Customer Reviews

Past Tense: A Brady Coyne Novel (Brady Coyne Mysteries)

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Brady Coyne's history is well known to fans of William G. Tapply's stylish plots and writing. Coyne has killed two people before, defending a lady in each case. Naturally, the police wonder if he's done it a third time when Coyne and girlfriend, Evie Banyon, report finding Evie's stalker, Larry Scott, dead after a nasty confrontation the night before. Because they're both suspects, Coyne cannot represent Evie during her interrogation. They have to move out of the house they've rented on Cape Cod (it's a crime scene), and Coyne has to leave his BMW behind (while it's checked out for signs that the body has been in it). So much for their plans for a romantic summer weekend of love and lobsters.

Over the next week, Coyne becomes concerned when he cannot reach Evie. The police become angry when she ignores them as well. Coyne decides to check out her home, and finds a trail that leads him back to the town where Evie had once lived and worked, the same town where she had met the stalker.

The book develops in three dimensions at this point. There's the mystery of who killed Larry Scott as the first dimension. The second dimension is learning about Evie's untold story of her life before she met Coyne. The third dimension is revealing the mechanism being used to create circumstantial evidence to frame Evie and Coyne. For my taste, the second dimension is by far the most rewarding.

The story evolves in a compelling way among the intense love-hate relationships that only a small town can have. That's the book's strength. If you've ever spent time in or lived in a small town, you will recognize the situation well.

One of the book's weaknesses is that Coyne often acts unprofessionally with the police in a way that could have been avoided with a tiny shift in the plot development. This character flaw seemed gratuitous. It's as though Mr. Tapply wanted to show that lawyers are always untrustworthy when it suits their purposes. By writing the book this way, Mr. Tapply encourages disrespect for the police and their investigations.

Another weakness is that most readers will have solved most or all of the book's various mysteries early on. Although unveiling Evie's story is interesting, the mystery becomes secondary too early in the book for that aspect of the book to be fully rewarding. I found it painful to read as the resolution slowly, oh so slowly, unfolded.

Finally, Coyne leaves himself at risk from the murderers even with plenty of warning from Evie and the events as they unfold. I doubt if many people in similar circumstances would have taken the same foolish chances.

After you finish reading this story, think about how well you know the backgrounds of those around you. What are you assuming that could be totally false?

Get the facts!

This book was another brilliant episode in Brady's life. I've loved every book in this series and Past Tense is equally as enjoyable.

While this is apparently the 18th Brady Coyne novel, I had not come across one before a friend of mine gave me this one to read.
I read it in a day and enjoyed it very much. What starts out as a weekend on Cape Cod for Coyne and his girlfriend, Evie Banyon ends abruptly with the murder of a man who is apparently stalking her. Following a grilling by the gendarmes both are allowed to leave and return home to Boston and shortly thereafter, Edie disappears. Searching for her, Coyne travels to Cortland, MA, the home town of the murdered man and a place where Edie used to work. The remainder of the story takes place there with numerous interesting characters, twists and turns in the plot along with some surprizes and an interesting ending. Mr. Tapply's writing shows polish and style and the reader is swept along through the labyrinth he has created for his characters in a most enjoyable way.

"Past Tense" is the 18th Brady Coyne novel by William G. Tapply whom I think is one of the top mystery writers working today. Brady and his girlfriend, Evie Banyon, plan a nice weekend on Cape Cod. While at a restaurant there, Evie spots a former lover, Larry Scott whom Evie thinks is stalking her. She has words with him. The next day, Evie finds the body of Larry Scott who has been murdered. Evie and Brady become the prime suspects in his murder. Shortly after they return to Boston, Evie disappears. Brady feels the only way to clear Evie is to find the real murderer, and goes to Larry Scott's hometown in search of the truth. This is another winner by William G. Tapply!

Though he has spent the last six months in a close relationship with Evie Banyon, attorney Brady Coyne knows little about his significant other. They drive to Cape Cod to spend the weekend together. That night in an Eastham restaurant, Evie notices Larry Scott, a man she feels is stalking her even if his actions fail to meet the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' definition of a stalker. They have public incidents in the restaurant and outside in the parking lot.

The next morning, Evie goes out running while Brady sleeps a little longer in their isolated cabin until she comes across Larry's corpse. Brady realizes that he and Evie are prime suspects as they each had the means, motives, and opportunity, especially Evie, for murdering Larry. After lengthy, but separate interrogations by the police, Evie and Brady return home. Over the next week he, her boss, and the police try to call Evie, but she vanished. Brady wonders if she fled because she killed Larry or did the killer abduct her? Unable to let her go, Brady begins to search for Evie.

William G Tapply provides fans of the amateur sleuth tale with a powerful entry in PAST TENSE. The story line is taut as Brady wonders what is going on with Evie even as he understands law enforcement procedures. He makes the tale work in such a fabulously tense way that fans will seek past Coyne tales (see SCAR TISSUE) by an author on the way to the top of the genre.

Harriet Klausner

This is the 18th adventure of Brady Coyne. Brady is a very likeable, level headed, middle-aged Boston attorney in private practice, who picks and chooses his clients. He is an avid fisherman and because of his predilections usually spends more time sleuthing than actually practicing law. This is an excellent series and unfortunately we lost a great author when Mr. Tapply passed away in 2009.

In Past Tense the case is personal for Brady. While dining in Cape Cod an altercation develops with his somewhat new girlfriend and a man at the restaurant. The following morning the "combative stranger's" body is found just outside the beach-house where Brady and his lady-friend are vacationing.

As the murder investigation proceeds, Brady - as usual - inserts himself into it. Suspicions fly and our hero soon realizes that he doesn't know much about his romantic partner's past. So Brady being Brady begins his own private investigation - sometimes with the police and sometimes a step ahead of them - to identify who his paramour really is and why this murder was dropped on his and her vacation doorstep.

If there is a fault with this book, Brady, who although not always entirely open with the authorities is usually cooperative with them, is atypically belligerent here at times with the police. And in fact, flat-out lies to them - at times unnecessarily so - which is somewhat out of character. Otherwise this is still a very good read and as stated - an excellent series.

While William G. Tapply has written many books, this was the first one that I have read and I enjoyed it. The editorial review of this book gives quite a bit of information about the story itself so I will focus on my opinion of the book. I sometimes find mystery novels by male writers a little dry, so I was pleasantly surprised with PAST TENSE. Tapply's experience as an author shines throughout the book. The character of Brady Coyne is multi-dimensional with his honesty, yet he walks around the truth and frequently uses his attorney status to further whatever he needs. The supporting characters and small town description of Cortland was amusing and accurate. The story itself was not fast-paced but rather developed steadily. There are several smaller mysteries lurking in the book and while you may figure them out along the way, it's still an enjoyable ride.