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A nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court will stop at nothing to hide a dirty secret in this finely crafted thriller from Tapply (1940–2009). While serving in Vietnam, where he won a Bronze Star and lost an eye, future Massachusetts judge Thomas Larrigan fathered a daughter, then abandoned her and her mother, Li An. Instead of withdrawing from the nomination process, Larrigan engages the services of a hit man to eliminate those who know of his past, including the child's mother. Now dying of multiple sclerosis after a successful movie career, Li An, who became the actress Simone Bonet, wants to clear the air by writing a memoir. Shifting between San Francisco and Boston, the action culminates in a nail-biting finale in upstate New York. Tapply, best known for his Brady Coyne mystery series (Outwitting Trolls, etc.), displays the plot discipline and character savvy that distinguished his writing career and his many fans are going to miss.

— Publisher's Weekly

This is the second Tapply novel to be published since his death in July 2009. Outwitting Trolls (2010) was presumably his last Brady Coyne mystery, and this stand-alone thriller may prove to be his very last book. It’s also one of his best, a masterfully constructed suspenser that could stand as a model for aspiring writers: here’s how it’s done. The president is nominating a state judge, pure as a prayer, a family man with a war wound, to the Supreme Court. A reclusive retired actress hires a ghostwriter to prepare her memoirs. A female bodyguard, whom we meet as she wrestles a potential assassin to the ground, is in flight from a mobster she betrayed. They’re all connected, and it’s a pleasure to watch a master craftsman bring the story lines into deadly convergence. The suspense is real, and the outcome will jolt the most jaded thriller fan. Think you know what will happen when the heroine sneaks up on the baddies holding hostages? Bet you don’t. And the mastermind orchestrating the bloodbath at the end—know who he is? Don’t be so sure. This is a heckuva read. Ave atque vale, Mr. Tapply.

— Don Crinklaw. Booklist (starred review)

This is the final book by William Tapply, and it underscores the writing discipline that he demonstrated in the course of dozens of mysteries. This might stand as an epitaph the author could be proud of, with its smoothly constructed pyramid of plotting and its sensitive characterization. It also carries a shock impact because of the cold-eyed assessment of what may happen in the most remote corridors of power where prowls a worried president.. . .Mr. Tapply has left as his legacy a suspense story so skilfully welded together and so close to reality that it is hard to put down.

— Muriel Dobbin, The Washington Times

For those already familiar with William G. Tapply’s mystery novels or for those who are new to his forty-plus works, this posthumous publication of his last novel ends a writer’s career at the top of his game. Swift and engrossing, Tapply’s suspense novel will keep readers whipping through the pages and have them reading well past bedtime.. . . Tapply’s deft ability to propel the plot reveals a master of suspense. His characters are memorable and relatable, something that is often overlooked by other writers of this genre. The hairpin turns and twists of fate develop naturally from the personalities that are as vivid as they are enjoyable. Don’t bother trying to savor this novel; each chapter will leave you wondering what’s next and who’s going to survive the injustices of a potential Supreme Court Judge.

—MR Hunter, Still Blonde After All These Years