Out
Cold
A
Brady Coyne Mystery
William
G. Tapply
St.
Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-33746-9 (0312337469)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-33746-9 (9780312337469)
Publication Date: September 2006
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Brady Coyne is a Boston attorney, whose routine legal
work and sedate lifestyle usually keep him far away from trouble.
Unfortunately, one cold January morning, trouble comes to him. When
Brady lets his dog out into the backyard of his Back Bay brownstone, he
finds a girl buried under the snow in Brady's back yard. A teenager,
maybe fifteen or sixteen, who had apparently crawled into the backyard,
bleeding, in the middle of the night, only to die from hypothermia and
blood loss. The singular clue to her identity is a small piece of paper
with the brownstone's address scribbled on it.
Now Brady is determined to find out who the girl was, why she had his
address, and what happened to her. But the mysterious girl's death is
only the beginning -- someone out there knows Brady is trying to find
out what happened that night and is willing to do anything, or kill
anyone, to keep the truth from coming out.
Review:
Boston attorney Brady Coyne investigates the circumstances surrounding
the death of a teenage girl in Old
Cold,
the 22nd mystery in this long running series by William G. Tapply.
Though he was not responsible for the teenager's death, the fact she
died in his backyard and his belief that he might have done something
to save her drives Brady to learn her identity and the reasons behind
her death. His investigation ultimately leads to a secluded estate in
northern New Hampshire where he uncovers a family's shocking secrets.
Old
Cold is, for the most part, a
well constructed mystery. The plot is topical and the final resolution
is unexpected. It is odd, however, that Brady has such a strong
connection to a girl whom he had never known but who happened to die at
his home, yet has little apparent remorse for two other women whom he
had met and interacted with but were later presumably killed as a
direct result of his involvement. Furthermore, the motive for the
murders of these two women is never fully explained. They "knew
something" but what it was or how they came about this information is
never revealed. In the end, these two murders serve no purpose as they
don't advance the plot in any meaningful way.
The longevity of the Brady Coyne series is a testament to the
consistency of Tapply to write mystery fiction that not only sells
well, but is interesting to read. Old
Cold
is typical of the series, but not among the best.
Special thanks to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing an ARC of Out Cold for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Out Cold? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Death
at
Charity's Point
Scribner (Hardcover), March 1984
ISBN-10: 0-684-18056-1 (0684180561)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18056-4 (9780684180564)
The
Dutch
Blue Error
Scribner (Hardcover), December 1984
ISBN-10: 0-684-18213-0 (0684182130)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18213-1 (9780684182131)
Follow
the Sharks
Scribner (Hardcover), September 1985
ISBN-10: 0-684-18446-X (068418446X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18446-3 (9780684184463)
The
Marine Corpse
Scribner (Hardcover), August 1986
ISBN-10: 0-684-18681-0 (0684186810)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18681-8 (9780684186818)
Dead
Meat
Scribner (Hardcover), March 1987
ISBN-10: 0-684-18682-9 (0684186829)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18682-5 (9780684186825)
The
Vulgar Boatman
Scribner (Hardcover), January 1988
ISBN-10: 0-684-18792-2 (0684187922)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18792-1 (9780684187921)
A
Void in
Hearts
Scribner (Hardcover), September 1988
ISBN-10: 0-684-18793-0 (0684187930)
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-18793-8 (9780684187938)
Dead
Winter
Delacorte (Hardcover), April 1989
ISBN-10: 0-385-29711-4 (0385297114)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-29711-0 (9780385297110)
Client
Privilege
Delacorte (Hardcover), April 1990
ISBN-10: 0-385-29903-6 (0385299036)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-29903-9 (9780385299039)
The
Spotted Cats
Delacorte (Hardcover), March 1991
ISBN-10: 0-385-30233-9 (0385302339)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-30233-3 (9780385302333)
Tight
LInes
Delacorte (Hardcover), April 1992
ISBN-10: 0-385-30234-7 (0385302347)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-30234-0 (9780385302340)
The
Snake
Eater
Otto Penzler (Hardcover), December 1993
ISBN-10: 1-883402004-2 (1883402042)
ISBN-13: 978-1-883402004-4 (9781883402044)
The
Seventh Enemy
Otto Penzler (Hardcover), January 1995
ISBN-10: 1-883402099-9 (1883402999)
ISBN-13: 978-1-883402099-0 (9781883402990)
Close
to
the Bone
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), October 1996
ISBN-10: 0-312-14567-5 (0312145675)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-14567-5 (9780312145675)
Cutter's
Run
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), June 1998
ISBN-10: 0-312-18561-8 (0312185618)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-18561-9 (9780312185619)
Muscle
Memory
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), July 1999
ISBN-10: 0-312-20563-5 (0312205635)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-20563-8 (9780312205638)
Scar
Tissue
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), October 2000
ISBN-10: 0-312-26679-0 (0312266790)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-26679-0 (9780312266790)
Past
Tense
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), October 2001
ISBN-10: 0-312-28442-X (031228442X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-28442-8 (9780312284428)
A
Fine
Line
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), November 2002
ISBN-10: 0-312-30352-1 (0312303521)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-30352-5 (9780312303525)
Shadow of Death
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), November 2003
ISBN-10: 0-312-30377-7 (0312303777)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-30377-8 (9780312303778)
Nervous
Water
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), August 2005
ISBN-10: 0-312-33744-2 (0312337442)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-33744-5 (9780312337445)
Out Cold
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), September 2006
ISBN-10: 0-312-33746-9 (0312337469)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-33746-9 (9780312337469)
One-Way
Ticket
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), September 2007
ISBN-10: 0-312-35829-6 (0312358296)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-35829-7 (9780312358297)
Hell
Bent
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), September 2008
ISBN-10: 0-312-35830-X (031235830X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-35830-3 (9780312358303)
Omnimystery
keywords for Out Cold
...
Location(s) referenced: Boston,
Massachusetts.
