Yesterday’s Echo
By Matt Coyle
“The first time I saw her, she made
me remember and she made me forget.”
In this first line of Yesterday’s Echo, we meet Rick Cahill,
former police officer and current manager of Muldoon’s Steak House in La Jolla,
California. Rick is immediately drawn to Melody Malana (described above) and
soon finds himself falling for her and a murder rap, for the second time in his
life. Rick scrambles to find evidence to
clear Melody and himself. There are dark
secrets, political scandal and all the corruption that the wealthy seaside
community can buy. Along the way he is threatened by cops and beaten by dead-eyed
soulless bad guys. Does he find the truth in time to save Melody? You have to read the book to find out!
Much of
this first volume of the Rick Cahill Series reminds me of Philip Marlowe,
Chandler’s iconic detective. There have
been some great movies made with the character of Marlowe, but they tend to
emphasize hard-boiled at the expense of the heart and deeply chivalrous nature
that Marlowe displays in the books. Marlowe carries a very sharp tongue in
place of a sword, but the desire to right wrongs and protect the innocent is
there in his actions and inner dialogue.
It is refreshing to find a new writer with a character that catches the
essence of the golden age detective; a modern knight errant who carries his
shield close, his lance high and takes on all the dragons that come. He rides
to the rescue even if he knows that he cannot trust the virtue (or the
truthfulness) of the current maiden in distress.
The second volume in this series, Night Tremors, was released last year –
get both and read them now! Highly
recommended.
“Following an Anthony Award-winning debut isn’t easy, but
Matt Coyle slammed a homer. Hard, tough,
humane –Night Tremors is
outstanding!” Robert Crais, MWA Grand Master, Anthony, Macavity, and Shamus
Award-winning author of Suspect
Review by Terell Byrd
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