Customer Reviews

Hell Bent: A Brady Coyne Novel (Brady Coyne Novels)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to start this review off by saying that I LOVE WILLIAM TAPPLY and I ADORE BRADY COYNE.

Hell Bent is the newest book in the Brady Coyne series. Brady has been away from Evie for 4 months and is bored - enter his ex-girlfriend and her brother - who bring along with them murder and mayhem.

The only problem is that the mayhem in Hell Bent is kept to a bare minimum. Although there are some great description of Brady Coyne moments - especially with his dog Henry - this book drags and drags. There is very little chemistry between any of the characters - I did not feel any heat between Brady and Alex and the Gus character is in the first third of the book only. Actually, the only fun relationship in this book was between Brady and Horowitz, who makes a return appearance from previous books.

I love reading about Brady and his home-cooked meals and his loving relationship with his dog, which, in itself, carries a lot of the Brady Coyne charms - but this book left me blah and with a nagging sense that now I will have to wait another year before I get a *more interesting* Brady Coyne novel.

I hate writing this review because I will always continue to read Tapply's books - but I have to be honest and say that, for me, this one did not do anything for me. Bring on the next Brady Coyne book.

Brady Coyne, Boston family lawyer, takes on a new client when his old flame, Alexandria ["Alex"] Shaw, asks him to represent her brother, Gus, in a divorce suit. Gus, an outstanding photojournalist, has recently returned from Iraq, where he lost his right hand, and is suffering from PTSD. Then within days, Gus is found dead of a head wound, an apparent suicide.

Alex doesn't believe that Gus killed himself, and prevails upon Brady to undertake an investigation to determine the truth. He travels all around Boston and its environs, meeting with various people in an effort to learn more about Gus and what he saw in Iraq, where he supposedly took many revealing pictures. Were they connected to his death?

Tapply writes about Boston with a fervor equal to that of any Patriots fan. He addresses the losses of loved ones in the Iraq conflict with deep insights, and keenly addresses the frustrations and bitterness of veterans. The story is told with a hard-boiled attitude, when necessary, and is softened by the ups and downs of Brady's love life. A tale well-told and very much worth reading, and recommended.

I thought that this was the first Brady Coyne novel I've read, but mention of THE DUTCH BLUE ERROR rings a bell in my memory. I've been off mysteries for a long while, and have forgotten many that I once read. Be that as it may, I found this quite satisfying. There's a lot of backgroundof previous stories I haven't read, but I did find this good as a stand alone book.The setting of the situation and the meeting of the eventual victim works quite well I quite like how this builds from a rather pedestrian mystery up to one of monumental proportions. Highly recommended.

I am a big fan of now deceased Robert Parker novels and now I have (now deceased Tappley) to read on cold winter nights.

I HAVE BEEN READING MYSTERIES FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS AND EVERY YEAR I CREATE A LIST OF FAVORITE AUTHORS. WILLIAM TAPPLY IS ALWAYS ON THAT LIST. WHEN ANOTHER REVIEWER SAID THIS TITLE "DRAGGED AND DRAGGED," I FELT I HAD TO STAND UP FOR MR. TAPPLY. YOU CARE ABOUT BRADY COYNE AND HIS LIFE AND HIS FRIENDS, BOTH HUMAN AND ANIMAL. YOU WANT TO KNOW ALL ABOUT THEM. AND ANY BOOK IN THIS WONDERFUL BRADY COYNE SERIES IS A GIFT.
THANK YOU, MR. TAPPLY. START THE SERIES WITH Death at Charity's Point (Missing Mysteries).

I bought this as a gift for my Mom who loved it and then loaned it to me. She is 80+ and loves all of William Tapply's books. Great book, really keeps you on the edge of your seat. Well written with likeable characters.

"And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell." -- Matthew 5:30

Many readers will miss the Biblical allusion in this story so I have quoted it above. If you don't understand the spiritual context of this story, you probably won't enjoy it very much. William G. Tapply has written a sort of morality play in which people are tempted, fall into sin, and the sin drags them down into worse actions . . . until the eternal pit awaits.

The book opens with a prologue about a violent anti-war protest in 1971 at UMass in Amherst, Massachusetts that turns fatal. Thank goodness for that. Without that background, hardly anyone would stick with this book long enough to get to the ultimate mystery.

The story revolves around Augustine ("Gus") Shaw, brother of Brady's old girlfriend, Alexandria ("Alex") Shaw. Gus lived for the hot spots of conflict, taking photographs as an independent . . . but taking huge risks. His methods caught up with him in Iraq where a landmine removed his right hand, the one he needed more for photojournalism. Rather than taking this change as an opportunity to be a good husband and father, Gus just withdraws into sadness . . . another war victim with a lingering case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

His wife is divorcing him, and Gus is trying to avoid the whole subject. Alex wants Brady to represent Gus, and that's how Brady and Gus meet. Gus isn't the kind of client that Brady would normally take on.

In the meantime, Evie Banyon is still in California and avoiding contact with Brady. He's sad and lonely. Does that mean his heart is open to Alex?

As the jacket copy reveals, Gus is found dead of an apparent suicide in the middle of the book. Alex insists that Brady investigate . . . which he does with an open mind. What else was going on in Gus's life? You'll find out in the second half.

Hell Bent is more than anything else a character study, primarily of Gus, Alex, and Brady. If you like character studies, you'll like this book better than those who were looking for a mystery. Mr. Tapply is portraying characters that aren't very much connected to other people and are alienated beyond that. As a result, the interactions are touchy, fragile, and brief. You won't look forward to them.

I thought that the book worked reasonably well, except for some strange oversights in the police investigation. I just didn't enjoy it very much. I think I was supposed to feel spiritually chilled by the story, but mostly I felt nothing. As a result, it felt like reading half a book rather than a full mystery.

If you are a big Tapply fan, you will enjoy the book. If you aren't such a big fan, you might want to consider skipping this one.

I have to agree with the reviewer who commented on how slowly this story moves. While I enjoy Brady and the descriptions of his life, we're 100 pages into the story and virtually nothing has happened. And until the last few pages, where there's a flurry of activity, there's precious little action at all. Also, Tapply has tacked on a subplot that's just kind of silly, and seems to have little purpose other than filling pages.

If you like Tapply, you will enjoy this book. Pick it up and start reading, and you will feel like you are visiting with an old friend. His old girlfriend, Alex, hires Brady to represent her brother, Gus, in a divorce case. Several days later, her brother's body is found in his apartment. The cops think it was suicide. After all Gus was a photojournalist who had just come back from Iraq, missing his right hand. Alex thinks it was murder and wants Brady's help proving her case. Brady has to work hard on this one. He doesn't have a lot to go on and everyone, except Alex is convinced it was suicide. Tapply writes a good story, that will keep you guessing throughout the book. A perfect book for that 3 hour flight.
For those of you who have read the previous books in the series, Evie is still in California and she may just stay there, or will she?

This was my first Tapply novel and I will be trying another. This is no great work of literature; that is not its goal. But it does exactly what it sets out to do - provide strong entertainment in an easy-to-read novel. I like this small town lawyer getting involved in something that turns out to be much bigger than he first expects. There is an authenticity about the chain of events that will resonate with most readers. Lawyer Brady Coyne is fun - give him a try.