Blood Truth by Matt Coyle / Review by Gary Frazier
Blood Truth
By Matt Coyle
Oceanview Publishing
$26.95
ISBN 978-1608092390
Published December 5, 2017
Private investigator Rick Cahill’s latest case becomes his most personal to date in Blood Truth, the fourth novel in the thrilling Cahill series by Matt Coyle.
This time around, Cahill’s world is turned upside down when he is presented with a long-hidden wall safe found in his father’s home that, when opened, yields secrets that could confirm his father’s corruption and reasons for being kicked off the police force. Inside the safe: a stash of $15,000 in cash, a gun, and two bullet casings, all possibly tied to a murder twenty years ago.
Cahill, along with PI friend Moira McFarlane, turn over every stone in his father’s past, interviewing his old acquaintances, co-workers, and the reporter who covered the case in search of clues. Their investigation soon draws the attention of others who want to keep the truth buried at all costs, even if that means eliminating Cahill and McFarlane in the process.
As Cahill struggles to discern the truth, and what that means for him personally, he’s also wrapped up in a murder case involving his former wife and her current husband and a controversial real estate deal, leaving him little time in which to process all that is happening to him. The mystery deepens and the threats multiply at seemingly every turn.
A previous recipient of the Anthony Award, the Benjamin Franklin Silver Medal and the San Diego Book Award, as well as a finalist for the Shamus, Macavity, and Lefty awards, Coyle juggles both plotlines with deft skill. Readers learn firsthand through Cahill’s first-person point of view as the bodies start piling up and the clues multiply. Short, snappy chapters keep the pages turning at a fast rate straight until the finish.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced mystery packed with emotional punch, look no further. This one’s a winner.
When he’s not working on his own novel or screenplays, G. Robert Frazier writes about other writers and their works on his blog and other sites such as BookPage and BloggingforBooks. He has served as a script reader for both the Austin Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival screenwriting competitions and is a member of the Tennessee Screenwriting Association. He used to write and edit stories for several newspapers in the Nashville area and he once won a flash fiction contest in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, so there’s that.