Evie has left Brady for California to take care of her dying father, but she left no firm commitment to return, so Brady is left with his dog and townhouse. He’s visited in the office by Alexandra a former squeeze. (don’t modern characters manage any kind of longevity in their relationships - except perhaps for Steve Carella who doesn’t look so modern anymore. Thank goodness for Carl Houseman.) Alex wants Brady to handle the divorce of her brother a well-known photographer -- a non-embedded one -- whose wife has left him and is now suffering from the loss of his right hand and PTSD.

Gus winds up dead of an apparent suicide after sending an apologetic email to his estranged wife. Alex and Brady suspect foul play and soon Brady finds himself involved with potetnail terrorist actions. More and I would spoil things.

It would appear this is Tapply’s attempt to reconcile the anti-war movements of the sixties with nascent anti-war feelings (not activities since there does not seem to be any formal movement against the Iraq/Afghanistan wars at all) of today. At one point Gus rails against the symbiotic relationship between the military and journalists, each needing the other. Embedded journalists," he said. "They take the pictures they're supposed to take. They don't get to see the caskets, the body bags, the blood and brains splattered against the sides of buildings, the dead American kids half hanging out of blown-up Hummers, the mutilated Iraqi children...The brass. They couldn't control us. Couldn't censor us, couldn't tell us where to go, what to shoot. They knew we were after the stories they didn't want told. The senselessness of it. The failure of it. The friendly fire fatalities. The crappy equipment. The wrongheaded decisions. The dead children. They were all about covering up.”

A few reviewers have complained at the lack of action. Not me. I really like the characters Tapply develops and the two plots in this book are more than satisfactory. He’s a favorite. ( )

I was really curious about this book after reading the description of it. I do like a good legal thriller and was interested in giving the Brady Coyne series a try. I was engrossed from the very first page and found it both suspenseful and entertaining. Although this book stands well on its own, I do wish I had started with the first in the series. ( )

The Brady Coyne series is one of the best there is and "Hell Bent" is a fine example of the books in the series. A photojournalist who lost a hand in Iraq is Brady's latest client in a divorce case. The new client is also the brother of one of Brady's love interests from earlier in the series, Alex Shaw. When the journalist dies in an apparent suicide and Alex does not believe that it was suicide, Brady investigates and uncovers a terrorist plot along the way. The story is well paced and the characters, most recurring from previous books in the series, are suffciently developed such that you need not have read the earlier books to know them. ( )

Slower than some of Tapley's earlier ones, more dealing with old and new girlfriend and his dog. Still quite readable.

Hell Bet by William G. Tapply is a well written book. The story line was well thought out and developed nicely through out the book. When reading this book you are introduced to one story and then quickly brought into another story line all long not losing the first group of characters introduced.
Once Tapply begins to expand on the main storyline involving Brady Coyne you would think that the previous story would be pushed to the wayside however that is not true. Tapply does a wonderful job of not only bringing a conclusion to the main topic but also a conclusion to the beginning story line.

Hell Bent is a story that will keep you guessing until the end. The story grabs you from the beginning and keeps you interested until the very end.

Hell Bent has a little bit of everything to offer the reader from romance to mystery and suspense. Tapply also does a superb job of describing each character so it is as if you know them and in they end you are pulling for the main character Brady Coyne to come out on top and happy.

I highly recommend this book for others to read. ( )