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Shane Hadley Mystery #1
Deadly Science
Former Nashville detective and Rhodes Scholar, Shane Hadley, hasn’t been involved in a murder case since a stray bullet transected his spinal cord, ending his career and stranding him in a wheelchair.
One Sunday morning, the familiar pop,pop,pop of gunshots draws Shane like a magnet. He wheels himself onto the balcony of his apartment overlooking Printers Alley, the once-beating heart of Music City USA. There, he sees Bonz Bagley, proprietor of Bonz’s Booze and Music, lying dead in front of his club.
Shane’s wife, neurologist Katya Karpov, is doubly alarmed by the murder—she was fond of the old man, and also, she knows that he was taking an experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease that was invented by Katya’s boss at the university.
Hardy Seltzer, the police detective assigned to the case, knows Shane as a department legend from before the accident that sidelined him. When fate brings them together, Hardy takes advantage of Shane’s uncanny intuitions, launching the two of them on a quest through the worlds of country music, academic intrigue, shady business dealings, and pervasive amorality.
Under growing pressure from the Nashville media and a crusading lawyer, as well as higher-ups in the police department, the two unlikely allies race to make sense of a seemingly pointless murder that threatens to destroy almost everyone who gets drawn into the mystery.
One Sunday morning, the familiar pop,pop,pop of gunshots draws Shane like a magnet. He wheels himself onto the balcony of his apartment overlooking Printers Alley, the once-beating heart of Music City USA. There, he sees Bonz Bagley, proprietor of Bonz’s Booze and Music, lying dead in front of his club.
Shane’s wife, neurologist Katya Karpov, is doubly alarmed by the murder—she was fond of the old man, and also, she knows that he was taking an experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease that was invented by Katya’s boss at the university.
Hardy Seltzer, the police detective assigned to the case, knows Shane as a department legend from before the accident that sidelined him. When fate brings them together, Hardy takes advantage of Shane’s uncanny intuitions, launching the two of them on a quest through the worlds of country music, academic intrigue, shady business dealings, and pervasive amorality.
Under growing pressure from the Nashville media and a crusading lawyer, as well as higher-ups in the police department, the two unlikely allies race to make sense of a seemingly pointless murder that threatens to destroy almost everyone who gets drawn into the mystery.
356 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 8, 2020
"Rules are arbitrary. They are not boundaries, but just the place where you begin negotiations."
This is the first in a new series featuring Shane Hadley, "the Sherlock Shane of departmental myth reincarnated as a wheelchair-bound ex-detective holed up in his Printers Alley flat" in Nashville. Shane has an unusual partnership with Detective Hardy Seltzer of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department as they work together to solve the murder of Bonz Bagley. The old man and his dog were gunned down in front of his club in the disintegrating area that used to be a popular country music nightspot. The death of Bonz is complicated by the fact that he happened to be a patient in a drug study that Shane's wife, Dr. Katya Karpov, was working on in her role as a neurologist with a new drug that is meant to treat Alzheimer's Disease. Is there a connection between the clinical trial and the hit on Bonz or is his death the result of a decades old feud between has-been Nashville music personalities? "The game is afoot." NO SPOILERS.
This was entertaining even though it seemed quite repetitive and was full of stereotypical characters. The descriptions of the city of Nashville were interesting along with the tidbits of history. The relationship between Shane and Hardy is a developing one and they seem an unlikely duo but I feel that I might warm to them with future installments. Unfortunately, I was too late to grab a copy of the second book in the series that seems to have been published at the same time. I would have liked to see if I grew to appreciate their interaction and partnership because I don't feel that I really learned too much about them as individuals in this introduction. I found the depiction of Katya to be a little over-the-top with her seeming brilliance and perfection, but hopefully she has some flaws! There was a little surprise toward the end that some may see coming, but overall it was a straight forward mystery that combined police work with science and medicine.
Thank you to NetGalley and Secant Publishing for this e-book ARC to read and review. Perhaps I'll be lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of Deadly Arts.
This is the first in a new series featuring Shane Hadley, "the Sherlock Shane of departmental myth reincarnated as a wheelchair-bound ex-detective holed up in his Printers Alley flat" in Nashville. Shane has an unusual partnership with Detective Hardy Seltzer of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department as they work together to solve the murder of Bonz Bagley. The old man and his dog were gunned down in front of his club in the disintegrating area that used to be a popular country music nightspot. The death of Bonz is complicated by the fact that he happened to be a patient in a drug study that Shane's wife, Dr. Katya Karpov, was working on in her role as a neurologist with a new drug that is meant to treat Alzheimer's Disease. Is there a connection between the clinical trial and the hit on Bonz or is his death the result of a decades old feud between has-been Nashville music personalities? "The game is afoot." NO SPOILERS.
