Shadow
of Death
A
Brady Coyne Mystery
William
G. Tapply
St.
Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-30377-7 (0312303777)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-30377-8 (9780312303778)
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 — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Shadow of Death? 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.
