Scar Tissue: A Brady Coyne Novel

I may be the last dedicated mystery reader on the planet to discover Brady Coyne, but what a happy discovery it was! I understand this is Outing #17, so I predict many enjoyable hours for myself.Brady's good friend/client is devastated at the loss of his teen-aged son in a tragic auto accident. The boy and his girl friend perhaps took a curve too fast, broke through the guardrail, and plunged into a swift flowing river. The girl drowned in the driver's seat with seat belt still strapped on. The boy apparently was thrown out of the car and washed away. The body has not been found. Brady agrees to handle the legal and bureaucratic details for the grief-stricken family.Nothing is quite as it seems in this perfect small town with its perfect, civic-minded sheriff. The pace is relentless, the body count rises, the events are ever more baffling---and the reader is thoroughly hooked.The characters are multi-faceted; not one could ever be called a stereotype. Brady is a pure delight, a basically nice guy who is a mite lazy, is a walking manual on how not to run your love life, a fond but not too effectual father of grown sons, and doesn't handle stress well at all. Even if this were not a well-plotted suspenseful story, which it most certainly is, I think I'd read more Brady Coyne books just to spend time with my friend, Brady-and make sure he didn't leave me in mid-story to go fishing.A great outing and highly recommended.

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.

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest mystery of Brady Coyle. Tapply is one of the few authors that I can just sit down and read right through. He has an easy, descriptive style of writing that makes his plots and his characters interesting and credible. Is he really a lawyer? Mr. Tapply I mean.

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.

Sharon and Jake Gold are more than just clients to Boston area estates attorney Brady Coyne. They are friends to the lawyer. So when Jake calls him on Groundhog's Day to inform Brady what happened, the friend not the lawyer drives to Reddington to provide comfort for the couple. The Gold's teenage son and his girl friend died in a car accident when their vehicle went off the road into the nearby frozen river. The police have already pulled up the body of Jenny, but still are looking for Brian. Although outside his legal lane, Brady agrees to represent the grieving couple with the police. He figures that the situation is very cut and dry. He plans to help his friends with funeral arrangements and estate matters, while giving them overall consolation in their time of need. However, the simple but sad case soon turns homicidal, leaving Brady to wonder what really happened on the second of February in Reddington? Even before this superb novel, many mystery readers knew how good the Brady Coyne novels are. The seventeenth book, SCAR TISSUE, reinforces the knowledge that William G. Tappley is a superstar who deserves wide readership. The story line is cleverly devised and never slows down. Brady remains a strong individual trying to do the right thing. Anyone who enjoys a solid, entertaining investigative tale will love SCAR TISSUE and want to read the previous Coyne caper, MUSCLE MEMORY.Harriet Klausner