This was entertaining even though it seemed quite repetitive and was full of stereotypical characters. The descriptions of the city of Nashville were interesting along with the tidbits of history. The relationship between Shane and Hardy is a developing one and they seem an unlikely duo but I feel that I might warm to them with future installments. Unfortunately, I was too late to grab a copy of the second book in the series that seems to have been published at the same time. I would have liked to see if I grew to appreciate their interaction and partnership because I don't feel that I really learned too much about them as individuals in this introduction. I found the depiction of Katya to be a little over-the-top with her seeming brilliance and perfection, but hopefully she has some flaws! There was a little surprise toward the end that some may see coming, but overall it was a straight forward mystery that combined police work with science and medicine.
Thank you to NetGalley and Secant Publishing for this e-book ARC to read and review. Perhaps I'll be lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of Deadly Arts.
March 16, 2020
Received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for a fair review
A quote (from ARC):
“He needed fantasy to thrive in his new world, suddenly shrunken by his immobility. His real world was small, but his imaginary one was boundless.”
“Deadly Science: A Shane Hadley Mystery” (Secant Publishing), by Ken Brigham, was a very enjoyable read, with an enigmatic wounded hero and a cast of characters as interesting as him, combining humor and suspense with a lovely, touching portrait of Nashville.
The mystery plot was quite absorbing in a very tranquil, intelligent way, with well developed characters and accurate, believable forays into the academic, law enforcement, judicial and political world. I found particularly enlightening and pertinent the author’s descriptions about clinical trials.
Shane Hadley is an understated wounded hero, showing no angst about his condition. Being a legend, he’s nevertheless such a gentle, humble person; I loved his sense of humor. I was so curious about his thoughts and feelings and his relationship with his wife – a great character, too – and I would have liked more development of these aspects.
The author describes Shane’s demons very briefly and shows the tenderness and affection between Shane and Katya without going into much detail.
The displays of affection between our wounded hero and his wife are surprisingly mild and sweet, I have to admit I was expecting a little more heat as the story progressed - I guess I’ll have to read the next stories featuring this intriguing character.
Shane’s partnership with detective Hardy Seltzer – another great character - is also interesting, although I wanted to know more about Seltzer and his romantic interest, too.
Even the villain is well rounded.
And I loved the nostalgic atmosphere of Nashville.
A quote (from ARC):
“He needed fantasy to thrive in his new world, suddenly shrunken by his immobility. His real world was small, but his imaginary one was boundless.”
“Deadly Science: A Shane Hadley Mystery” (Secant Publishing), by Ken Brigham, was a very enjoyable read, with an enigmatic wounded hero and a cast of characters as interesting as him, combining humor and suspense with a lovely, touching portrait of Nashville.
The mystery plot was quite absorbing in a very tranquil, intelligent way, with well developed characters and accurate, believable forays into the academic, law enforcement, judicial and political world. I found particularly enlightening and pertinent the author’s descriptions about clinical trials.
Shane Hadley is an understated wounded hero, showing no angst about his condition. Being a legend, he’s nevertheless such a gentle, humble person; I loved his sense of humor. I was so curious about his thoughts and feelings and his relationship with his wife – a great character, too – and I would have liked more development of these aspects.
The author describes Shane’s demons very briefly and shows the tenderness and affection between Shane and Katya without going into much detail.
The displays of affection between our wounded hero and his wife are surprisingly mild and sweet, I have to admit I was expecting a little more heat as the story progressed - I guess I’ll have to read the next stories featuring this intriguing character.
Shane’s partnership with detective Hardy Seltzer – another great character - is also interesting, although I wanted to know more about Seltzer and his romantic interest, too.
Even the villain is well rounded.
And I loved the nostalgic atmosphere of Nashville.
April 13, 2020
This was a well written thriller. The characters were well developed and interesting and interesting. It is nice to see an interesting story where the characters use their brains. A good read.
May 10, 2020
A generally well-written medical thriller and cautionary tale on what can go very, very wrong, when the lust for fame and fortune overrides the dictum, "First Do No Harm." The author, Ken Brigham, is himself a physician, which makes this novel on the frightening consequences to public health and safety if drug testing and approval is manipulated by impatient, unscrupulous, and greedy developers, all the more chilling. A doctor is obviously (or can be) privy to more behind-the-scenes goings on in the medical arena than the average lay person, so one wonders how often such a scenario gets set in motion, and how well the checks and balances within R & D and the pharmaceutical industry actually operate.
Shane Hadley, the retired veteran detective, who "surreptitiously" gets involved in the curiously odd homicide of a neighbor, is a housebound paraplegic, rendered so by a gunshot wound in the line of duty (a nod, perhaps, to the old Raymond Burr cop show,"Ironside"?). While on the force, he had a mixed-bag reputation for solving knotty cases, never taking any evidence at face value, much to the admiration and/or frustration of his colleagues and superiors. This immediately puts him at odds with Hardy Seltzer, the stubborn detective in charge, who is convinced that the case is straightforward and is being pressured to solve it with a quickness.
