Scar Tissue: A Brady Coyne Novel (Brady Coyne Mysteries) [Hardcover]

William G. Tapply (Author)

Book Description

Series: Brady Coyne Mysteries | Publication Date: October 13, 2000

Brady Coyne is an attorney with a select clientele and a small practice - he handles mostly the boring paperwork such as deeds, wills, and divorces and leaves the more exciting aspects of the legal profession to others. A call from Jacob Gold, an old friend and client, on a cold February day, however, shatters the slow pace of Brady's life. Gold's fifteen year old son Brian and Brian's girlfriend Jenny were involved in a tragic accident. Their car went off the road and into a river - Jenny was DOA and Brian is missing, his body probably swept away by the river's current.

With the parents paralyzed by grief, Brady - divorced with two sons of his own - agrees to help as much as he can. But what seems a simple, if tragic, situation quickly becomes complicated. The accident scene makes no sense to Brady, the police chief of this quiet, middle class Boston suburb seems particularly eager to be rid of Brady and then Jacob Gold moves out of his home and disappears. For the sake of his friends and clients, and for their child, Brady must now find out the truth that lurks behind this tragedy - before yet another innocent life is lost.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Brady Coyne is a Boston lawyer who'd rather be fishing than trying a case. Most of his clients are also his friends, so when Jake and Sharon Gold's 15-year-old son and his girlfriend are killed in a car accident, Brady tries to lighten their load by handling the details of the police investigation and the funeral arrangements. But Brian's body hasn't been recovered yet, despite the efforts of police divers at the accident scene. There are other signs that this was more than a typical scenario of teenage drivers taking a curve too fast, but the authorities don't seem interested in looking into them. Brady soon realizes that someone's applying political pressure to keep the lid on a secret everyone but Brady and the Golds seems to know about: a pornography ring in which a beloved community leader and the best and brightest local high school students are deeply involved. This is Coyne's 17th outing, as reliable a harbinger of fall as the first bonfire of the season. No big surprises here, but William Tapply's popular series continues to win fans charmed by his thoughtful hero, his solid plotting, and his smooth pacing. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

You can always rely on Boston lawyer Brady Coyne, as shown in this outstanding whodunit, the 17th in this underappreciated series from suspense master Tapply (Cutter's Run, etc.). When Brian, the 15-year-old son and only child of Jake and Sharon Gold, is apparently involved in a fatal auto accident, Brady rushes to their home in suburban Reddington, Mass., to lend his support. The local police, headed by Chief Ed Sprague, have fished the body of Brian's girlfriend out of a car that plunged through a guardrail into the frozen river below. The two were inseparable, so the search goes on for Brian somewhere beneath the ice. Brady, however, soon suspects the boy is alive. Then Jake, after sending Brady a sealed envelope for safekeeping, asks that they meet at a motel outside Boston. When Brady enters the room rented by "John Silver," he finds not his friend but Chief Sprague, shot dead. Jake turns up later in Sprague's barn, his corpse showing signs of torture. The plot gets even thicker when Brady finds hundreds of dollars torn into shreds hidden in Brian's room. The tension mounts as Brady comes under pressure from politically ambitious DA Gus Nash and cynical detective Roger Horowitz to reveal what he knows. Plus there's girlfriend Evie, who isn't returning his calls, as well as the bereft Sharon, who sorely needs consolation. A confrontation in Brady's office with a gun-wielding goon bent on retrieving the sealed envelope is only one of several electrifying episodes that wrap up this ingenious yarn, featuring one of the most convincingly heroic and likable of contemporary sleuths. Agents, Jed Mattes and Fred Morris. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (October 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312266790
• ISBN-13: 978-0312266790
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #982,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Benumbed, Bewildered Brady Broods About Bloody Bodies, November 27, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Scar Tissue: A Brady Coyne Novel (Brady Coyne Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, January 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Scar Tissue: A Brady Coyne Novel (Brady Coyne Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Scar Tissue is unquestionably one of Tapply's best works to date. Tapply's description of a small, northeastern town, and its inhabitants, captures the stereotypical small town paranoia perfectly. And as always, Brady Coyne is charming and funny as he pursues the truth in this tangled mystery. This may be one of the best mystery books of the year.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tight Lines and Rebel Yell, June 23, 2001

By 

Dave Bollinger (Owego, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scar Tissue: A Brady Coyne Novel (Brady Coyne Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.