William G. Tapply – Brady Coyne and Stoney Calhoun
Born: July 16, 1940, Waltham, MA
Died: July 28, 2009
Education: Amherst College
The Brady Coyne series from William G. Tapply was one of the first mystery series I started to read regularly. Brady Coyne was a Boston lawyer with wealthy clients who always seemed to have problems that only Coyne’s mix of legal skill and detective instincts could solve. The books had a dash of humor, strong plots, and—most importantly—a likeable protagonist. I especially enjoyed the crossovers where Brady would contact his friend Doc Adams, the main character in Rick Boyer’s excellent series. Tapply and Boyer were real-life fishing buddies!
In his later years, William G. Tapply introduced another fine character, Stoney Calhoun—a bait shop owner in Maine with a mysterious past as some kind of government operative. Stoney was an engaging lead, and the three novels in that series are all very good.
I’ve read 18 of the 28 published Brady Coyne novels. Four more are available through my library, though I believe some of the others were never carried in the system, which explains the gaps in my reading.
Brady Coyne Novels
| Title | Series/No | Date Published | Date Read | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death at Charity’s Point | Brady Coyne #1 | 1985 | Not read | |
| The Dutch Blue Error | #2 | 1985 | 1991/12/26 | |
| Follow the Sharks | #3 | 1986 | 1990/07/17 | |
| The Marine Corpse | #4 | 1987 | 1990/07/31 | |
| Dead Meat | #5 | 1987 | 1990/11/22 | |
| The Vulgar Boatman | #6 | 1989 | 1990/10/07 | |
| A Void in Hearts | #7 | 1990 | 1990/09/19 | |
| Dead Winter | #8 | 1990 | 1990/06/30 | |
| Client Privilege | #9 | 1990 | 1990 | |
| The Spotted Cats | #10 | 1992 | 1991/09/28 | |
| Tight Lines | #11 | 1993 | 1992/08/26 | |
| The Snake Eater | #12 | 1993 | 1994/01/23 | |
| The Seventh Enemy | #13 | 1995 | Not read | |
| Close to the Bone | #14 | 1996 | 1999/01/26 | |
| Cutter’s Run | #15 | 2002 | 1999/05/31 | |
| Muscle Memory | #16 | 2003 | 2000/01/18 | |
| Scar Tissue | #17 | 2003 | Not read | |
| Past Tense | #18 | 2004 | 2002/02/04 | |
| First Light | #19 | 2004 | At BCLS | |
| Fine Line | #20 | 2004 | On TBR Shelf | |
| Shadow of Death | #21 | 2004 | 2018/02/03 | Review |
| Second Sight | #22 | 2006 | At BCLS | |
| Out Cold | #24 | 2006 | At BCLS | |
| One-Way Ticket | #25 | 2007 | 2018/08/04 | |
| Third Strike | #26 | 2007 | At BCLS | |
| Hell Bent | #27 | 2008 | On TBR Shelf | |
| Outwitting Trolls | #28 | 2010 | Reading! |
Stoney Calhoun Novels
| Title | Series/No | Date Published | Date Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitch Creek | #1 | 2005 | 2005/02/20 |
| Gray Ghost | #2 | 2007 | 2008/02/28 |
| Dark Tiger | #3 | 2009 | 2010/02/20 |
…