The murderer is revealed--by their own confession--early in the book, so the plot revolves around how the evidence will be uncovered, leading to an arrest. This also reminded me of the old Peter Falk series (another nod?), where his detective character, "Columbo," would painstakingly accumulate the evidence needed to cleverly trap the known perp.
The plot gets far more drawn out and convoluted than I thought was necessary, but there is a well-rendered and quite satisfying twist at the end, which I don't think readers will see coming.
I received this Kindle edition in a Goodreads Giveaway is exchange for an honest review.
Shane Hadley, the retired veteran detective, who "surreptitiously" gets involved in the curiously odd homicide of a neighbor, is a housebound paraplegic, rendered so by a gunshot wound in the line of duty (a nod, perhaps, to the old Raymond Burr cop show,"Ironside"?). While on the force, he had a mixed-bag reputation for solving knotty cases, never taking any evidence at face value, much to the admiration and/or frustration of his colleagues and superiors. This immediately puts him at odds with Hardy Seltzer, the stubborn detective in charge, who is convinced that the case is straightforward and is being pressured to solve it with a quickness.
The murderer is revealed--by their own confession--early in the book, so the plot revolves around how the evidence will be uncovered, leading to an arrest. This also reminded me of the old Peter Falk series (another nod?), where his detective character, "Columbo," would painstakingly accumulate the evidence needed to cleverly trap the known perp.
The plot gets far more drawn out and convoluted than I thought was necessary, but there is a well-rendered and quite satisfying twist at the end, which I don't think readers will see coming.
I received this Kindle edition in a Goodreads Giveaway is exchange for an honest review.
May 18, 2020
I found "Deadly Science" to be an intelligent romp where academia, police detective work and the atmosphere of Nashville intersect. It was fun to follow the aftermath of events and investigations of a murder through the eyes of the detectives and other characters, but while already being privy to the identification and motive of the murderer. I enjoyed the carefully laid out story and the interesting sub-plots. However, I did feel that the writing was unpolished and a bit choppy. Also, the characters themselves, while mostly believable, felt like cliches. How many times does the reader need to be reminded which characters were ugly or attractive? I received this book as an ARC prior to publication.
April 29, 2020
I received a copy of this book for my Kindle from a Goodreads giveaway! I love a good mystery, and this my friends is a good mystery. I very much enjoyed the characters, they were well developed. There was a plot twist that I did not see coming-love that! And a good resolution. Very well written. I look forward to Mr. Brigham next in the series!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2020
Shane Hadley was a top notch detective before he got wounded on the job and became a paraplegic. With him witnessing a killer fleeing the scene of the crime, his juices for the search went through a resurgence with the help of detective Hardy. Now they are on the trail of the suspect. Interesting, intriguing and entertaining.⭐⭐⭐⭐
June 19, 2020
Too early of a reveal
I enjoyed this book but what made me give it a 3 star rating is the author revealed the killer too soon. By doing so, it took the thrill out of the "who- done-it" and made me mad at the characters for not making the "obvious" connections.
I won this book thru a goodreads.com giveaway.
I enjoyed this book but what made me give it a 3 star rating is the author revealed the killer too soon. By doing so, it took the thrill out of the "who- done-it" and made me mad at the characters for not making the "obvious" connections.
I won this book thru a goodreads.com giveaway.
July 29, 2020
This is a story with a lot of potential, but which would benefit from some serious, professional editing. The main characters are interesting and have much promise but are not hewed clearly enough. The story is too long in places, losing itself in minutiae and technical details, but the author does manage to pull off a decent ending.
April 5, 2020
I Enjoyed everything about this book there was nothing I didn't like about the book. I like the setting,the writing style,the plot,the plot twists and the characters in the book were amazing.I would gladly reread it again.
May 17, 2020
The language and the characters are great, but the plot is rather naive and there's a lot of repetition of things the reader already knows. In addition, there's no real mystery, no thrills and no twists, which make the book boring.
December 12, 2023
This is a general review as I read two books in this series one after the other: well plotted, entertaining, solid mystery and fleshed out characters.
A good read that I recommend.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
A good read that I recommend.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
May 3, 2020
This is an entertaining mystery, a good start to a series! It’s fast paced & the characters are intriguing.
June 12, 2020
This was a Goodreads giveaway. This was ok. The plot was interesting enough, and I always appreciate it when I can learn something new from a book. I didn’t much like the main characters, they were all just too something - too brilliant, too gorgeous, too ugly - no one seemed real, except for the police detective, who was never really described at all. Shane, in particular, comes across as a pompous twit who drinks a LOT. Not a bad read, just ok.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews