Rick Cahill is a complex and engaging character. In Last Redemption his life, at first, seems to be settled enough as he's waiting for his first child to be born and business is doing well with no big/difficult cases, until everything changes and he is right in the middle of an explosive investigation. Last Redemption has a great plot, is full of action and mystery and is engaging from the beginning.
I thank Mr. Coyle, his publisher and NetGalley for the copy of this book.

Rick Cahill is still after redemption, trying to start a new life with a baby on the way, when a debt to a best friend must be redeemed. Her son is missing and he is a suspect in his boss’ murder.
I enjoyed Rick and his need to do right, and also his fight against the brain damage he is suffering from due to the many concussions he’s received in his line of work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for this DRC.
#LastRedemption #NetGalley

Clearly this series was my binge-thriller one for 2023. This read is still fast-paced, but Cahill's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy" target="_blank">CTE</a> brain damage is very much a point of drama in his life, as we saw in <I>Blind Vigil</i>.<br />
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I usually steer clear of child-endangerment stories because they're so often about girls in sexual predators' hands, but this one was (thankfully) free of that taint. Very exciting, surprising stuff...all done by a guy with a neurodegenerative disease.

Title: "Last Redemption" by Matt Coyle - Not Finished, the 8th in a Series

Rating: N/A (Did Not Finish)

As an avid reader who had the opportunity to explore an advanced reader copy of "Last Redemption" by Matt Coyle, I must admit that I didn't finish this book. While I appreciate the chance to delve into a new story, it became evident that this is the 8th installment in a series, and my lack of familiarity with the previous books left me feeling lost.

The narrative appeared to be intricately tied to events and characters from the preceding novels, making it challenging for me to fully immerse myself in the story. Despite the writing quality and the potential for a gripping plot, my inability to connect with the characters and their backgrounds hindered my reading experience. While I cannot provide a star rating for "Last Redemption" due to my incomplete reading, it's important to note that those who have followed the series from the beginning may find this book more enjoyable than I did. If you're already invested in the world of Rick Cahill and his adventures, this latest installment may be a must-read.

Matt Coyle brings it home again with this Rick Cahill novel. His wife is pregnant with their first child and he is doing well with his private investigation work. His headaches have been getting worse from a football injury and he keeps the diagnosis and deterioration of his headache condition from his fiance and his best friend. When his best friend asks him to watch over her son, what should have been simple surveillance turns into an explosive plot. I have loved all of Matt Coyle’s novels and I have to say I think this was one of my favorites. I couldn’t put this book down until I finished it. I would highly recommend the book and the author.

If you like your P.I.s hardboiled but with a contemporary sensibility, don't miss this series. Rick Cahill has settled into doing corporate work and doing searches on a computer. It's safer and with a baby on the way and a fresh diagnosis of CTE, that the way he'll roll. But when his best friend and PI asks him to help find her son, all hell breaks loose and safer may not be possible. To notch plotting and sharp characterizations.

Rick Cahill can’t seem to get a break. In the last novel, he had lost his sight; in this one, he learns that he is suffering from CTE after a lifetime of getting beaten up. His pregnant partner doesn’t know. He can’t even stay out of harm’s way, because instead of quietly doing risk-free paperwork and waiting for the baby to arrive, he gets roped back into an active investigation as a personal favor to his old partner, Moira. Moira’s son, Luke, has violated a restraining order taken out by his girlfriend, and Moira doesn’t know what is going on. Rick figures it will be easy enough follow the kid and get him to call his mother--end of story. Of course, it’s not that simple, and Luke’s boss turns up murdered. From then on, it’s Rick facing physical danger and bad guys again out of loyalty to Moira. Though this isn’t an all-nighter sort of thriller, there’s lots of action. The stress of his diagnosis, his failure to stay out of harm’s way as intended, and his impending fatherhood all add to the pressures Rick faces in addition to the investigation itself. The book is well into a series but can easily be read as a standalone.

Thanks to Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for a digital advance review copy.

