Redemption Street: A Moe Prager Mystery

Rating:
Summary: Very Slow Sequel: Redemption Street
Review: As this sequel to "Walking The Perfect Square" where Moses "Moe" Prager was first introduced opens, it has been three years since the events depicted in that book. Moe is married and has a baby girl as well as a ton of guilt over not telling his wife everything about her father and the truth about her brother's disappearance. His knee still aches and while he may be the only Jewish licensed P.I. in New York City, he hasn't used his license once since that case. Instead, the wine shop in which he is a partner with his brother has opened and he spends his days advising customers and trying to reconcile his past.

That is until, by all appearances, a homeless man appears in the shop. He carries with him some of Moe Prager's press clippings as a result of a missing child case covered in the first book as well as the missing person case of three years ago. Moe repeatedly tells the man that he can't help him and the man begs for help anyway. The man explains he is Arthur Rosen, and he wants help for his sister, Karen Rosen, who Moe allegedly went to school with years ago.

The name doesn't ring any bells and still doesn't when R. B. Carter shows up in his limo and tries to convince Moe to stay uninvolved. She, along with many others, allegedly died in a famous fire at a resort up in the Catskills years ago and R. B. Carter doesn't want the case looked into by Moe for any reason. He paints a picture of Arthur being insane with grief and delusional and then gets out his checkbook and tries to buy Moe off. Insulted and bored with his working life, Moe begins to dig into the case. Before long, he is further motivated to keep digging by guilt over the sudden suicide of her brother as well as the fact that he finally remembers how he loved her from afar those years ago. Getting free from his wine shop obligations as Christmas approaches in 1981, he makes a pilgrimage deep into the Catskill Mountains to see for himself where she died. Once there, guilt won't let him leave and he begin to realize the sheer depravity of some outcasts from society. As Moe works the case and realizes who the killer was, he finds new evidence that makes him wonder if Karen Rosen is really dead or just living a lie as he is?

As in the first book, the theme of guilt and religious atonement waves heavily on the work. But unlike the first book, in this case, the read is almost crushed from it. Both themes are dealt with all the subtly of a sledgehammer and as such comes across as extremely heavy handed. This is a very slow moving book and much of it has a feel of cathartic release of some type.

At the same time, the author continues to develop the Moe Prager character and the actual case and its ramifications are well worth the read and interesting. While the probable killer is obvious fairly early on, not everything is apparent and there are several twists and turns and turns to keep the reader involved in this slow moving book. Those who are interested could read this book as a stand alone, as virtually everything that happened in the first book is covered heavily in this book as well.


Book Facts:

Redemption Street (A Moe Prager Mystery)
By Reed Farrel Coleman
Viking
2004
ISBN # 0-670-03291-3
Hardback


Rating:
Summary: The book has me still reading
Review: I tell you this. I mostly read books written by authors that have been dead for the last 40 years, and avoid newer mysteries and hardboiled crime/crime suspense like a gun moll avoids a flatfoot, except for this book. Reed Coleman's style of writing is so natural and casual, that you enjoy his characters, as well as you enjoy getting to know Reed through Moe, the main character of Redemption Street. A must have. I can't wait to get the the end. Ya got the goods Reed!

Rating:
Summary: A gritty mystery
Review: Moe Prager, former cop, current wine merchant and a guy with a P.I. license is approached by an apparent looney tune who wants Moe to investigate a decades old fire in New York's "borscht belt" that killed several people.

Inclined to dismiss the man at first, Moe is pushed by his memory of one of the victims: a girl he had a crush on in high school.

Moe is pulled deeper into things and then deeper and deeper.

The characters are rich: a callous Manhattan real estate developer; a former comedian who missed his big-chance and runs a decaying hotel. A neo-Nazi and his hangers-on.

Moe runs the gauntlet, always pining for his wife and child, always nudged by his brother and fellow wine-merchant. But once Moe gets involved, he doesn't let go - and the reward is an exceptionally fine read.(...)

Jerry

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent crime fiction with heart
Review: The sequel to the fantastic Walking Perfect Square is a great read. Without giving away the tight plot it is enough to say that Coleman's intelligent references to pop culture as well as classical literature give a depth to the character of Moe Prager rarely seen in books today. The steady build of tempo and logical, realistic moves by Prager make it difficult to put down.

Reed Coleman is a writer to watch!

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent crime fiction with heart
Review: The sequel to the fantastic Walking Perfect Square is a great read. Without giving away the tight plot it is enough to say that Coleman's intelligent references to pop culture as well as classical literature give a depth to the character of Moe Prager rarely seen in books today. The steady build of tempo and logical, realistic moves by Prager make it difficult to put down.

Reed Coleman is a writer to watch!