Customer Reviews

Walking the Perfect Square (Moe Prager Mysteries)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On December 8, 1977 Patrick Maloney, Jr., college student, walked out of a local bar and vanished. As 19977 became 1978 other things in New York City like the arrest of the Son of Sam killer garner media attention. For recently retired Police Officer Moe Prager, the disappearance of Patrick Maloney, Jr. is insignificant and no different than many of the ills that befall the city's population. Not that Patrick isn't important in his own right, but Moe has more on his mind thanks to a ruined knee and is facing limited prospects and a lonely life.

At relative loose ends when his friend and still a cop Rico Tripoli calls, he agrees to meet him for lunch at a local restaurant. Rico wants to talk to him about looking for Patrick. Once there, despite the obvious racism of the missing man's powerful father, Patrick Maloney, he agrees to start working the case in exchange for a favor regarding a much needed liquor license. Moe's brother wants him to go in with him on a wine shop and without any other options Moe has sort of agreed to do so. As he begins working the case, he realizes that he has missed the streets and soon discovers that everyone involved is lying to him. Nothing is the way he thought it was with his enemies or his friends.

Twenty years later the case still haunts him and a call from a Nun in a local hospice brings it all back to life. A man is dying and wishes to unburden himself and will only do so to Me Prager. He may finally get the last piece of the painful puzzle that has haunted him for years and nearly destroyed his family.

This is a very good novel featuring a number of interesting characters. The read is a little disconcerting at times as it moves back and forth between 1977 and 78, and the present (1998). I'm not a fan of flashbacks, extended or otherwise, but in this case it actually enhances the story. By moving back and forth, it creates a different perspective for the reader as the mystery is slowly solved.

At the same time, the author has an incredible sense of detail and an uncanny ability to bring the work alive for the reader. He really got into my head and made me feel like I was there right with him, step for step, as he worked the case. There are not very many authors who can totally pull me into their world like that and he did it easily within the first ten pages or so. His characters were rich and complex with a decidedly noir slant and his sense of pacing and story development was right on.

This was a very good read and according to my local library, the first novel of a new series built around the main character, Moe Prager. Unfortunately my local library does not have his earlier novels, "Little Easter," Life Goes Sleeping," and "They don't Play Stickball In Milwaukee." You can bet I'm going to be looking for them.

Once again, I found myself thoroughly engrossed in an absolute knock out of a thriller involving a search that has profound effects on so many lives and asking "Who is this Reed Farrel Coleman?" The jacket tells me that he has written several other books, but I never heard of the author. If his other works were anywhere near as good as this one, Mr. Coleman should now have become as well known as Ed McBain. I am absolutely certain that after you read this superbly written and marvelously paced book you will agree that his publisher has been derelict in hiding Mr. Coleman's brilliant light. You will then spread the word to everyone that will listen. An absolute must read!!!

The prior reviewers have done a good job. I will just add a very enthusiastic additional vote for buying this book as soon as you can. It is so well constructed compared to most of its competitors.

I was left with a feeling of 'When can I get me hands on the next one?' when I finished this book. I would have read both back to back if I had the second one today.

I read this book based on a recommendation from a bookstore employee who knows I like George Pelecanos' work. And, I guess Coleman's work shares the feature of using a regular physical location - Brooklyn in his books, Washington, D.C. for Pelecanos, and they both write crime novels. But, that's about as close as they get, in my opinion and based on this book. Pelecanos' work is major league level and this is maybe AA level minor leagues. Not bad, but also not really worth the reading time.

I think it's an average book. If you have a hard time finding enough good quality material, you might consider this book. Otherwise, I'd recommend sticking with the stronger writers - Pelecanos, Turow, Lehane, Connelly, etc.

I read the most recent Moe Prager novel first, and went back to this one with eagerness but also some trepidation in case it wasn't as good. But it completely lived up to my expectations. Reed Farrel Coleman is an excellent writer and this series is a must-read for any noir fan.

Moses 'Moe' Prager, the protag. of Reed Farrel Coleman's "Walking the Perfect Square" is a real stand up guy. He measures up with the best characters from the Noir canon.
An ex-cop with one bad leg and too much time on his hands makes the kind of p.i. you can count on. He's seen a lot and can put two and two together. Hey you do the math!
If you miss the "Rockford" or "Columbo" type mysteries, love NY or just want a story that goes down smooth give this one a spin!

If the trend continues, reading a couple more Reed Farrel Coleman books should put him in my upper echelon of favorite noir/crime writers. I enjoyed this book for all the reasons that make it atypical of the genre, mainly in the personality of the main character. Our narrator/protagonist Moe Prager is a good-hearted man, but also with a darker side that we only see sometimes via his actions and some of the choices he makes. That makes him more human and real than many characters that populate the majority of multi-book crime series. Also really enjoyed how NYC becomes a kind of character in the book. That always scores points with me!

If I were to make any complains about this book, I would say some of the interactions with the psychiatrist seemed a bit heavy in exposition, but not so much to distract. And I sometimes got confused in the time period jumping, but I think that is only because I read the bulk of it while either very tired and reading on the plane, or reading in the midst of many other distractions. Nonetheless, I much-enjoyed this book, and can't wait to dig into the next one.

I recently discovered that a classmate of mine from the 9th grade, Reed Coleman, has several books published. Wow! So without hesitation I picked up 'Walking the Perfect Square' to see if Reed has done good. And I am happy to report that he indeed has done good. Very good.

'Walking the Perfect Square' is essentially like so many other crime mystery paperbacks written nowadays. Ex-cop in New York is hired to find a missing person. Various shenanigans ensue, interesting characters pop up, and everything is wrapped up in an ending with just enough twist to keep you smiling. The prose is solid, the characterizations believable, and the dialog crisp. No, the book is not at the level of some of the works by, say, Dennis Lehane. But 'Walking the Perfect Square' is a very solid effort. Reed, you did Reynolds Junior High School proud.


Bottom line: a deceptively effortless mystery novel that delivers entertainment value. Recommended.

I picked this one up because the star of the series is a New York Jew. My kind of guy. I frankly wasn't expecting much, but was very pleasantly surprised. Reed Coleman is a very good writer, much better than most writers of this sort of fiction, and Moe Prager is a captivating and human hero who it is easy to cheer on.

The story is a standard PI haunted by a case he can't forget, but the way it is plotted is well done, the characters expertly drawn, issue of sexuality and mental illness are handled with a care you rarely see in detective fiction and the descriptions of New York are done in the loving and authentic way only a native of the city can accomplish. Prager is drawn as the opposite of the standard hard boiled detective. He is a caring and thoughtful person. He loves his kid, and wants to do right by his family and his client. Notably, his religion plays a much smaller role than I was expecting from the way the series was sold to me by a friend. Sure sometimes the writing was a little over done, and yes some of the jokes are pretty corny, but this is a great read for anyone interested in detective fiction, New York in the Seventies, or just a pretty damn good book.

This is the first book in a (currently?) five book series. The whole series is excellent. This book, as well as having its own crime to solve, provides an introduction to the other four books and to events and characters that are returned to in greater detail in the other books. It's probably best to read this book first. I sought this series after hearing a review of it on the radio (NPR?) this past spring. Having read the whole series from my local library network, I have now bought all five books to give this coming Christmas to someone who enjoys detective stories. I see the name of the author, Reed Farrel Coleman, in acknowledgments of books by other detective fiction writers, and there is an excellent six-part video interview of him at the Poisoned Pen Press website which provides personal background I found relevant to his writing.