Customer Reviews

One-Way Ticket: A Brady Coyne Novel (Brady Coyne Mysteries)

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

 

 

Twentyish Robert Lancaster calls attorney Brady Coyne from the New England Medical Center to inform him that his dad, the lawyer's law school roommate and fishing friend, was in the emergency room after three thugs beat him up as a warning to pay off his gambling debt within a week or else. Brady quickly learns the physical message was delivered by those in the pay of Boston mobster Paulie Russo, son of the North End crime kingpin Vincent. He also finds out that the victim owes nothing, but that Robert, being a chip off the old block, has run up the debt. Apparently like his dad, he has a horrific gambling addiction too.

Not long after Brady tries to mediate with the Russo mob on behalf of his father-son clients, three thugs escort him to meet Paulie. The gangster chip off the old block wants Robert to intercede with his grandmother, Superior Court Judge Adrienne Lancaster, on a Russo case. Brady informs the Judge, who plans to remove herself from the case until a CD arrives starring a taped up Robert with demands including Brady serve as the middle man. As Brady struggles to free the son of his friend, his girlfriend Eve, who left him to spend time with her dying father, calls.

Except for the Judge recusing herself from the Russo case, this is not a legal thriller, but instead an entertaining crime tale that is a weaker Brady Coyne entry even if the attorney and his pals discuss 2004 as a one time aberration with the Buckner Syndrome being the norm. The story line is a ONE-WAY TICKET as Brady struggles with keeping the Lancaster duo safe from the mob, who demands payment in terms of fixing their court case. Fans of the series will enjoy the entry, but know the Red Sox are not in top form in this tale.

Harriet Klausner

The title here seems to refer more to the romantic subplot than to the mystery. Evie is at least temporarily leaving Brady Coyne's life and this would be the main point of the title.However, this also deals with gambling addiction and that could metaphorically be called a one-way ticket. Anyway, this is the 2nd recent Brady Coyne book I've read, having read THE DUTCH BLUE ERROR long ago. I found it more engrossing and memorable than HELL BENT. I enjoyed the use of what may be the end of a relationship used as a counterpoint to the case at hand.Well, case may not be the right word since Coyne isn't really acting as a lawyer in this, but as the go-between in an unreported kidnappingas a personal favor for a former classmate and friend. The former friend crashed and burned as a gambling addict and now his son is following the same road owing a tremendous sum to a Boston mobster. He gets kidnapped apparantly for ransom by the mob,but Coye grows to suspect there's more to it than meets the eye.There's fair suspense here and sharp characterization of the victim's family including the guilt-ridden father, his present wife, the boy's mother, and his grandmother who just happens to be a judge. There's also an effective conlict between the judge and lawyer Coyne as to how the kidnap situation should be handled. Mystery fans won't fnd this a great challenge as a mystery puzzle, but the trip is exhilarating and not a one-way ticket at all, not for me. I will be awaiting the next Brad Coyne novel while I catch up on the previous ones in the meantime.

As a long-time Brady Coyne fan, I look forward to each new volume. This time I was not disappointed. Tapply writes flawlessly, creating believable characters and evoking scenes of New England in all its glory. Brady is just a likeable guy, a lawyer who created a career and lifestyle that couldn't be closer to perfect. A few super-rich clients pay for that in-town house and leave Brady time for all those fishing trips.

One-Way Ticket is neither a legal procedural nor a police thriller nor even a classic murder mystery. Brady gets roped in (as usual) to help a client in a jam. He finds himself negotiating with Tony Soprano's Massachusetts counterpart - and sounding a lot like Robert Parker's Spenser. Up to now, Brady has always been the smooth sophisticated lawyer. Now he hangs tough. He even talks like Spenser at times, in those clipped tough sentences.

Not a problem for me.

What is a problem, though, is Brady's relationship with Evie. She comes across as an attractive woman of an appropriate age, but she just doesn't have a spark that would get us interested. She indeed goes through a personal challenge, but I her response seems a little odd. Hopefully the author was looking for a way to write her out of future installments. I could see Brady with that cute police officer. Or I could see him becoming a confirmed bachelor.

And ultimately that's the challenge of the series. Brady Coyne may be a smooth lawyer to the rich, but he's presented as a realistic, plausible guy who just gets caught in a lot of situations as he tries to help his clients. Spenser, being larger than life, can attract a partner who's his equal in charisma. We can't let the woman outshine the hero so ... well, who cares? Tapply still writes some of the best murder mysteries around. When I need to curl up on a rainy afternoon, I appreciate that.

