Scar Tissue : A Brady Coyne Novel (A Brady Coyne Mystery)

Rating:
Summary: I have to catch up now...
Review: I had never read a Tapply/Coyne mystery before picking up this book. I am thrilled to have "discovered" a new author and now I am questing to read all his previous works.

Boston lawyer Coyne comes to the moral assistance of two of his clients and friends who have just lost their teenage son in a horrible accident.

However, after doing some detective work of his own, all is not as it should be and Coyne ends up making some dangerous ennemies.

Intertwined througout are bits and pieces of Coyne's own personal issues (a somewhat difficult love relationship, minimal contact with his own sons) all of which make this character believably human, likable and very enjoyable.

The best part of course remains the speed at which the "whodunnit" plot thickens and grabs you with a very surprising ending. EXCELLENT READ!

Rating:
Summary: A Happy Discovery
Review: I may be the last dedicated mystery reader on the planet to discover Brady Coyne, but what a happy discovery it was! I understand this is Outing #17, so I predict many enjoyable hours for myself.

Brady's good friend/client is devastated at the loss of his teen-aged son in a tragic auto accident. The boy and his girl friend perhaps took a curve too fast, broke through the guardrail, and plunged into a swift flowing river. The girl drowned in the driver's seat with seat belt still strapped on. The boy apparently was thrown out of the car and washed away. The body has not been found. Brady agrees to handle the legal and bureaucratic details for the grief-stricken family.

Nothing is quite as it seems in this perfect small town with its perfect, civic-minded sheriff. The pace is relentless, the body count rises, the events are ever more baffling---and the reader is thoroughly hooked.

The characters are multi-faceted; not one could ever be called a stereotype. Brady is a pure delight, a basically nice guy who is a mite lazy, is a walking manual on how not to run your love life, a fond but not too effectual father of grown sons, and doesn't handle stress well at all. Even if this were not a well-plotted suspenseful story, which it most certainly is, I think I'd read more Brady Coyne books just to spend time with my friend, Brady-and make sure he didn't leave me in mid-story to go fishing.

A great outing and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Happy Discovery
Review: I may be the last dedicated mystery reader on the planet to discover Brady Coyne, but what a happy discovery it was! I understand this is Outing #17, so I predict many enjoyable hours for myself.

Brady's good friend/client is devastated at the loss of his teen-aged son in a tragic auto accident. The boy and his girl friend perhaps took a curve too fast, broke through the guardrail, and plunged into a swift flowing river. The girl drowned in the driver's seat with seat belt still strapped on. The boy apparently was thrown out of the car and washed away. The body has not been found. Brady agrees to handle the legal and bureaucratic details for the grief-stricken family.

Nothing is quite as it seems in this perfect small town with its perfect, civic-minded sheriff. The pace is relentless, the body count rises, the events are ever more baffling---and the reader is thoroughly hooked.

The characters are multi-faceted; not one could ever be called a stereotype. Brady is a pure delight, a basically nice guy who is a mite lazy, is a walking manual on how not to run your love life, a fond but not too effectual father of grown sons, and doesn't handle stress well at all. Even if this were not a well-plotted suspenseful story, which it most certainly is, I think I'd read more Brady Coyne books just to spend time with my friend, Brady-and make sure he didn't leave me in mid-story to go fishing.

A great outing and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Another great episode in Brady's life
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this latest mystery of Brady Coyle. Tapply is one of the few authors that I can just sit down and read right through. He has an easy, descriptive style of writing that makes his plots and his characters interesting and credible. Is he really a lawyer? Mr. Tapply I mean.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: If you are new to the Brady Coyne mystery series, you have a lot of worthwhile catching up to do. Brady is a Boston-based lawyer operating as a sole practitioner with a white shoe clientele normally needing simple advice at high rates. As a divorced father of two grown sons, Brady doesn't need the rat race and normally spends some time daily staring out the window, musing about life, or planning his next fishing trips and visits to Fenway Park.

The problem with this sort of practice, however, is that sometimes the white shoe clients step into a mess, and need someone to clean up after them. In a large practice, there's always one partner who does this. In a single-lawyer office, you have to do it yourself.

Brady gets one of those calls every lawyer hates to get. Jake Gold contacts Brady at the request of Jake's wife, Sharon. Their son, Brian, and his girl friend, Jenny, have been in a car accident. The car is in the river, and Jenny is dead. Brian is presumed dead, and divers are searching for the remains.

Brady asks Jake what he can do. Jake says nothing, and Brady asks if he can sit with them. Jake agrees, and Brady treks out to rural Reddington to be with his clients. After a decent interval, he leaves for his date with Evie, the new woman in his life.

But in typical Brady fashion, he starts looking around. Something seems to be out of focus. What really is the picture?

A few days later, Jake comes to the office unexpectedly. This visit leads to a series of dramatic developments and complications that test Brady in every possible way. Who can he trust? Whose secrets should he keep? How can he help? How can he protect himself? Who else is in danger?

The beauty of this story is that Brady is confronted with a series of moral dilemmas of the sort that most of us hope we will never face. Through the tale, the reader gets a chance to consider vicariously what she or he would do in the same situation. I think most people will find this consideration rewarding.

The weakness of the way these dilemmas are portrayed in the story is that nonlawyers will not quite get enough information from Mr. Tapply to understand what the full dimensions of the moral dilemmas are. Vague references to being "an officer of the court" won't mean much to most people. That's a pity, because these dilemmas are very nicely applied to a lawyer's situation.

