A few years ago when I was new to the mystery genre, I was introduced to Richard Barre's Wil Hardesty series through a book review in my newspaper. After reading the review of "Blackheart Highway", I decided to invest the time and money and "surf" my way through the series (4 books) from the beginning with "The Innocents". What an exhilirating ride! I have been hooked on mysteries ever since and appreciative of this author's talent. The character developments and story plots got better and better with each book. Barre delivers a perfect balance of suspense, action, and emotion in his books.

Wil Hardesty is a well-crafted, believable, interesting, and complex character. A middle-aged Vietnam vet and surfer P.I. with a lot of personal baggage - the loss of his son due to a surfing accident, subsequent drinking problem, and the crumbling of his twenty-plus year marriage. Wil is also a likable character as more and more about him and his background is revealed with each new book.

It was a bit of a wait for the latest installment, "Burning Moon", but again Barre does not disappoint. The story line is captivating and the writing is crisp and intelligent. This is a book about two Vietnamese brothers who made it good in America, but on different sides of the law, and also about a hierachy of rival Asian gangs fighting for control. A character from a previous book and Wil's past surfaces again, and at the end of "Burning Moon", the reader is hopeful about Hardesty's relationship with his ex-wife.

I am an avid reader of mysteries now and have read books by other excellent writers. If you enjoy Connelly, Lehane, Pelecanos, and Crais, to name a few, I highly recommend Barre. He definitely belongs in their league and deserves more kudos than he is getting. Hopefully, "Burning Moon" will not be the last time we get to read about Wil Hardesty, and I trust that the wait for the next book won't have to be as long.

Once again Richard Barre displays his mastery over words. He's always used them sparingly, never more so than in Burning Moon. The style makes his novels easy to pick up and hard to put down. It's been years since the last installment in the Wil Hardesty series, and it's a joy to see him again.
When Jimmy Tien and his pregnant fiance are killed in a boating accident, Jimmy's father suspects foul play. He hires Wil to investigate the incident. Wil follows the trail, which becomes more and more complicated. Every answer he finds leads to another question. As in all the Hardesty books, Wil's past both haunt and comfort him.
One of the reasons I enjoy Barre's books so much is his ability to handle intricate plots. He weaves subplots into the story, and somehow manages to tie up all the loose ends by the last page. If you like intriguing characters, complex plots, and a few surprises, you will love Burning Moon.

I think this book is one of the best books I have read. It's about Heather going to the attic and finding herself as a guest star in Sleeping Beauty. She sprains her ankle,so she can't dance.In the end,she learns a lesson. I do ballet myself,but I'm not on toe yet.

Heather's Aunt is the star in the Sleeping Beauty, and sends enough tickets for her family. Heather promises her friends tickets for the ballet. But oh no! The tickets are all sold out. Heather sets aside that problem. She puts on pink tights,a tutu, and point shoes- you guessed it! A ballerina. She walks through the mirror and finds herself the star of Sleeping Beauty. During rehersal, she slips on a jete and sprains her ankle! She telling her friend, Jillian huge lies. She's in a tough situation, but being Heather manages confessing.

This is a great read, I couldn't put it down. If you like good character development and a twisting turning plot, Richard Barre is the author for you. In Blackheart Highway Wil Hardesty is back for the fourth time. The writing is spare and elegant, the plot complex and satisifying. I love the wonderfully rounded characters, making it eassy to keep turning the pages. also check out: The Innocents, Bearing Secrets, and The Ghosts of Morning. I alsojust finished another good thriller/mystery: "A Tourist in the Yucatan"

I just finished reading Blackheart Highway and really enjoyed it. The story pulls you in and keeps your attention throughout. The setting is so real that you feel as if you have been there too. In subtle ways the story brings to mind days of my childhood spent listening to songs and riding in cars. The dialoge is spare and colorful and after a little getting used to, easy to read. Richard can sure pack a lot into one sentence. Wil Hardesty (the main character) is someone you will want to know and read all you can about him.

Richard Barre has done it again with his latest novel Blackheart Highway. I started reading this author after a trip to Bouchercon where I heard him read an excerpt from one of his novels. After that I read The Innocents and Bearing Secrets in short order and waited anxiously for The Ghosts of the Morning. Blackheart Highway is Mr. Barres fourth offering and in some ways his best.

