When the body of an ex-Harvard rower is found floating in the Charles River, Boston state trooper Sean Delaney is put on the case to determine whether the drowning is purely accidental. Is it really the result of a college prank gone wrong? Or are there other reasons to explain why the son of a preeminent Boston venture capitalist, on the verge of his own brilliant career, would throw himself from the Eliot Bridge? What begins as a routine inquiry suddenly turns into a full-blown murder investigation when the savvy chief coroner, Sue Chasen, determines that the autopsy looks suspicious. The unlikely pair find themselves pulled together, in more ways than one, as they uncover the privileged world of Ivy League rowing, family ties, money, and sex.
Daniel J. Boyne is the author of Kelly: A Father, A Son, An American Quest (Mystic Seaport/Lyons); The Red Rose Crew: A True Story of Women, Winning, and the Water (Hyperion/Lyons); and Essential Sculling (Lyons). In 2008, he was awarded first prize in the category of biography in the Premier Book Awards (Kelly), and The Red Rose Crew earned a starred Kirkus Review and became a Boston Globe bestseller in 2001. His essays have appeared in numerous magazines, including The Atlantic, Harvard Magazine, and Gray's Sporting Journal. He is a frequent contributor to the internationally acclaimed rowing website, row2k.com, by which the first chapters of his new book have already been published.
Praise for Previous Books by Daniel J. Boyne "The Seven Seat is a must-have for your rowing library. Dan Boyne beautifully captures the thrill of being the 'newbie'--new to college (an elite college, no less), new to taking the top bunk in a small dorm room, new to competitive rowing. In this work of 'creative non-fiction, ' Dan describes college rowing, '70s style: leaden boats, wooden oars, cotton t-shirts, and no Concept II ergs. Score one! But that's just the beginning. Read on. You'll be glad you did." --Brad Lewis, Olympic gold medalist in rowing and author of Assault on Lake Cassitas "Beautifully written, Dan Boyne's The Seven Seat illuminates the redemptive power of rowing. A period piece set at Trinity College in the seventies, the themes are as relevant today as ever. I can't help but believe that Dan's storytelling prowess derives from his experience rowing in the seven seat. He translates life's rhythm with technical precision and great timing. Through the lens of collegiate rowing, Dan's newest book is a perfect catch." --Carie Brand Graves, two-time Olympic medalist in rowing "With Dan Boyne's books The Red Rose Crew and Kelly: A Father, A Son, An American Quest, he proved to be an author who knows how to tell good rowing stories. Now, Boyne is back with a new rowing tale, The Seven Seat: A True Story of Rowing, Redemption, and Revenge, a work that he himself calls 'creative non-fiction, ' in which he takes a more active role as both a narrator and a character. Boyne shows in this wonderful 'saga' that he is a master of portraying American rowing history--whether it's about a famous women's crew, an American rowing legend, or rowing at Trinity College, Hartford, in the 1970s." --Goeran R. Buckhorn, editor of Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine and founder and editor of the website "Hear The Boat Sing" "With a droll voice that is as smooth and brisk as a river at dawn, Dan Boyne not only tells the story of a heated rivalry, but also imparts the magic of reinventing oneself through a time-honored sport whose tribal quality is the envy those outside its closed community. It's also an at-times hilarious memoir of college life in the 1970s--Animal House meets the boathouse--in this trim and well-rowed story." --Rick Rinehart, author of Men of Kent: Ten Boys, a Fast Boat, and the Coach Who Made Them Champions
