A Fine Line: A Brady Coyne Novel
Walter Duffy was the world's leading bird photographer until an accident  crippled him. So Boston lawyer Brady Coyne, an old friend, makes a point of  visiting him in his bird-filled garden terrace--until the day Brady finds him  lying next to his crutches, fatally bashed in the back of the head. Was it an  accident or murder? Where is Walter's college-age son, who was also his much  abused household helper? Who keeps calling Brady at odd hours, tipping him off  to upcoming arson fires? And what's it all got to do with a packet of letters  allegedly written by Meriwether Lewis?This is Brady Coyne's19th  solo outing, and fans will find their hero just as likable, even-tempered,  and incorruptible as ever. They'll also appreciate his growing relationship with  companion Eve Banyon (who may be unrealistically gorgeous and devoted, but whose  presence gives rise to one of the best sex-in-a-thunderstorm scenes you'll read  this year). The suspense inA Fine Lineis on the mild side, and the  slightly disconnected plot concludes with a too-neat wrap-up. But you'll still  enjoy reading Tapply for his fully fleshed people, his evocation of Boston, and  his lean prose, which--as always--goes down as smoothly as 16-year-old single  malt.--Nicholas H. Allison