One of the most compelling aspects of Richard Barre's writing is the subtle quality of the plot. The characters and events are believable while the feeling of the story has a haunting timbre. As the story progresses the line between villain and victim start to blur as Will finds himself embroiled in much more than vague threats or long ago murders. I am struck by Mr. Barre's understanding of the "little evils" of compromise and need that seem to be the foundation for the monstrous wickedness.

I liked this book very much and liked even more the time between readings. The flavor of the story lingered and I found myself wanting to hurry up and finish whatever silliness I was doing so I could get back to the real stuff of Blackheart Highway.

Michaele Bryant

After reading the reviews here on Amazon I decided to buy this book. It was extremely difficult to read the writing is blunt and has no flow to it whatsoever. The characters are shallow (although this is probably because of the writing style) and the language is bad making the characters seem unintelligent.

I have read three books about Wil Hardesty. I really like the character. That is the only reason I gave it a three. Did not really like this book. Not as good as the others I have read. A lot of this was totally unbelieveable. Also, I do not like flashbacks but am sure a lot of people do. Wil is someone I can relate to. He is not superman, he does make mistakes, he does get hurt. There are really two things Hardesty is trying to find out. Is Denny Van Zant still alive and who killed Carmen Marquez. Are they tied together??? Trina Van Zant, name is different after three marriages, leds Wil a merry chase. It all does finally get drawn to a close but I have read better by Barre.

"The Ghosts of Morning" is the second of the series by Richard Barre that I have read and I am totally hooked! As introduced in "The Innocents", Wil Hardesty is an interesting and complex character. In this new book he is struggling with his recent divorce and his lingering guilt over his lost son and his life. His struggle is very human and full of emotion. The action in "The Ghosts of Morning" is fast-paced and suspenseful.The mystery and the tension combined with great characters with full bodied histories makes the book fly by. As eager as I was to get to the end and resolve the mystery I was reluctant to let go of the story and Wil. I wanted to know what he was going the next day after the book ends. This book is terrific follow up to "The Innocents" but not as sad. It does evoke a retrospective feeling of the time we sent our young boys off to a horrible unknown called Vietnam. It is a reminder that we can never be so casual with a generation again. I can't wait till Wil's next adventure.

Bearing Secrets is a superb novel. One has a tendency to ladle on accolades and fulsome adjectives until the feeling that no book can be THAT good becomes a barrier to readers. Expectations can be raised too high. But this is a superb novel. This complex, rhythmic, multi-textured novel reaches out to the reader and inexorably binds one tighter and tighter.

It starts with hard-nosed PI Wil Hardesty and an anguished cry for help from a prickly, vulnerable, twenty-year-old hardcase named Holly Pfeiffer. Hardesty's marriage is coming apart and he doesn't know how to stop it. Mostly to distract himself from his personal trouble, he agrees to see Holly. But when he gets to her cabin near Lake Tahoe, he is repeatedly, rebuffed. This woman is a product of her radical father's teachings. He was a veteran of Viet Nam, who then returned to Berkley and used his considerable intelligence and skill to harass the authorities and teach military tactics to a violent splinter group of dissidents. Naturally, his activities drew the attention of the establishment.

When Holly's father Max, dies in a fall from a high ledge in the mountains, Holly accuses the FBI of killing him. After all, the gospel according to Max had taught her that years earlier the FBI engineered her mother's death via a car bomb. In spite of her attempts to rid herself of Hardesty, in Holly's view just another establishment lackey, Hardesty begins a patient, earnest attempt to learn some truths. For a time, the only secrets he bares make Max look guilty. But of what? And then....

Read Bearing Secrets and you will be appalled, exhilarated, horrified and energized. This way lies death, explicit and terrible; here lies corruption and there is exploitation. You are quickly caught up in wheels within wheels. Barre builds tension and suspense cleanly and handles both with dexterity and believability. Fully-formed characters strive against insidious power, fail under the weight of crushing secrets, and strive again.

