Customer Reviews

Dark Tiger (Thorndike Mystery)

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

 

 

I am a huge, huge William Tapply fan and I am extremely sad to found out that he recently passed away. I am, however, glad that he wrote some final installments in his series of novels - specifically the Stoney Calhoun novels) AND the absolutely, wonderful Brady Coyne series (which is definitely the best).

In Dark Tiger, we find Stoney Calhoun - still has broody and determined as ever - however, this time, Stoney will find himself the victim of a man who is trying to get him to do something - all of which will be tied back to Stoney's presence at a VA hospital almost a decade before - at which time, he had lost all of his memories.

Dark Tiger is much edgier and darker than Tapply's previous two entries in the series. This novel focuses alot more on Calhoun's past which will end up colliding with his present and will go a long way in explaining some of the mystery that surrounds him (and will explain a little bit about why he is the way he is).

As Calhoun acts as fishing guide at the lodge, he will find himself immersed in a mystery which will lead to violence and perhaps some answers that have been long ago buried.

Tapply goes above his usual brand of simmering "whodunnit" in this one and really branches out the Calhoun character and I read through this thing at the speed of light. LOVED IT!!!!!!

Readers of Bitch Creek and Gray Ghost were hanging in the lurch, anxiously waiting for the Stoney Calhoun saga to continue. Their reward came simultaneously with the sorrowful news of William G. Tapply's passing. Still, Tapply's last cast landed a keeper. Rarely is a story so calm and so suspenseful at the same time. Tapply's command of context--the outdoor sporting lifestyle of his characters--is always comfortable, believable, compelling. Our loss of Tapply is the loss of a great read next to a log fire at the lodge. Fortunately, he worked to pass along his gifts to his students.

Several years have gone by since Stoney Calhoun awakened in a Virginia VA hospital with total amnesia. He opened up a Portland, Maine bait shop owner with Kate Balaban and is a fishing guide and does occasional work for the cops and for "the Man in the Suit" who shows up periodically with an assignment that Stoney has the skills to accomplice. Although his memory remains erased from before the awakening Stoney still has the skills with weapons for instance before he went comatose.

The Suit offers Stoney a deal he cannot refuse. Instead of the usual tidbits about the past, he says he will insure they keep the bait shop potentially being sold to another buyer and keep Kate's loved one covered by health insurance being challenged. Not even knowing the case Stoney agrees to the terms because he would do anything for Kate.

The Suit arranges for a Mr. Brecia to meet with Stoney. Mr. Brecia directs Stoney to investigate the deaths of operative McNulty and the underage teen townie Millie Gautier in what looked like a murder-suicide at St. Cecilia on the Canadian border. Mr. Brecia wants Stoney to find out what their agent was doing there with a sixteen year old. He suggests going undercover at the nearby exclusive Loon Lake Lodge as that is the only place in the vicinity of any known significance.

The third Stonewall Jackson Calhoun tale (see BITCH CREEK and GRAY GHOST) is a super whodunit with obvious overtones to Ludlam's Bourne, but with the late William Tapply's distinct New England take. The story line is fast-paced starting with the Suit showing what he can do to insure Stoney cooperates and never slows down. Fans will enjoy the hero's activity in northern Maine as his in dubiously presence increases the homicide count considerably. DARK TIGER pay homage to Mr. Tapply who died in late July.

Harriet Klausner

Stoney Calhoun is a wonderful lead-detective, even though he's not really a detective. A lightning strike changed his world seven years ago, or so they tell him, and he can't remember anything about his life before the event. Sometimes he wonders...but the telltale scar supports their story. He co-owns Kate's Bait, Tackle, and Woolly Buggers shop in Casco Bay, Maine with his business partner and lover, Kate Balaban. On occasion, he's called upon to serve his country, utilizing skills and talents he learned in his previous life. Like disappearing into the wilds of northern Maine and poising as a fishing guide while trying to uncover the true story behind the murder of a government operative and a sixteen year-old girl in a staged murder/suicide.

Dark Tiger is a compelling mystery populated with well-drawn characters, a fast-paced plot, and a lot of subtext. I especially liked the contrast between the calm, gentle present-day Stoney with the darker, more violent personality we suspect he possessed in his past. His pragmatic and mature outlook toward his relationship with Kate, and the other secondary characters, adds an unexpected layer to his character.

Tapply's writing style is not as gripping as his characters and his plot, but I kept forgetting about that as I continued turning pages. As I think back on the story, more and more subtext becomes apparent, which makes Dark Tiger a terrific read. I'm looking forward the the final book in the series.

