Nervous Water

August 1, 2005
Boston lawyer Brady Coyne tackles family troubles past and present in his compelling if slightly wordy 21st solo outing (after 2003's Shadow of Death
). Coyne agrees to help his Uncle Moze, an aging Maine lobsterman, find Moze's daughter, Cassie, who hasn't been returning Moze's phone calls. Cassie's unfriendly new husband, dentist Richard Hurley, confirms her disappearance. Hurley isn't particularly forthcoming, perhaps because, as Coyne learns, both of his previous wives died under less than clear circumstances. An attack on Moze in his home and Moze's subsequent heart attack add urgency to Coyne's search. The murder of Cassie's former lover, English professor Grantham Webster, ups the ante. Meanwhile, Coyne's girlfriend, Evie Banyon, also seems to be hiding something. As ever, Tapply's strength lies in his convincing characters and dialogue, but on occasion he goes off on tangents, such as a mediation session between a divorcing couple. Still, this long-running series remains fresh and Tapply underrated as one of today's finest regional mystery writers. Agent, Fred Morris at Jed Mattes
.

July 1, 2005
Fans of Boston attorney Brady Coyne know plenty about the easygoing lawyer-sleuth's lifestyle: not much work, lots of fishing, good meals at Boston's finest restaurants, and the occasional murder case, whenever one of his friends finds a spot of trouble. What we don't know is much about Brady's past. That changes dramatically in this twenty-first installment of the long-running series. A phone call from Brady's uncle Moze, an avuncular lobsterman in rural Maine, sends the citified nephew on the road to reestablish ties after a 30-year hiatus. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Moze hopes to set things right with his estranged daughter, but he needs Brady to find her. The trail leads to other relatives on Brady's mother's side of the family and to what well may be a murder case. Tapply tackles the difficult issues of human relationships and family ties with his typically light touch, always underplaying the big moments but ever sensitive to "nervous water"--a fishing term for the look of the ocean when a school of fish is about to strike. Another winner in an always-satisfying series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)