EMPTY EVER AFTER
5th Moe Prager Book (2008)
Winner of the 2009 Shamus Award - Best Hardcover
For over twenty years, retired NYPD officer and PI Moe Prager has been haunted by the secret that would eventually destroy his family. Now, two years after the fallout from the truth, more than secrets are haunting the Prager family. Moe Prager follows a trail of graverobbers from cemetery to cemetery, from ashes to ashes and back again to finally solve the enigma of his dead brother-in-law Patrick. He plunges deeper into the dark recesses of his past than ever before, revisiting all of his old cases, in order to uncover the twisted alchemy of vengeance and resurrection. Will Moe, at last, put his past to rest? Will he find the man who belongs in that vacant grave or will it remain empty, empty ever after?
REVIEWS
In the dark, compelling fifth Moe Prager mystery from Anthony-winner Coleman (after 2007's Soul Patch), the PI and former New York City cop pays a heavy price for a choice he made in the late 1970s after locating the missing Patrick Maloney. Prager had decided to preserve both the secret of Patrick's whereabouts and sexual orientation from Patrick's sister, Katy. When Prager marries Katy years later, the shadow of his deception weighs heavily over him, and Katy's eventual discovery of the truth—after Patrick's death—costs him her love. The divorced pair reunite after an unknown enemy launches a complicated campaign of terror against them, aided by a seemingly resurrected Patrick. While this appears to be the end of the series, fans of well-written PI novels will hope to see more of Prager. - Publishers Weekly
Mr. Coleman has written a book that is much more than a suspenseful novel – it is a beautifully written work imparting some universal truths. About truth itself, the author says “….the truth doesn’t conform to the rules of Sunday school or sermons, to clichés or adages. The truth doesn’t always come out in the wash or in the end and it’s frequently not for the best. The truth often makes things worse, much worse. The truth can be as much poison as elixir, cancer as cure.” It’s often moving, and struck a resounding chord in me, and I related to it as much as I did not partially because I, as Moe, grew up as a Jew living in Brooklyn, with the Belt Parkway part of the backdrop of my life, and Shea Stadium such a big part in that life, but also because of the very human and well-drawn characterizations. Highly recommended. - Gloria Feit
INTERVIEWS/EXCERPT
"A Wise Guy Mystery Writer Makes Good," Maureen Corrigan
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WHERE TO BUY
Available at Murder by the Book, bookstores, Busted Flush Press, Indie Bound, Amazon, Barnes and Noble (large print), Borders, and wherever fine books are sold.
Also available in recorded format at Audible.com.