Yet author Barre does not dwell lovingly on the horror. This book is cleanly written, carefully plotted and very, very intense. It will require attention and careful reading, but Bearing Secrets will reward you in full measure.

I was extremely disappointed with this book. I saw that it had won an award for best first novel and set my expectations on it. The book was extremely slow throughout, and dragged on more and more as the book went on. I honestly felt myself not caring how the book ended and put it down many times. The only reason I finished it was that my wife had bought it as a gift for me. Yes, the plot revolves around the morbid concept of young children being killed, but it isn't that in of itself that I consider the downfall of this book. The author has chosen to tell this story from both the hero and antagonist's side, but not to good effect. The suspense doesn't build as to how the two will meet. Rather it drags on as Wil Hardesty draws conclusions from the flimsiest items that he draws hunches on, so that you find yourself feeling the story isn't very credible. Furthermore, the interactions of characters, don't seem that realistic, as Hardesty easily puts his friends in peril throughout the book while clearly aware of the nature of the villains. Overall I feel that the concept of the book had great potential, but the characters and the story itself make the book undesirable. Don't give any credence to the fact that this won an award. I highly recommend that you move on to something else, rather than choose this book.

I understand this is Richard Barre's first book. He did far better than I could do. Wil Hardesty is introduced as a PI. There are seven children found in graves after a flash flood. The father of one of the seven hires Wil to find out who killed his son. Seems as people close to Wil either get killed or hurt. I really liked the first 179 pages (paperpack) after that the book seemed to really drag until the last 10-15 pages. If you read it you can see what happened on page 179. I don't want ot say as it would take away from the story. There was a lot of talk and more talk after that. The book does end well but it was a long read, nearly but it down several times.

Richard Barre is an incredible wordsmith. When reading about his California, I can almost hear the ocean, and feel the warm breezes. His main character, Wil Hardesty is man struggling with his own past, in particular, the death of his young son. This adds a depth to the charecter usually not found in books sbout PI's.

This book, the first in the series, starts with the discovery of seven bodies. Childrens bodies. Hardesty is hired to discover who they are and why they are there.

Barre writes with a passion, and it shows. The investigative technique is right on, and the book draws you in fast. This is a series any one who calls themself a fan of mysteries should read ...

After reading The Innocents, the first Wil Hardesty book, I looked forward to Bearing Secrets. Big disappointment! The story begins with the apparent suicide of Max Pfeiffer, a '60s radical, and a call to Hardesty from Pfeiffer's daughter, Holly. At that point the thing goes downhill rapidly. The plot is not a bad idea. Where Barre disappoints is, first, in the seemingly unending problems between Wil and his wife, Lisa. One feels it is time for them to get on with their lives. It is distracting after a time, and the reader must find it hard to identify with either of them, much less sympathize.

Second, the plot is risky. I know I couldn't write it convincingly. But Barre, making a half-hearted effort at some level of believability, fails miserably. The characters are cartoonish, the story told in jerky movements so that we don't know where we are (geographically and chronologically)most of the time. Keep an eye out for Monika and Behr. How did Barre dream them up?

As for the next one in the series I just can't say. I think I may have suffered enough with this overaged surfer dude and all his angst. I realize that a fictional detective needs his/her conflicts and tensions but as much as I liked Wil (and Lisa) at the end of The Innocents, I couln't help thinking "here we go again" at the beginning of Bearing Secrets.

Avoid this one.

Based on the other review I guess I missed it on this one. I really liked The Innocents so I bought the rest of the Wil Hardesty series. Boy, do I wish I had not. If you do decide to read Bearing Secrets be sure to have a pen and paper in hand and write down each character and how they relate to the book. You will need this as it is very confusing. I don't think I have ever read a book that I stayed so lost with the people in it. It goes back seventeen years and brings you up to date. There are just so MANY PEOPLE and groups involved. I ended up reading several pages twice to try to connect who was who. I guess I will read the next one as I already have it and hope it is like the first one and not the second.

Although this one starts off a little slowly, I'd recommend it as one of the best mysteries I've read recently. The plot does a wonderful job of intertwining the past with present, with a surprising and satisfying finish. Wil Hardesty does well again in the lead role, and the 60's backdrop for the historical part of the mystery is well done. Don't miss this one!