If you’re in the mood for a good book revolving around a likable private investigator, a missing person, greedy rich people and high-tech DNA science, look no further. This is a great read, one that kept my interest throughout. In addition to a thriller-type plot with lots of twists, I enjoyed Coyle’s writing style and his vivid descriptions. I really felt for Cahill, whose partner is expecting their first child (an unexpected miracle for them) but who has recently been given a tentative diagnosis of CTE (the brain injury so common to football players). He is desperate to stay alive and healthy to meet and raise his child. He’s been mostly doing corporate background checks lately, which is keeping him safe and provides steady income, but his best friend and fellow PI, Moira, needs his help finding her 24-year-old son, and so he finds himself back to doing more dangerous stuff.

This is the 8th book in the Rick Cahill series but the first one I’ve read. The fact that I was not at all confused is a tribute to the writer; so often in series it’s hard to jump in in the middle instead of starting with book one. I’m sure I’d have enjoyed it even more if I had read the earlier books, but it was easy to read this as a standalone. I was intrigued enough with Cahill’s backstory that I may well check out some of the earlier books when I have a moment.

Judging by the title, you may think this was intended to be the final book in the series but it seems that there’s at least one more Cahill book in the works.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I’m a bit late to it. All opinions are my own.

This is the second Rick Cahill book that I have read and its a series that I am really enjoying. I really like the character of Rick and the books hold my interest the whole way through.

Matt Coyle is famous for his Rick Cahill crime thriller series. I haven't read any of the previous books in the series and this is the 8th book of it. However I was able to understand the flow of the story till the events of the current book and also the important life events of the principal characters and Matt Coyle has done a tremendous job in making it so.

Rick Cahill is a private investigator who, till a year before, had taken up many intriguing and very much life-threatening cases in the course of his investigations. However in the past year, on the advice of his partner Leah, he has taken a backseat in his work and taken up only regular, non- threatening, employee verification work for corporates. And the couple are also happily expecting the birth of their child, a child who is an unexpected gift for the both of them.

At this juncture, Rick is employed by his former partner Moira, in helping her find out if her son is violating a restraining order filed by his ex- girlfriend. He takes it up thinking it will be a regular work not involving any danger and also because he owes Moira a lot.

However, the regular case soon turns out to be a problem of convoluted proportions with him suspecting there are many people involved in a fraud scheme of some sort. He also gets himself caught up in life and death situations due to the case. What follows is his efforts to find the actual truth amidst many conflicting accounts told by many people.

I absolutely loved the story. The author has a crisp, fast- paced story telling style. But he also invests the reader within the emotional conflicts of the principal characters. These are not black and white characters with only one way to tread; they are all regular conflicted, human people, with various shades of gray. I didn't feel the intrigue was beyond brilliant but nevertheless it was engaging.

All in all, it makes for a very entertaining read. In fact, if and when possible, I will be sure to check the rest of the books in the series. People who like to read fast paced thrillers with well-honed characters should definitely try this book.

Rick Cahill is taking his last case as a private detective, he decided to help Moira, a close friend. But, after the night stake-out, he can see that it is not going to be an easy case. The author is telling us about the miracle child that Rick and his bride to be are having as if we could forget.

Maybe we dwell too much on his shame about engaging in a threatening PI case when he's involved with new family and child coining but when good friend asks him to help with her son he cannot refuse .. even though last case nearly finished him off .. part of a series the author is perfectly comfortable in ... even if all that's drawn out and maybe his new wife is kind of a cliche , but this pushes along deeper and deeper in dark terrain as the son, Luke, takes up with drug gangggs.

I don't think that I have read any Rick Cahill Mysteries before. This one is a pretty good standalone. I wish that Rick did not insert sentimental thoughts about his soon to be born child quite as often. Parental love is one thing, repetition of text is another.

This was the first book by Matt Coyle, but it certainly will not be my last! Rick Cahill is a great, fully rounded character and the plot was excellent, with plenty of twists. Coyle is also good at creating a sense of place - San Diego and La Jolla came alive with his words. Now excuse me while I go to buy the first in the series.

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Familiar character...love...romance...friendship...mystery...murder...mayhem...intrigue...this book has it all...it is difficult to put this book down until it is finished. I enjoyed the story, well written. I believed the characters were real...even though they are in the midst of a fiction book...I look forward to more books by this author in the near future. Try it...

Last Redemption

By: Matt Coyle

Oceanview Publishing

Mystery & Thrillers

Publish Date 30 November 2021

#LastRedemption#NetGalley

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I would like to thank both NetGalley and Oceanview publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Good Reads Synopsis:

Will Rick Cahill survive an insidious disease long enough to see his first-born child—or will sadistic killers murder him first?

Rick Cahill is finally living a settled, happy life. His fiancée, Leah Landingham, is pregnant with their first child and he is doing PI work that pays well and keeps him out of danger. Then a doctor gives him the bad news about the headaches he’s been suffering—CTE, the pro football disease that leads to senility and early death—a secret he keeps from Leah and his best friend Moira MacFarlane.

When Moira asks him to monitor her son, Luke—who’s broken a restraining order to stay away from his girl-friend—a simple surveillance explodes into greed, deceit, and murder. Luke goes missing, and Rick’s dogged determination compels him to follow clues that lead to the exploration of high finance and DNA cancer research.

Ultimately, Rick is forced to battle sadistic killers as he tries to find Luke and stay alive long enough to see the birth of his child.

Book Review:

I didn’t realize that this book was part of series, but I really enjoyed reading it. I gave it 4 stars. You can actually read this as a standalone because the author gives you enough back information to not feel lost. This is the eighth book in the Rick Cahill series.

In this book Rick is learning how to be less involved with his private eye gig. He is doing more background checks for private company’s instead of being out in the field. Why has he decided to do this is because he will be a new dad soon and pass injuries has done a lot of damage to his brain.

One day his best friend calls him and ask him to follow her son because he has a restraining order to stay away from his girlfriend and she has seen him break it. He can’t refuse her and really wants to help her out, so he agrees. He has no idea what the restraining is for but agrees anyway.

He follows him and reports back to her on what he has done and yes, her son has broken the order. The son doesn’t bother the girlfriend but goes and see someone else who just lives next door to her. This sets off a string of events.

The son’s boss is found dead the next day and he has taken off to places unknown. The police are looking for him as well as his mom. There are many things that take place and you are taken along for the ride.

Did the son kill his boss? Does he come out of hiding? What truly happens? You will have to read the book to find out.

I would also suggest that you read the series in order so you can get the full story behind Rick.

Life in transition, friend in trouble, danger around every corner
“Last Redemption” is part of the “Rick Cahill” series. This book continues from previous books, and the best experience is for regular readers of the series, but information is included as part of the narrative to help new readers see the entire picture and grasp the implications of past actions and events. Rick Cahill is a complex person with a complicated past that haunts him every day; it is a constant reminder of the ebbing tide of his time on earth. He wants to become a different person, a better person, but he has a lot of baggage; change is hard when people are trying to kill him.

The story is told in Rick’s first-person narrative. He is damaged both mentally and physically by the events of his life. He talks to himself and to readers, sharing everything from his perspective, the joys and pains, the good, bad, and the in-between. Rick is naturally sarcastic, abrasive even, and follows his own instincts, suppositions, and theories. However, when he is working a case he is focused, purposeful, and methodical because even the smallest detail might be valuable later.

The narrative starts sometime after the previous book, and Rick is now doing background checks for corporations, having abandoned the lifestyle that caused so much physical and mental torment. That past comes screaming back when his best friend’s son goes missing; Rick’s loyalty and friendship compel him to find the young man. People hide secrets from the rest of the world, and the pieces of the case are as confusing as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle without a box that shows the picture. The pursuit leads to some complicated connections with DNA cancer testing, the manipulation of a private company’s value, and, oh yes, a murder or two.