(What's a New England mystery lover to do???)

Maine outdoorsman Stoney Calhoun is tying "Dark Tiger" fishing lures in Kate Balaban's shop when his life begins to turn upside down. It's all a precursor to another visit by The Man in the Suit, who gives Stoney a mandatory assignment in northern Maine. Avid mystery readers are familiar with Stoney Calhoun's unusual story: he's a man with amnesia and only glimpses of memory into his previous life. And he evidently used to be into some heavy-duty government-sponsored investigations, possibly even espionage. This time, Stoney is supposed to figure out who shot a man and a woman who had already been killed by some kind of poisoning. It's a very unusual case. The answer appears to be lurking at a private lodge on Loon Lake in Aroostook County, along the Canadian border. Stoney agrees -- well, he has no choice -- to leave Kate's tackle shop temporarily and take Ralph, his Brittany spaniel, and "become" a fishing guide to the rich and famous. But as soon as he arrives at Loon Lake, even more tragedies occur. Can Stoney solve the puzzle without becoming a victim himself?

As in "Bitch Creek" and "Gray Ghost," the pacing of the plot mirrors the way Stoney Calhoun talks and acts -- slowly and thoughtfully, as a Mainer should. (The irony is that Stoney isn't a native. But he sure seems like one.) You have a feeling that Stoney will eventually figure everything out, anyway. This is not an action-packed thriller; at least, not for the most part. And it's not necessarily perfect. I wonder why Stoney doesn't mention seeing Mount Katahdin as he flies up to the top of Maine and later, as he drives south. I thought Kate was a bit more whiney than her character should have been. But she is a woman, after all, even though she owns a bait and tackle shop. And I think the identity of the REAL Dark Tiger falls onto the seemingly insecure nineteen-year-old at the Lodge, who acts as a human lure in an attempt to snag Stoney away from the truth. This episode may be a bit thin, under the circumstances. But it's still good writing that makes a good read.

I was shocked to hear of William Tapply's passing. I discovered the disturbing news while reading the reviews posted here, before I even read "Dark Tiger." I met Bill several times and had a few nice chats with him. After the first Stoney Calhoun book "Bitch Creek" was released, Bill agreed to come to our book discussion group session. He was as wonderful in person as his words are in print. And when members of the audience asked him if there would be MORE Stoney Calhoun books to come, he seemed truly startled by the question. He hedged on the answer and wouldn't quite say yes or no. It seemed to us then that he meant "Bitch Creek" to be a stand-alone, and not the opening installment of a series. I don't know if we put the idea into his head, or if overwhelming public outcry did it. But I am quite glad that this is the third Stoney Calhoun book. I'm not sure I would want anyone else to pick up Bill's pen / laptop and try to crank out any more of them. I don't believe anyone else would bring the same approach to the character, his thought processes, and his way of being. And of course no one else would know as much about fly-fishing in northern New England. Forever my thanks and rest easy, Bill. I miss you already.

My wife will give this to me. It did come in time for Christmas for me and thank you for send me the book.

First Sentence: Stonewall Jackson Calhoun was sweeping the floor around the display of chest waders and hop books when the bell dinged over the door, signaling that somebody had come into Kat'es Bait, Tackle, and Woolly Buggers shop.

Stoney Calhoun has a lot of military-type skills but no memory of how he came by them. But The Man in the Suit checks periodically checks on him to see whether any memories have returns. Now the Man needs his help and Stoney can't refuse.

An operative and a young woman were found dead in a car, each with a gunshot wound. What's interesting is they were both dead before they were shot. Stoney, half-owner in a fishing shop and an expert guide, is to go to an exclusive fishing lodge in Northwestern Maine to learn how they died and what the operative was investigating.

I've always liked Tapply's characters. Stoney is moral, principled, somewhat curious about his past, which he was told he doesn't remember due to having been struck by lightning but content to live his life from here forward. He is in love with Kate, his business partner, but understands women are different from men and is undemanding. He has skills he doesn't remember learning and is more curious than surprised when he discovers a new one.

Kate's husband is in long-term care with MS, knows and approves of Kate and Stoney being occasional lovers. And then there's Ralph, Stoney's Brittany spaniel, as human as any character except when Stoney talks to him, Ralph doesn't answer back.

Tapply's voice is very Downeast, almost folksy without being patronizing, yet comfortable. Whether Stoney remembers it or not, Tapply let you know he has seen a lot of life..."All creatures had repertoires of survival... All creatures except humans, he thought. Humans just killed each other."

You know from the descriptions that Tapply had a great love of Maine and of fishing--he wrote several books on fishing. Those descriptions remind me why I love and miss that part of the country.

