Book Review: Past Tense

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Past Tense     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
William G. Tapply
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Series: Brady Coyne # 18
St. Martin's, Oct 2001, $24.95, 304 pp.

Though he has spent the last six months in a close relationship with Evie Banyon, attorney Brady Coyne knows little about his significant other. They drive to Cape Cod to spend the weekend together. That night in an Eastham restaurant, Evie notices Larry Scott, a man she feels is stalking her even if his actions fail to meet the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' definition of a stalker. They have public incidents in the restaurant and outside in the parking lot.

The next morning, Evie goes out running while Brady sleeps a little longer in their isolated cabin until she comes across Larry's corpse. Brady realizes that he and Evie are prime suspects as they each had the means, motives, and opportunity, especially Evie, for murdering Larry. After lengthy, but separate interrogations by the police, Evie and Brady return home. Over the next week he, her boss, and the police try to call Evie, but she vanished. Brady wonders if she fled because she killed Larry or did the killer abduct her? Unable to let her go, Brady begins to search for Evie.

William G Tapply provides fans of the amateur sleuth tale with a powerful entry in PAST TENSE. The story line is taut as Brady wonders what is going on with Evie even as he understands law enforcement procedures. He makes the tale work in such a fabulously tense way that fans will seek past Coyne tales (see SCAR TISSUE) by an author on the way to the top of the genre.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner