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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Brady Acts on Faith in a Story Where Almost Nothing Happens in the First Half of the Book, May 28 2009
"And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell." -- Matthew 5:30
Many readers will miss the Biblical allusion in this story so I have quoted it above. If you don't understand the spiritual context of this story, you probably won't enjoy it very much. William G. Tapply has written a sort of morality play in which people are tempted, fall into sin, and the sin drags them down into worse actions . . . until the eternal pit awaits.
The book opens with a prologue about a violent anti-war protest in 1971 at UMass in Amherst, Massachusetts that turns fatal. Thank goodness for that. Without that background, hardly anyone would stick with this book long enough to get to the ultimate mystery.
The story revolves around Augustine ("Gus") Shaw, brother of Brady's old girlfriend, Alexandria ("Alex") Shaw. Gus lived for the hot spots of conflict, taking photographs as an independent . . . but taking huge risks. His methods caught up with him in Iraq where a landmine removed his right hand, the one he needed more for photojournalism. Rather than taking this change as an opportunity to be a good husband and father, Gus just withdraws into sadness . . . another war victim with a lingering case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
His wife is divorcing him, and Gus is trying to avoid the whole subject. Alex wants Brady to represent Gus, and that's how Brady and Gus meet. Gus isn't the kind of client that Brady would normally take on.
In the meantime, Evie Banyon is still in California and avoiding contact with Brady. He's sad and lonely. Does that mean his heart is open to Alex?
As the jacket copy reveals, Gus is found dead of an apparent suicide in the middle of the book. Alex insists that Brady investigate . . . which he does with an open mind. What else was going on in Gus's life? You'll find out in the second half.
Hell Bent is more than anything else a character study, primarily of Gus, Alex, and Brady. If you like character studies, you'll like this book better than those who were looking for a mystery. Mr. Tapply is portraying characters that aren't very much connected to other people and are alienated beyond that. As a result, the interactions are touchy, fragile, and brief. You won't look forward to them.
I thought that the book worked reasonably well, except for some strange oversights in the police investigation. I just didn't enjoy it very much. I think I was supposed to feel spiritually chilled by the story, but mostly I felt nothing. As a result, it felt like reading half a book rather than a full mystery.
If you are a big Tapply fan, you will enjoy the book. If you aren't such a big fan, you might want to consider skipping this one.
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