Scar Tissue

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


Genre: Mystery