Hell Bent

Evie has left Brady for California to take care of her dying father, but she left no firm commitment to return, so Brady is left with his dog and townhouse. He’s visited in the office by Alexandra a former squeeze. (don’t modern characters manage any kind of longevity in their relationships - except perhaps for Steve Carella who doesn’t look so modern anymore. Thank goodness for Carl Houseman.) Alex wants Brady to handle the divorce of her brother a well-known photographer -- a non-embedded one -- whose wife has left him and is now suffering from the loss of his right hand and PTSD.

Gus winds up dead of an apparent suicide after sending an apologetic email to his estranged wife. Alex and Brady suspect foul play and soon Brady show more finds himself involved with potetnail terrorist actions. More and I would spoil things.

It would appear this is Tapply’s attempt to reconcile the anti-war movements of the sixties with nascent anti-war feelings (not activities since there does not seem to be any formal movement against the Iraq/Afghanistan wars at all) of today. At one point Gus rails against the symbiotic relationship between the military and journalists, each needing the other. Embedded journalists," he said. "They take the pictures they're supposed to take. They don't get to see the caskets, the body bags, the blood and brains splattered against the sides of buildings, the dead American kids half hanging out of blown-up Hummers, the mutilated Iraqi children...The brass. They couldn't control us. Couldn't censor us, couldn't tell us where to go, what to shoot. They knew we were after the stories they didn't want told. The senselessness of it. The failure of it. The friendly fire fatalities. The crappy equipment. The wrongheaded decisions. The dead children. They were all about covering up.”

A few reviewers have complained at the lack of action. Not me. I really like the characters Tapply develops and the two plots in this book are more than satisfactory. He’s a favorite. show less

Hell Bent is the latest Brady Coyne mystery and it's a good one.
Brady Coyne is one of the numerous private eye series that appeared around the same time.
I have to say up front that he's in my top 5 or 6 favorites. I've read most, if not all,
of William Tapply's Brady Coyne mysteries.
Brady is not technically a private eye, he's actually a Boston lawyer who mostly handles routine
legal stuff for a regular group of older clients, but frequently finds himself involved in
a not-so routine case where he ends up "detecting".
In Hell Bent he's helping a retired couple who had suffered a lot of damage from a disreputable moving
company. While this is going on an old girlfriend, Alex, shows up unexpectedly. He's currently "separated" from
his show more current girlfriend who moved to California to care for her ill father. She's been gone for about a year and
he's not sure if she's coming back. The reappearance of Alex brings it's own complications, but
the reason she's back is to ask him to help her brother with his divorce. He's suffering PTSD from the war
and very early on he's found dead in an apparent suicide. Needless to say, Alex doesn't believe he killed
himself and asks Brady to help her prove it. This turns out to open a can of worms!
I hadn't read a Brady Coyne book in a while and really enjoyed this one. It was like visiting some old
friends who I hadn't seen in a while and reminded me of how much I enjoyed their company.
Definitely recommended, especially if you enjoy any of the same breed, such as Spenser, Jonathan Francis Cuddy,
Nameless, etc. show less

I have to start this review off by saying that I LOVE WILLIAM TAPPLY and I ADORE BRADY COYNE.

Hell Bent is the newest book in the Brady Coyne series. Brady has been away from Evie for 4 months and is bored - enter his ex-girlfriend and her brother - who bring along with them murder and mayhem.

The only problem is that the mayhem in Hell Bent is kept to a bare minimum. Although there are some great description of Brady Coyne moments - especially with his dog Henry - this book drags and drags. There is very little chemistry between any of the characters - I did not feel any heat between Brady and Alex and the Gus character is in the first third of the book only. Actually, the only fun relationship in this book was between Brady and show more Horowitz, who makes a return appearance from previous books.

I love reading about Brady and his home-cooked meals and his loving relationship with his dog, which, in itself, carries a lot of the Brady Coyne charms - but this book left me blah and with a nagging sense that now I will have to wait another year before I get a *more interesting* Brady Coyne novel.

I hate writing this review because I will always continue to read Tapply's books - but I have to be honest and say that, for me, this one did not do anything for me. Bring on the next Brady Coyne book. show less

I like fast-paced mystery novels that grab my attention from the first page and sustain my interest until the end.

I like books that are well written and that entertain without offending me and that use characters to move a story forward without resorting to stereotype.

And I like suspense novels that surprise me without stretching the bounds of credulity to their absolute limit (there is only so much disbelief I am capable of suspending).

On all of these fronts, Hell Bent, by William G. Taply delivers.

"Boston attorney Brady Coyne finds his own past coming back to haunt his professional life when his ex-girlfriend Alex Sinclair wants him to represent her brother. Augustine Sinclair was a notable photo-journalist, happily married with two show more small children - until he returned from a stint in Iraq, missing a hand and suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Now he's lost his career, his peace of mind and his family. Brady is hired to see him through the divorce but before they get very far, the photographer is found dead in his rented apartment, an apparent suicide.

But something isn't right and Brady starts to think the suicide is staged. With very little to go on and everyone around him wanting to close the books on the case, Brady soon finds himself in the midst of one of the most dangerous situations of his entire life, facing people who will do anything to avoid being exposed."

As a mystery novel, Hell Bent was highly entertaining, a real page turner that kept my interest. It's well written, with interesting characters and unexpected plot twists.