Coyle’s attention to details of every sort, in every place, make the story relevant, relatable, and realistic, from the sun burning off the marine layer in San Diego to the Vibram-soled Gall duty boots. I received a review copy of “Last Redemption” from Matt Coyle and Oceanview Publishing. The title “Last Redemption” hints to readers that perhaps Rick may finally find some peace, some acceptance of his situation … or not.

Brief Summary: Private investigator, Rick Cahill is hired by his friend to monitor her son, Luke. Shortly after, Luke goes missing and Rick must follow clues that ultimately lead to a web of greed, deceit, and murder. It seems like Luke is right in the middle of it all. Can Rick untangle the secrets before it’s too late? There are plenty of powerful people wishing to keep their secrets buried.

Thoughts: Though this is book 8 in the Rick Cahill series, it can be read as a standalone novel. All of the information needed is built into the story. The characters are realistic and likable. It does start off a bit slow but once the drama starts to unfold, the pace picks up. There were plenty of twists and suspenseful moments that made this book an engaging read.

Thank you to Matt Coyle, Oceanview Publishing, and NetGalley for a copy of this book. Since I received an advance copy, I imagine that it will still go through another round of edits. I say this because there were numerous typos and at times illogical sequence of events. This in no way impacted my review, but I felt it was worth mentioning.

Fabulous storyline. The ending wraps things up nicely, with one exception that no doubt will play a role in the next installment - to which, needless to say, I'm looking forward. Meantime, thanks once again to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to enjoy a pre-release copy of this one. Great job!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.8 Stars

One-Liner: Steady-paced thriller with corporate and Pharma dealings

Rick Cahill is leading a settled life after pretty much giving up on dangerous detective pursuits. His fiancée, Leah, is pregnant with their child, and Rick is more than delighted by the news. However, his health seems to be a concern, as the headaches suggest a grave brain-related disease. Rick just wants to stay alive long enough to see his child and maybe spend some quality time with the baby.
When Moria, his dear friend, and investigative partner, calls for help, Rick knows he’ll do anything for her. She’s been through thick and thin by his side, and it’s time to help her. Moria’s son Luke seems to have broken a restraining order, and she wants to know what Luke is up to.
Rick finds the request simple enough. However, the surveillance and Luke’s subsequent disappearance, followed by deaths in the past and present complicate the case. Rick is now deep into the dealings of the corporate and Pharma world. With billions of dollars at stake, no life is safe. It’s up to Rick to find the truth and keep Luke alive (if he isn’t already dead). Of course, it feels as if Rick’s time has become rather limited on the earth.
Will Rick manage to expose the dark dealings and stay alive long enough to see his child?
Last Redemption is the eighth book in the series and can be read as a standalone. It starts a little slow but soon picks up the pace and keeps the story going. There’s a mystery, thrill, suspense, intrigue, danger, and action.
Even though this is my first book, I had no trouble understanding the relationship between the characters. There are enough snippets to provide a backstory when necessary. Rick is a rugged PI who goes more by instinct than by the book (PIs can’t solve cases if they go by the book). That puts him in danger more than once, but it goes with the job. He’s extra worried this time because of the ticking clock and a miracle child on the way.
The plot is revealed one step at a time through different characters and developments. I enjoyed how the whole thing was structured to arrive at the final conclusion. The culprit wasn’t hard to guess. In fact, we pretty much know who it is halfway through. The rest of it is to uncover the what, how, when, why and bring everything together.
There were a couple of incidents that made me wonder why Rick didn’t think of those on his own. He is an experienced PI, after all. But I let go because his character was clearly not at his best in this book. He was worried about the brain damage, and that most likely affected his instincts.
There’s an epilogue of sorts, which ties up the loose ends (almost). The book ends in such a way that there may or may not be a continuation. It leaves the reader satisfied and gives the author a chance to decide what to do with the series.
To sum up, Last Redemption is a steady-paced thriller with a capable PI taking control of the case. I’m going to check out the previous books in the series and start from the first.
Thank you, NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.