Boston Attorney Brady Coyne Finds Trouble When He Tries to Buy a Stamp

Boston attorney Brady Coyne has a small, one-man practice and a short list of very wealthy and mostly elderly clients. They generally need advice about their taxes, wills and estate planning and so Brady's life is generally pretty sedate. Occasionally he's asked to do something a bit out of the ordinary, and such is the case when one of his clients, Oliver H. P. Weston, consults Brady about a stamp.

The item in question is the Dutch Blue Error, one of the most valuable stamps in the world. Weston owns the stamp but has received a letter from someone claiming to have another. If, in fact, a second stamp exists, the value of Weston's stamp would drop dramatically and, perhaps even worse, he would no longer be able to brag about owning the only copy of the stamp in the world.

Weston wants Brady to represent him and buy the second copy of the stamp. This will involve getting the stamp verified and setting up the exchange with the seller who prefers to remain anonymous. Brady and the mysterious seller come to an agreement, but then a killer enters the picture, seriously complicating matters. Before long, this whole business becomes very deadly and Brady finds himself on the firing line. Suddenly his practice is not that sedate at all.

This is the second book in this series and it's very well done. These are sort of medium-boiled books and Brady Coyne is a very good protagonist--a guy you'd like to have a drink with, or go fishing with, or just spend a relaxing evening with, reading about one of his cases. These are not legal thrillers--we almost never see Brady Coyne in a courtroom--but as traditional mystery series go, this is a pretty good one.