As a central character, though, Brady Coyne is just too perfect. He prefers to represent underdogs, is pining faithfully for the long-term girlfriend who left him four months earlier (despite the fact that she won't let him call her and leaves him messages telling him to move on) and has a stated weakness for strong, smart women:

"I liked feisty, independent, competent, autonomous, self-contained women. I liked women who knew what they wanted and went after it. I liked women who thought they were at least as important and capable and valuable as men."

Women all seem to be vulnerable to his charms (every woman in the book is described in considerable physical detail and they almost all seem to be beautiful) and men want to be his friend.

He is also modest, self-deprecating and fairly self-critical.

And he is very loyal and attached to his dog, Henry.

Brady Coyne is just too good to be true.

I like flawed characters. I like protagonists who screw up but are essentially well-meaning and good hearted.

This is especially true for mysteries which have an inherent element of good versus evil. When good is too good, it can get just a touch, well, boring.

But really, that's just a quibble (and this one that is leagues better than the mystery novels with a hard boiled detective and the inevitable blond, bosomy bimbo who is the secretary/victim/murderess).

I liked Hell Bent. And if you like well-written, fast-paced mysteries, with progressive politics and interesting characters, you will too. show less

Summary: With his personal life at a bit of a cross-roads, Boston attorney Brady Coyne finds his own past coming back to haunt his professional life when his ex-girlfriend Alex Sinclair turns up looking for a lawyer to represent her brother. Augustine Sinclair was a notable photo-journalist, happily married to his high-school sweetheart with two small children – until he returned from a stint a freelancer photographer in Iraq missing a hand and suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – now he’s lost his career, his peace of mind and his family. Brady is brought in to help him handle the divorce so that he does lose any more but before they get very far, the photographer is found dead in his rented apartment, an apparent show more suicide.

But something isn’t right about the suicide – the details are just a bit off – and Brady starts to think that his client has been murdered, the suicide staged. With very little to go on and with nearly everyone wanting to quickly close the books on a case that has all the classic indications of suicide, Brady soon finds himself in the midst of one of the most dangerous situations of his entire life, facing people who will stop at nothing to keep from being exposed. -- St. Martin's Minotaur

I received HELL BENT by William G. Tapply as part of the Library Thing Early Reviewers' Program. I probably wouldn't have picked up this book on my own since I'm not reading a lot of mystery/suspense books right now; however, I am happy to say that I really enjoyed this book. The book was a very quick read, mainly because the plot draws the reader in right from the start and the story keeps moving at a very fast pace.

I think one of the main reasons that I liked this book was the Brady Coyne character. Brady Coyne is a Boston lawyer who agrees to take on the divorce case of his ex-girlfriend's brother. I found Brady to be extremely likable and quite human considering he is a lawyer (just kidding -- some of my best friends are lawyers!) I especially liked that the author allowed the reader into Brady's personal life and shared Brady's feelings about his ex-girlfriends.

Mr. Tapply did a terrific job of setting up the story for the reader, both in regards to Brady's character as well as the mystery aspect. As I read this book, I knew there was going to be some sort of mystery, but it wasn't until about half way through the book, that a "crime" was actually committed -- Brady's client was found dead by an apparent suicide. Brady's ex-girlfriend is sure that her brother didn't kill himself (despite all the evidence that shows he did); and Brady promises to try to find out the truth. The second half of the book details Brady's investigation and his final resolution of the crime. I was so drawn into the novel by this point that I couldn't put it down.

While I did predict that Brady's client would "kill" himself, I wasn't able to figure out who the murderer was. I can't say that I was shocked by who committed the crime, but it's always easy to say that after the fact. In addition even after I knew whodunnit, I was still totally wrong about the motive for the murder. I love a book that keeps me guessing, and that's probably one of the main reasons that I enjoyed this book so much.

In addition to the murder mystery aspect of the novel, I also liked following Brady's personal life and his romantic interests. Since I found myself liking the character of Brady, I was rooting for him to find a good woman and some happiness. I also enjoyed the side story about an elderly couple who had retained Brady's services to help them recover damages from their moving company. Their story provided some humor into the novel as well as a happy, feel-good ending.

HELL BENT is the 24th novel by Mr. Tapply with the character of Brady Coyne. I don't know where I've been for the last 24 years, but I was not familiar with this author or this series. While there were references to some things that happened in Brady's past, this book definitely stands on its own. It's probably not realistic for me to say that I'm going to go back and read the first 23, but I have a feeling that I'd really enjoy them. Let's put it this way, I will certainly be on the lookout for any books in the Brady Coyne series!

A big thanks goes out to St. Martin's Minotaur and Library Thing Early Reviewers' Program for the opportunity to read and review HELL BENT. show less

The Brady Coyne series is one of the best there is and "Hell Bent" is a fine example of the books in the series. A photojournalist who lost a hand in Iraq is Brady's latest client in a divorce case. The new client is also the brother of one of Brady's love interests from earlier in the series, Alex Shaw. When the journalist dies in an apparent suicide and Alex does not believe that it was suicide, Brady investigates and uncovers a terrorist plot along the way. The story is well paced and the characters, most recurring from previous books in the series, are suffciently developed such that you need not have read the earlier books to know them.

I really like Tapply's books. This one has Brady Coyne representing a photographer during his divorce with PTSD after losing his hand in Iraq. Did he commit suicide or was he murdered for some of his pictures. Former girlfriend Alexander from Maine is reintroduced into his life as the sister who doesn't believe her brother commited suicide.