Last Redemption

Starred review from September 13, 2021
Rick Cahill’s extreme physical and emotional vulnerability is on full display in Shamus Award winner Coyle’s superior eighth outing for the La Jolla, Calif., PI (after 2020’s Blind Vigil). The violence in Rick’s past has left him with possible brain damage that could result in dementia and early death. He hasn’t told his fiancée, Leah, though, because her miracle pregnancy offers them hope of a good family life together. The last thing he needs is a case that could demand physical exertion—yet he privately admits that he needs the rush of real detective work. So he agrees to help his best friend, fellow PI Moira MacFarlane, make sure her 24-year-old computer whiz son, Luke, isn’t violating a restraining order from Luke’s girlfriend. What starts as a simple surveillance case becomes a lot more complicated after Luke’s boss is found murdered in his office, and Luke vanishes. The stakes rise after Rick is savagely beaten by two hardened ex-military thugs, who warn him to stop probing. Readers will cheer as Rick pushes on, fighting episodes of disorientation. Contemporary hard-boiled PI novels don’t get any better than this. Agent: Kimberley Cameron, Kimberley Cameron & Assoc.