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Shadow of Death
A Brady Coyne Mystery
William G. Tapply
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0-312-30377-7
Publication Date: November, 2003
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): Suspicious that his candidate's husband might be having an affair, the campaign manager convinces Boston attorney Brady Coyne to hire a discreet private investigator to find out what is really going on before the campaign itself is derailed. Brady is normally reluctant to get involved in this kind of domestic situation but the candidate is an old friend who has asked for his help personally. Hopeful that any odd turn of behavior will be easily explained away, Brady hires a former undercover cop turn P.I. to tail the possibly-errant husband.
What appeared to be a simple situation quickly turns deadly when Brady first gets a cryptic call from the P.I. and then the P.I. is found murdered in a car crash clearly staged to make it appear to be an accident. Since Brady is barred by attorney/client privilege from speaking to the police-and his client has refused to relinquish privilege to allow him to do so-he takes it upon himself to find out what has happened to the still missing husband and the people responsible for the murder of his colleague.
From Boston's North End to the pastoral village of Southwick, New Hampshire, Brady's quest to uncover the truth leads him to face the deadly consequences of a decades-old tragedy.
Review: Brady Coyne returns in Shadow of Death, the twentieth mystery in this series by William G. Tapply.
There are several notable aspects to this book; unfortunately, the mystery isn't one of them. The dust jacket description provides the unifying key to the individually puzzling elements of Brady's case, allowing the reader to be far more clever in solving the mystery than Brady himself. That said, there are a one or two unexpected twists and turns that help keep the book from being a total disappointment.
The more interesting perspectives of the book have to do with Brady's relationship with Evie, his professional conflicts with his clients, and Tapply's devastating insights into the priorities of a political campaign.
Brady is clearly aging well. It's good for the series that a character changes with the passage of time, and doesn't get stale or, worse, predictable. Though Shadow of Death is far from among the best of this series, reading a Brady Coyne mystery is like meeting up with an old friend, comfortable and satisfying.
Review Copyright © 2003 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books
Other mysteries in this series by William G. Tapply:
Death
at Charity's Point
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Scribner (1984)
ISBN: 0-684-18056-1
The
Dutch Blue Error
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Scribner (1985)
ISBN: 0-684-18213-0
Follow
the Sharks
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Scribner (1985)
ISBN: 0-684-18446-X
The
Marine Corpse
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Scribner (1986)
ISBN: 0-684-18681-0
Dead
Meat
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Scribner (1987)
ISBN: 0-684-18682-9
The
Vulgar Boatman
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Scribner (1987)
ISBN: 0-684-18792-2
A
Void in Hearts
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Scribner (1988)
ISBN: 0-684-18793-0
Dead
Winter
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Delacorte (1989)
ISBN: 0-385-29711-4
Client
Privilege
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Delacorte (1989)
ISBN: 0-385-29903-6
The
Spotted Cats
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Delacorte (1991)
ISBN: 0-385-30233-9
Tight
Lines
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Delacorte (1992)
ISBN: 0-385-30234-7
The
Snake Eater
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Otto Penzler Books (1993)
ISBN: 1-88340-204-2
The
Seventh Enemy
A Brady Coyne Mystery
Otto
Penzler Books (1995)
ISBN: 1-88340-299-9
Close
to the Bone
A Brady Coyne Mystery
St. Martin's Press (1996)
ISBN: 0-312-14567-5
Cutter's
Run
A Brady Coyne Mystery
St.
Martin's Press (1998)
ISBN: 0-312-18561-8
Muscle
Memory
A Brady Coyne Mystery
St.
Martin's Press (1999)
ISBN: 0-312-20563-5
Scar
Tissue
A Brady Coyne Mystery
St.
Martin's Minotaur (2000)
ISBN: 0-312-26679-0
Past
Tense
A Brady Coyne Mystery
St.
Martin's Minotaur (2001)
ISBN: 0-312-28442-X
A
Fine Line
A Brady Coyne Mystery
St.
Martin's Minotaur (2002)
ISBN: 0-312-30352-1
Nervous
Water
A Brady Coyne Mystery
St.
Martin's Minotaur (2005)
ISBN: 0-312-33744-2
Out Cold
A Brady Coyne Mystery
St.
Martin's Minotaur (2006)
ISBN: 0-312-33746-9
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Locations referenced: Boston
