Customer Reviews

Outwitting Trolls: A Brady Coyne Novel (Brady Coyne Novels)

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I am a huge, huge fan of author William Tapply and I had been looking forward to reading Outwitting Trolls for the last year.

The thing about Tapply's books is that there is very little in the way of mayhem, car chases, sex, drugs and other "hooks" that can usually be found in mystery/thrillers. Rather, Tapply has always relied on strong character development and an interesting "whodunnit" to propel his story ahead.

In fact, lawyer Brady Coyne, who stars in most of Tapply's books (the Brady Coyne series anyway) is a wonderful, wonderful character that I have truly grown to love over the course of the years I have been reading Tapply's books. In reality, Brady Coyne is featured in 25 books - so I have had plenty of time to discover more about him AND to savor and enjoy each moment.

Outwitting Trolls is another example of a wonderfully crafted story that felt all too short to me. Brady is getting older, but is still a reflective, animal loving. calm force that I have discovered in previous books. He solves problems with sense and words - not with guns and violence.

The whoddunit is about figuring things out - about thinking instead of running around like a maniac. I had to admit that I did have the whole thing figured out by about halfway through the book but I just don't care - because a huge part of the fun for me is reading about Brady's life and how he seems to get himself into all kinds of weird situations.

If this review sounds a little bit gushy it is because I am very sad to say that Brady Coyne is no more. Author William Tapply passed away last year and as it is clearly indicated on his website and on the jacket of this book - Outwitting Trolls is the last "completed" Brady Coyne novel that has been found by Tapply's family. Of course, I immediately have started wondering about what "incomplete" manuscripts might be floating around, but I think that the Tapply family (although i don't know this for a fact) is gently telling his fans that Brady has passed away - along with Tapply.

It is a sign of how much I loved this character, that I actually have a tear in my eye - I swear, it feels as though Coyne has actually died.....

I feel privileged to have been able to read Tapply's last Brady Coyne novel. RIP William Tapply
Posted by Tina at 1:06 PM 1 comments Links to this post

"Outwitting Trolls" is such a great title. Based on William G. Tapply's crammed award shelf and the clever title, my hopes were high. This was apparently Tapply's last novel so I'm not sure if it's representative of all "Brady Coyne" novels. It's interesting to me that they aren't pegged as `Brady Coyne mysteries' because this one, at least, follows the standard mystery trajectory. Dead body in the first few pages, lawyer and cops spar over the investigation, lawyer works to clear the number one suspect, lawyer trips across another dead body and through good sleuth work and keen attention to detail, he figures out who really did it and then faces one potentially deadly confrontation at the end. Except for a couple of off-screen deaths, in fact, "Outwitting Trolls" is a non-violent mystery. Brady Coyne is as apt to grab a cold beer and sit on the back porch thinking about the problems with his case--or thinking about his relationship with his son, his ex or his current girlfriend--as he is to do anything else. He's a thinking man's detective. He has no apparent flaws. He loves his dog, will rescue orphan cats and refers a psychologically damaged wife of the murder victim to the best therapist in town. If you are seeking "action," seek elsewhere. Coyne follows the dots, takes things one step at a time. It's not a particularly complex puzzle, just one that requires work. Coyne has an idyllic home in downtown Boston and the scenes around the city, in Concord and in southern New Hampshire all ring true. (I grew up there.) The suspect list grows, the suspect list shrinks. Brady Coyne is never far in front of the reader and, except for the very last revelation, the reader is never in the dark. Even then, it's only for a brief moment. We see everything through Coyne's eyes and the view is steady, stable, easy-going. Your pulse will not pound (as an over-the-top blurb on other books might suggest) but you will be pleasantly entertained and spend time in the hands of a strong, clear-eyed storyteller. The "outwitting trolls" theme, alas, felt like a bit of a force-fit. This is so smoothly plotted I can't give it three stars. Maybe three-point-five.

