The James Deans (Moe Prager Mysteries) [Paperback]

Reed Farrel Coleman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Moe Prager Mysteries | Publication Date: January 25, 2005

It’s 1983 and Reaganomics is in full swing. But beneath the facade of junk bonds and easy money, New York remains a gritty metropolis offering Nirvana with one hand and desolation with the other. Moe Prager, ex-NYPD cop turned reluctant P.I. is too busy reeling from a family tragedy to see what’s coming. He’s about to be sucked into a case that might deliver him what he’s always wanted or plunge him into purgatory.

Two years earlier, Moira Heaton, a young intern for an up-and-coming politico, vanished without a trace. Although there is no evidence supporting her boss’s involvement, rumors and whispers have conspired to stall his once-promising career. Now, in a last- ditch effort to clear his name, state senator Steven Brightman, with the clout of a wealthy backer, enlists Moe’s help. With twists and turns galore and Moe’s inimitable voice, The James Deans is an absorbing page- turner that will add to the burgeoning reputation of one of today’s most promising writers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Coleman draws inspiration from the real-life Gary Condit/Chandra Levy case for his appealing third hard-boiled mystery set in the early 1980s (after 2004's Redemption Street). New York PI Moe Prager and his wife, still traumatized by a recent miscarriage, are surprised to be guests at a high society wedding. The affair proves to be a pretext for a mover and shaker to recruit Prager to the cause of a charismatic state senator, Steven Brightman, whose political rise was stalled by the disappearance of an attractive young intern more than a year earlier. Despite the cold trail, thoroughly explored by both the police and Brightman's hired sleuths, Prager finds new clues that lead him to a surprise solution. Given this revelation relatively early on, few readers will be startled that a different truth emerges before the refreshingly ambiguous conclusion, with justice at best partially served. Not everyone will go for the heavy-handed humor (a long-winded "southern politico" named Clinton "had better stay in Arkansas, because he has about as much chance for national office as the Mets have of winning a second World Series"), but all will cheer the likable, virtuous Prager.
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Review

Moe Prager is my kind of private eye. (Michael Connelly, bestselling author of The Narrows) Moe Prager is a thinking man’s P.I. (S.J. Rozan, Edgar-award winning author of Winter and Night) Moe Prager is a far from perfect hero, but an utterly appealing one. Let’s hope...for many, many more cases. (Laura Lippman, Edgar-award winning author of The Sugar House) Reed Farrel Coleman goes right to the darkest corners of the human heart—to the obsessions, the tragedies, the buried secrets from the past. (Steve Hamilton, Edgar-award winning author of Blood Is the Sky)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Plume; First Printing edition (January 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452286506
• ISBN-13: 978-0452286504
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #625,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Called a hard-boiled poet by NPR's Maureen Corrigan, Reed Farrel Coleman is the former executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America. He has published twelve novels in three series, and one stand-alone with award-winning Irish author Ken Bruen. His books have been translated into seven languages, and the Moe Prager character in his current series is one of the most engaging in crime fiction. "His bone-deep world weariness and mordant sense of humor should enthrall lovers of old-school, tough-talking, loner private eyes," says Booklist.

Reed is a three-time winner of the Shamus Award for Best Detective Novel of the Year. He has also received the Barry and Anthony Awards, and has been twice nominated for the Edgar® Award. He was the editor of the anthology Hard Boiled Brooklyn, and his short fiction and essays have appeared in Wall Street Noir, The Darker Mask, These Guns For Hire, Brooklyn Noir 3, Damn Near Dead, and other publications.

Reed is an adjunct professor at Hofstra University, teaching writing classes in mystery fiction and the novel.

His standalone novel, GUN CHURCH, is exclusive to Audible.com, and his seventh Moe Prager novel (HURT MACHINE) has been winning accolades from the likes of Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh and wonderful detective novel, March 11, 2005

By 

David Montgomery "Book Critic" (davidjmontgomery.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The James Deans (Moe Prager Mysteries) (Paperback)

Reed Coleman is one of the hidden gems of the mystery genre, a skilled writer who has somehow flown under the radar, despite getting some of the best buzz among fellow writers.

His series detective, Moe Prager, is a great character, a refreshing change from the typical PI cliché. He's a good man, a devoted father and husband, a successful businessman. Like the rest of us, he's got his share of pain, but he's not a dark, haunted soul. Even though he runs a wine shop, he only occasionally drinks.

Coleman's writing is sparse and direct, with great characters and excellent use of setting. There are moments in the book that are very funny, elements of fine suspense, and turns that are touching and even sad.

Don't miss this wonderful book from a writer who deserves much more attention than he's getting.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thriller Out of the Headlines, April 7, 2005

By 

Cynthia P. Chow "Hawaiian Librarian" (Kaneohe, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The James Deans (Moe Prager Mysteries) (Paperback)

When he is cornered at an employee's wedding in 1983 New York, the last thing wine shop owner and private investigator Moe Prager is to work for a politician. A former cop who was forced on disability by a piece of carbon paper on a waxed floor, Moe has had enough of being manipulated and holds a secret that could destroy his marriage. However, a carrot and stick approach by the bride's father forces Moe into working for State Senator Steven Brightman and investigating the disappearance of his female intern in Reed Farrel Coleman's The James Deans (Plume)..

Moe soon makes headway into the case, but after coming to a conclusion that leaves everyone satisfied niggling doubts begin to force Moe into looking a little closer at a case that has been tidily resolved. Now, Moe must decide whether to open a can of worms that would leave the powerful and his own friends particularly unhappy with his actions. From the Senator down to the neighborhood bar owner, all are invested in the nicely wrapped package Moe has presented to the city. To continue investigating means that Moe risks sacrificing his career, his family, and his friends.

Moe Prager is a wonderfully down-to-earth detective who, although bored with his mundane life, would rather avoid a fight than wield his muscle. His love for his family makes him engagingly human, especially when he knows that a secret he shares with his father-in-law will one day explode and shatter his marriage (Walking the Perfect Square, 2001). Not overly bright but always quick with a quip yet never annoyingly so, it's his ethics and sense of honor that make Moe shine. Taking a turn at writing his version of the Chandra Levy/Gary Condit scandal, Coleman does an original twist with the plot as halfway through, just when you think the mystery has been solved, he boomerangs the story and leads Moe into making a decision that forces him to look deep into his soul and his sense of justice. While Coleman does make a few obvious references meant to give a wink and a nod to the present (a poetic look at the sturdy World Trade Center and jokes about a going-nowhere Arkansas Senator), he writes a riveting plot and creates a vivid portrait of eighties New York City. Always entertaining with a character who is never disappoints, Coleman continues a series that improves and expands on a truly unique character.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable, March 26, 2005

By 

A. White "adynomoose" (New Orleans, La United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The James Deans (Moe Prager Mysteries) (Paperback)

A pretty decent, fairly engaging mystery. The characters are pretty well fleshed out and the relationships, for the most part, are very believable and sympathetic.
The plot is a good mix of an old-fashioned Hammettesque detective story and modern day mystery.
My main problem is the observations, obviously from a post 9/11 perspective, of 1980's New York. I mean, come on, why would a 1983 detective be looking for the twin towers, thinking that "the skyline wouldn't look right without them?"
Over all, I enjoyed the characters enough to try another Moe Prager mystery. It's a decent, light read for a Saturday afternoon.