Shadow of Death
A Brady Coyne Mystery
William G. Tapply
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.
Acknowledgment: Minotaur Books provided a copy of Shadow of Death for this review.
Review Copyright © 2003 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author …
Out Cold
Minotaur Books (Hardcover), September 2006
ISBN-13: 9780312337469; ISBN-10: 0312337469
Location(s) referenced in Shadow of Death: Boston, Massachusetts
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Shadow of Death by William G. Tapply
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0-312-30377-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-30377-8
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.
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