I have contacted Amazon several times and also e-mailed (as far as I know I did) to this person also and have not received any reply...I also have not received my money back...I am really disappointed in this one purchase while 2 other books - (from other persons) arrived immediately. My original purchases were made on Dec.l...Makes me leary of purchasing again....

This is the twenty-third book in William G. Tapply's long-running series featuring Boston attorney, Brady Coyne. The story begins when the son of a former client demands that Brady come to the emergency room late at night to see the former client who's been beaten by a trio of thugs. The former, and-soon-to-be-current client, Dalton Lancaster, tells Brady that he was not robbed and that he has no idea why he was attacked.

Brady knows that Lancaster is an allegedly reformed gambler and he assumes that Lancaster is gambling again and in debt to bad people who want their money. Lancaster insists that this is not the case, and digging deeper, Brady soon discovers that it is not Lancaster who now has the problem after all. Rather, it's Lancaster's son, Robert, who is now the compulsive gambler with a huge debt.

The situation becomes even more complicated when Robert is kidnapped and held for a large ransom. Naturally, the kidnappers tell the family not to bring in the cops, which means that Brady becomes the designated middle man who must now sort all of this out and attempt to bring the situation to a happy conclusion.

The main plot is serviceable enough, although it's not one of Tapply's better efforts. The real problem with the book, to the extent that there is one, involves Brady's personal life. For a long time, Brady was a bachelor who lived in a tiny condo, ate most of his dinners out of tin cans, and had quite a way with the ladies.

Several books ago, Tapply decided to domesticate Brady. He gave him a nice house with a yard, a dog, and a live-in girlfriend, Evie. Personally, though, I never bought into the Evie character or Brady's relationship with her. I never sensed any real chemistry there. In this book, Evie has a personal problem that calls her away to California.

Brady then spends a lot of time moping around, talking to the dog, and worrying about the long-term future of his relationship with Evie. After a while, it got tiresome, and I found myself hoping that she would never come back and that the relationship would be finished. I'd like to see Brady get back to being Brady again. But that said, Tapply was doing this for a long time by the time he got to this book, and all the really good books in this series more than make up for the fact that this isn't one of the better ones.

I was surprised by the good reviews for this one; I found it very dull. A good portion of the pages were filled with Brady's girlfriend, Evie, finding out that her father is ill and going to stay with him in California. OK. But for some reason, never explained or indeed mentioned as odd, she decides to tell Brady not to call her -- acting as though her father's illness means the end her relationship with Brady. Made no sense to me, and really, the number of pages of Brady moping became tedious.

As for the actual plot, well, again not much happens. An old friend of Brady's is beat up and then his (the friend's) son is kidnapped. The reasons don't -- at least on the surface -- take long to figure out. Then there is a "surprise", but it's not very surprising. I had hoped for a lot more.

One-Way Ticket is one of the best Brady Coyne novels in some time. If you want to enjoy a fresh story that will remind you of many classic mysteries and dive into new complications in Brady's life, One-Way Ticket is your pass to lots of fun reading.

Brady is enjoying his private life more and more. But the outside world keeps intruding. First, an old client, Dalton Lancaster, is beaten up. Looking into the matter, Brady finds more serious problems beneath the surface that involve one of Boston's least pleasant mobsters. Second, Something is eating on Evie, but she doesn't seem to want to tell Brady what it is.

Before long, Brady's life is torn upside down and he's in the middle of some ugly situations that cannot be ducked or improved on. Brady finds himself playing a role more like a rough-and-tumble private detective than a lawyer and gentlemanly fisherman.

In the process, Brady finds himself wanting to get more phone calls than he gets. In the meantime, he's on the hot seat in more than one way.

The charm of this book for me was that Mr. Tapply has put much more character development into Brady and Evie than he usually does. That makes the novel more compelling and interesting. In addition, the solutions to the crimes that entangle Brady aren't quite as transparent as Mr. Tapply usually makes them. Further, the plot borrows elements from many classic detective stories from Raymond Chandler to Bill Pronzini through Robert Parker. It's homage to some of the most delightful themes that detective fiction provides: Who can you trust? What are my obligations to others? What's life all about?

My only complaint is that the crime's origins aren't quite mysterious enough. Otherwise, this would have been a five-star novel.

I have never been disappointmed with this author, he does a fine job of moving me to a differnt city, and a different reality for me.

This was my first Brady Coyne novel and I so enjoyed it. Tappley is laid back and brings the action on at a steady pace. It made me buy more!

As usual William Tapply kept me on the edge of my seat. His standards never seem to lessen thank goodness. So r reading his books are not a waste of time.