I enjoyed this final Brady Coyne novel.... suspense, action and the familiar routines with Brady and Henry, with Alex and Brady's family mixed in.... However, Brady and I both missed April trout fishing... I was sure that while he was chasing clues, he'd manage to wet a line.

Ann

Ken Nichols and Brady Coyne were once happily married neighbors living in the burbs. That was a seemingly a century ago as both are divorced with Brady the lawyer residing in Boston and Ken the veterinarian in Baltimore. A decade since the two men has seen each other, but Ken calls telling Brady he will be in town for a convention. They meet and have a drink together.

The next day, Ken's ex wife Sharon finds him brutally stabbed to death in his Natick hotel room. She calls Brady, who is at dinner with he wife, his son, and his son's friend, but readily rushes to the homicide scene as her lawyer. Brady wonders if Ken's strange discussion with an intruder when they socialized last night is involved with his murder. As he makes inquiries, he learns a lot about his former neighbor's apparent involvement with peddling date-rape drugs to pay off massive debts and another family homicide that obviously ties to the first one; he finds what he recalls of his neighbors were a façade to a darker life.

In all probability the last Coyne thriller as William G. Tapply died last year is a terrific walk off home run at Fenway Park. Coyne is his usual solid self uncovering truths about his neighbors that he would prefer not to know while struggling to connect with Billy who still blames his dad for the break up of their family in spite of their male bonding two years in Idaho; as he believes his father placed clients ahead of him and his mom; the Nichols case affirms his contention. Fans of the series will appreciate this great whodunit while wondering what happened to Sparky the Cat.

Harriet Klausner

Unfortunately, this is the final Brady Coyne novel. It was completed shortly before William G. Tapply's death last year. He left behind a substantial body of work, including 25 books in the Brady Coyne series alone. Mr. Tapply was a masterful storyteller. Reading his books has always been an immense pleasure, and he will be greatly missed.

Brady Coyne, of course, is a Boston attorney, specializing in a few private cases and kept up to snuff completing the drudgery of a mountain of paperwork by his long-time secretary. He is rescued from this tedium when he receives a phone call from a former close friend and neighbor, informing him that she is in her ex-husband's hotel room where she has just found him stabbed to death. Brady had just had a reunion with the victim the day before for a drink after a hiatus of a decade.

Naturally, Brady accepts the woman's request to represent her, and she quickly becomes the number one suspect. It's up to Brady not only to support his client's emotional state, but to protect her from the police and come up with the necessary clues to identify the real murderer. While it's not a complex plot, it is well-told. This book, as all his others, is highly recommended.

While I have enjoyed the works of authors who come from many careers, William G. Tapply's world of academia always intrigued me.
I have read and enjoyed all of the Brady Coyne series (including his last in "Trolls"), but I find it sadly fitting that his last work would be a departure from Mr. Coyne.
"The Nomination" also, ironically, may have been the only one of his books to make the best-seller lists. One can only guess what writing path -- or bend in the trout-filled river -- Tapply would have taken after "The Nomination."
I am among those who will dearly miss his folksy style. In fact, I wish I could have audited one of his college classes -- especially if he were as fine a teacher as he was a writer.

I am a huge fan of the Brady Coyne novels, and am sad that this is his last one. I also found the references to the late Philip Craig's character J.W. Jackson poignant. In some ways, I feel like I've lost some friends.

I enjoyed this novel a lot, and spent a couple of nice February evenings reading it all snuggled up on the couch. It was set in the Spring, when the Red Sox were playing and tress were coming back to life - very nice. I also like the local references in his books, even though a few are made up. (For those who don't live in this area, Natick MA is real, and Rte 9 is its main business area).

I gave this 4 stars rather than 5 because I figured out who the bad guy was about 2/3 through the book. I recommend this and the entire series to mystery lovers (check out Tapply's friend Craig's books, too).

I have always enjoyed this author's novels, especially the ones featuring "Brady Coyne". Was very saddened when I heard he had passed away.