This is not a high-octane, shoot-`em-up book. The book is much more character, than plot, driven but has its elements of suspense.

"Dark Tiger" is the last Stoney Calhoun book and was written while Mr. Tapply was suffering from leukemia, from which he died in July, 2009. I shall miss Stoney, Kate and Ralph, along with Mr. Tapply's Brady Coyne books, but he is an author whose work I am glad to have read and do recommend.

DARK TIGER (Unl Inv-Stoney Calhoun-Maine-Cont) - G+
Tapply, William G. - 3rd in series
Minotaur Books. ©2009, US Hardcover - ISBN: 9780312379780

"Dark Tiger" is William Tapply's latest installment in the Stoney Calhoun series and unfortunately, will be one of his last due to Mr. Tapply's recent passing. Stoney is trying to live his life out peacefully as a co-owner of a bait and tackle shop just outside Portland, Maine. He has no recollection of his former life since waking up in a VA hospital seven years prior. He is often visited by the "Man in the Suit" who checks to see if Stoney has regained any of his memories and also has "jobs" for him to complete. If Stoney does not comply, the mysterious government official threatens to make life difficult. In Dark Tiger, Stoney is asked to solve the murder of a federal agent and a local girl at a remote fishing resort in upper Maine. Along with his sidekick Ralph, his faithful Brittany Spaniel, Stoney takes on the role of a fishing guide and searches for the answers to the mysterious deaths. Tapply's vast knowledge of fly-fishing and the Maine wilderness inspires the outdoor adventurer in us all but with a limited number of characters; the ending was not very surprising or revealing and left us wanting for more mystery and less details of the fishing trips.

[...]

Stonewall Jackson ("Stoney") Calhoun here makes his third and, sadly, last fictional appearance. Mr. Tapply, his creator, died in the summer of 2009, after having written [or co-authored, in three instances] well over three dozen books, including the Brady Coyne series, as well as twelve non-fiction books, primarily on the subject of fishing, of which he was an enthusiast and an expert. [The title of the present book refers to a fishing fly.]

Stoney and Kate Balaban, "business partners, best friends, and off-and-on lovers," run Kate's Bait, Tackle, and Woolly Buggers shop near Portland, Maine. Stoney was hit by lightning seven years ago, which had left him deaf in one ear, intolerant of alcohol and, more seriously, with his memory completely obliterated. He has been living in Maine for the past seven years, in a cabin in the wilderness, with his dog, a Brittany named Ralph [after Ralph Waldo Emerson, of course], who is well-trained as a bird dog, among other things

One drizzly May afternoon, Stoney receives a return visit from the Man in the Suit, a man from an unknown government agency, so named because that's the way he has always been dressed when calling upon Stoney and has never been otherwise identified. Stoney has just found out that he is about to lose his lease on the bait shop, and that Kate's terminally ill husband is about to be kicked out of his rehab facility, and his visitor makes clear that these problems will "go away" if Stoney accepts a "request" for his help, a job for which he is uniquely suited, he is told, having "the combination of skills and knowledge and personality required," to wit: finding out why and by whom a government operative, staying at a high-end fishing lodge in a remote corner of Maine near the Canadian border, was murdered.

The writing is wonderful. We are treated to little gems of description: "it was a pretty late afternoon in the middle of May. Through the open window, the wet earth smelled fresh and fertile, and in the slanting sunlight, the young leaves on the maples and poplars and birches washed the hillsides in muted pastel shares of mint and blush and lemon," and "watching the sun descend behind the treeline across the lake, waiting for darkness to fill up the forest." A man who others would describe as pear-shaped in Mr. Tapply's hands becomes "narrow in the chest and wide in the hips. Shaped like a lightbulb." Mr. Tapply was a masterful storyteller. Reading his books has always been an immense pleasure, and he will be greatly missed. This book, as all his others, is highly recommended.

I like the other reviewers was saddened to hear of the passing of Bill Tapply. I have been an avid reader of his Brady Coyne mysteries and also enjoyed the stories of his new character, Stony Calhoun. But somehow, this final story just didn't do anything for me. There was a lot of time spent on describing meals, fishing expeditions, feeding Ralph, and drinking coke and coffee. The story was cut and dry and the killers seemed to come out of nowhere. They just popped up at the end of the story. But I'll miss Stony. Perhsps he'll be resurrected by another writer. Lastly what was the significance of the title. WHo or what was "Dark Tiger?" Rest in Peace, Bill. Hope you are able to go fly fishing somewhere in the afterlife. You'll be missed.