Yesterday’s Echo

Rick Cahill, #1

by

Matt Coyle

No good deed goes unpunished.

Yesterday’s Echo by Matt Coyle is the 2014 Anthony Award winner for Best First Novel and the first book in the author’s Rick Cahill crime fiction series. The main character (Cahill), a disgraced former Santa Barbara police officer, had relocated to the town he grew up in after being accused, but never charged due to lack of any evidence, of the murder of his wife, Colleen. For the past eight years, he’s struggled to put a life together as the manager and part-owner of Muldoon’s Steakhouse in the La Jolla community of San Diego. However, a couple of good deeds at the restaurant one night put him in the crosshairs of some very powerful people involved in politics, blackmail, and murder. 

Rick is a personable guy dealing with a tragic past that began in his childhood. He’s carrying a load of guilt since his wife’s murder, and although innocent of her murder, he feels responsible for her death. His father had been fired from the La Jolla Police Department when Rick was a boy and lived under a cloud for the rest of his life, though it appears he, too, was blamed for someone else’s actions. Both father and son were judged guilty in the public eye, and there is much yet to be uncovered in both cases in future novels. 

I enjoyed Rick’s quick wit and wisecracking style, and the novel has a strong crime noir feel.

The plot is complex, with several subplots unfolding throughout, some of which eventually converge in unexpected ways. The story is violent at times, and there’s shocking collateral damage that affects Rick’s loved ones. Scenes with Colleen’s father, who is convinced Rick is guilty of his daughter’s murder, are gut-wrenching, especially as you feel Rick is being truthful that he was not the one. 

I recommend YESTERDAY’S ECHO to readers of crime fiction. 

For this and other reviews, visit Boys' Mom Reads!