One of my favorite
summer traditions is reading what I refer to as "mindless" mysteries.
Not that I don't appreciate the craft that goes into writing a mystery, but
it's a genre that does not require a lot of brain power. At the end of a summer
mystery, it's not like you wasted time watching television, but then again,
it's not like you're reading Bonhoeffer or Isaacson. It's simply a great way to
invest a few hours and get lost in the experience of another’s imagination.
About ten years ago, I
discovered William Tapply. I say I discovered, but that’s not exactly true.
Lots of other readers were familiar with Tapply before I found his characters
and I was familiar with Tapply’s non-fiction through Field & Stream
magazine. I've been a subscriber to Field & Stream since the late 1980s,
where Tapply was a contributing editor for years, and his father, William G
(Tap) Tapply was the author of Tap's Tips column that ran in Field & Stream from 1950-1985. So to say I discovered Tapply is
factually untrue. I added his books on flyfishing and hunting, Pocket
Water and Upland Days, to my library in the early 2000s. When I
"discovered" his line of mystery novels featuring the lawyer Brady
Coyne, I was intrigued as I was always looking for new authors to add to my
favorite lists.
I was, and remain, a fan
of Brady Coyne and Tapply. Coyne is featured in twenty-six books by Tapply, and
I've read every one. He's an interesting character - a Boston-based lawyer who
is more involved in solving problems for clients (who are also friends) than
practicing law. His interests are similar to my own - fly fishing, fly tying,
good friends, doing good, solving problems. Although I've always like Coyne, I
also felt a bit sorry for him. He seems lonely, never able to figure out
long-term relationships with women, struggling with distant relationships with
his sons, simply a lonely kind of guy.
I was pretty excited
when Tapply introduced a new character with his own line of books in Bitch
Creek in 2005. The new line of books feature Stonewall Jackson Calhoun, a
victim of a lightning strike who has no memory. Stoney moves to rural Maine,
builds a cabin near Bitch Creek in Maine and works in Kate Balaban's bait and
tackle shop. Although I’ve always liked Coyne, I really enjoyed the Stoney
Calhoun character. Although he has a crazy backstory, he seems more believable,
a character you’d like as a neighbor.
Tapply has a well-earned
reputation as a writer’s writer – he published 26 Brady Coyne novels, three
Stoney Calhoun novels and other books on writing, hunting and fishing. Three of
my favorite books are First Light, Second Sight
and Third Strike, which
were co-written with Philip Craig and feature Coyne and Philip Craig’s
character JW Jackson. In real life, Tapply and Craig are writers with
individually successful careers and share a kindred friendship. I suppose they
thought they could continue their friendship through to their characters and it
works incredibly well. Coyne is a bit more buttoned-up and Jackson is a little
more casual, but their friendship seems natural and real – and even more
entertaining.
One of the more
challenging times in a reader’s life is learning of a favorite writer has
passed away. Tapply passed away from leukemia in 2009 at his farm in New
Hampshire. With most characters, the writer’s death also means the death of the
character. I’d like to think Coyne and Calhoun still live out their lives in
Boston and Maine. For that matter, I believe Tapply will live on in his stories
and his characters. Our lives and our summers are better for having the legacy
of men like Tapply.
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