The main weakness of the book is that it is unreasonably violent in its plot line. Few will find the story totally credible as a result. Even fewer will find the violence rewarding and appealing. Some will even argue that much of the violence is gratuitous. I tended to feel that way myself.

The plot is too transparent also. The good news is that the interesting moral questions redeem the story from that weakness.

If you are an experienced Tapply fan and like the Brady Coyne stories, I think you will probably agree that this is one of the weakest outings. Based on that standard, this is probably a three star Tapply. What Coyne fans will like about this book is that it develops the Coyne character through his adversity in ways that are rewarding to the reader. You come to see many new sides of Brady. As a result, you should read the book anyway. We have to hope that Tapply's next outing will be better, however. Character development and underdeveloped moral dilemmas are not enough to carry a series about a lawyer/sleuth.

Whether you are an experienced or a new Tapply reader, realize that this is a dark tale. Read it when you are in a good mood on a sunny day.

After you finish the book, I suggest you think back to the last time you had a duty to several different people at the same time and those duties were in conflict. How else might you have resolved this conflict? Are those solutions better than the one that you pursued? What are the lessons for the future?

Honor your duties and in so doing, honor yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Tight Lines and Rebel Yell
Review: Not being adept at writing book reviews, two things come to mind as I set-out to write about this excellent mystery novel: first, to give an opinion about the book, and secondly not to give away the conclusion to the mystery. So as not to spoil the ending, I will avoid the latter concern and say a few words about the former. Here's my opinion: Simply stated, Scar Tissue by William G. Tapply is a gripping mystery in the Brady Coyne series. This was my introduction to Tapply's mystery writing, and I am eager to seek out other editions. I found Scar Tissue to be a fast-paced, intriguing story with some likable and not so likable characters. Tapply develops his characters with depth and sensitivity, Brady Coyne being the most magnetic. Coyne never misses a beat, even as he winds his way through the plot in a human and down to earth manner. For the reader who is looking for an engrossing mystery with a twisting, turning plot and unlikely outcome, this book is for you. I look forward to Brady Coyne's next adventure. Now, back to my fly-tying bench.

Rating:
Summary: A great British Mystery
Review: Sharon and Jake Gold are more than just clients to Boston area estates attorney Brady Coyne. They are friends to the lawyer. So when Jake calls him on Groundhog's Day to inform Brady what happened, the friend not the lawyer drives to Reddington to provide comfort for the couple.

The Gold's teenage son and his girl friend died in a car accident when their vehicle went off the road into the nearby frozen river. The police have already pulled up the body of Jenny, but still are looking for Brian. Although outside his legal lane, Brady agrees to represent the grieving couple with the police. He figures that the situation is very cut and dry. He plans to help his friends with funeral arrangements and estate matters, while giving them overall consolation in their time of need. However, the simple but sad case soon turns homicidal, leaving Brady to wonder what really happened on the second of February in Reddington?

Even before this superb novel, many mystery readers knew how good the Brady Coyne novels are. The seventeenth book, SCAR TISSUE, reinforces the knowledge that William G. Tappley is a superstar who deserves wide readership. The story line is cleverly devised and never slows down. Brady remains a strong individual trying to do the right thing. Anyone who enjoys a solid, entertaining investigative tale will love SCAR TISSUE and want to read the previous Coyne caper, MUSCLE MEMORY.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Not his best stuff
Review: Tapply's Brady Coyne series has been a dependable one for years. Likeable, trout-fishing lawyer solves crimes in the Boston area while drinking plenty of Rebel Yell.

This latest Coyne novel, however, seemed little wooden, and never really hit its stride. The book opens with the tragic death of two teenagers in an apparent car accident. Coyne is a close friend of the family's, and comes out to be with his friends. The crash, of course, turns out to be no accident, and more people die as Coyne noses around the little western Massachusetts town where it happened.

There is nothing in particularly wrong with this book, but there's nothing particularly compelling about it either. It's a solid, uninspired entry into the Coyne series, which has been better in the past, and likely will be again.

Rating:
Summary: Scar Tissue
Review: William G. Tapply is one of the finest mystery writers working today. In "Scar Tissue", Brady Coyne receives a phone call from Jake Gold telling Brady that his son, Brian had been in a fatal auto accident. Brian's girlfriend, Jenny, has been killed, but Brian's body hasn't been found. Brady feels there is little he can do, but when he finds Ed Sprague, chief of police in Reddington, murdered in a motel room and when Jake Gold disappears, Brady begins to investigate. Brady uncovers a child pornography ring and blackmail, as well as murder. This is an excellent addition to a top-notch mystery series.

Rating:
Summary: Scar Tissue
Review: William G. Tapply is one of the finest mystery writers working today. In "Scar Tissue", Brady Coyne receives a phone call from Jake Gold telling Brady that his son, Brian had been in a fatal auto accident. Brian's girlfriend, Jenny, has been killed, but Brian's body hasn't been found. Brady feels there is little he can do, but when he finds Ed Sprague, chief of police in Reddington, murdered in a motel room and when Jake Gold disappears, Brady begins to investigate. Brady uncovers a child pornography ring and blackmail, as well as murder. This is an excellent addition to a top-notch mystery series.