Alex Delaware books? Bob Moyer is, and he’s just read No. 40 in the series. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer OPEN SEASON. By Jonathan Kellerman. Penguin Random House. 273 pages. $30. Possible to probable to resolution. That’s how most mysteries proceed, from the moment the crime comes to the attention…

  • More murder and mystery in the desert Southwest

    Bob Moyer and I are both loyal fans of the late Tony Hillerman and his mysteries featuring the Navajo Nation Police. I have read one or two of the mysteries added to the series since Hillerman’s daughter Anne since her father died, but Bob beat me to this latest one. I will have to catch…

  • Good story, great writing

    Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer BEEN WRONG SO LONG IT FEELS LIKE RIGHT: A King Oliver Novel.  By Walter Mosley. Mulholland Books. 336 pages. $29. “You been wrong so long it feels like right to you.” That’s just one of the great sentences in book three of Walter Mosley’s Joe King Oliver series, in which…

  • Classic hard-boiled detective – deftly updated

    Like a fast-paced, atmospheric, well written detective story? Bob Moyer has found a series  that’s all that while adapted to our modern age. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer BLIND TO MIDNIGHT. By Reed Farrell Coleman. Black Stone Publishing. 291 pages. $26.99 Back in the good old days, a hard-boiled detective wore a fedora, drank cheap…

  • New crimes, old desires

    Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer FAREWELL, AMETHYSTINE. By Walter Mosley. Mulholland Books. 336 pages. $30. The title gives it away. In all previous 15 books about Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, dozens of beautiful women pass through the pages. None of them get more than a few chapters, however, and few of them make it to the…

  • No rest for Sister Holiday

    Bob Moyer loves to visit New Orleans, whether in person or through the novels he reads. Here he takes a look at the second in a quirky new New Orleans-set mystery series by Margot Douaihy. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer BLESSED WATER. By Margot Douaihy. Zando. 288 pages. $27.95 Fire first, then water. In her…