Empty Ever After (Moe Prager Series #5)

by Reed Farrel Coleman, Barry Shamus

Overview

There are no second acts for the dead . . . or are there?

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 in order 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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440541001
Publisher:	Gallery Books
Publication date:	12/20/2011
Series:	Moe Prager Series , #5
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
Sales rank:	155,765
File size:	868 KB

About the Author

Reed Farrel Coleman, a former executive vice president of the Mystery Writers of America, was nominated for the Edgar Award for THE JAMES DEANS (Best Paperback Original) and SOUL PATCH (Best Novel). The 3rd, 4th & 5th Moe Prager novels -- THE JAMES DEANS, SOUL PATCH, and EMPTY EVER AFTER -- all won the Shamus Award. Coleman's books have also won the Barry & Anthony Awards. The long-awaited 6th Moe Prager novel, INNOCENT MONSTER, will be published in October 2010 from Tyrus Books. He lives in Long Island with his wife & children.

Editorial 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. The occasionally overly convoluted plot and a heavy reliance on earlier books make this less accessible to newcomers, who may also not be as moved as old-timers by the downbeat ending. While this appears to be the end of the series, fans of well-written PI novels will hope to see more of Prager. (Apr.)

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Publishers Weekly

Private eye Moe Prager knows for a fact that his brother-in-law is dead. So what's this, then, his ghost? After 20 years?Uncle Patrick's grave has been messed with, says Moe Prager's daughter over the phone. Mom's upset, she adds; please call her. Katy and Moe are divorcing, but she remains the love of his life. Before he can act, however, the phone rings again. This time it's Mary White, the bereaved sister of Patrick's lover. Jack's grave, too, has had malicious attention. The next call, though, is the one that shreds fragile Katy's equilibrium and puts her in the hospital. "I miss you, sis," announces a voice that's indisputably Patrick's. Compounding the emotional barrage are inexplicable sightings of Patrick, apparently undimmed by age. A hard-boiled PI, a been-there-seen-that ex-New York cop, a born-again Brooklynite, Moe Prager does not believe in apparitions. What he does believe is that someone has suddenly decided to end a two-decade moratorium on payback. Of course he's right. But who among his crowded enemies list is vengeful enough, and savvy enough, to strike at him where he's most vulnerable-through the people he loves?A slight, implausible mystery is further diminished by unfortunate crossovers into romance. Subpar work by Coleman (Walking the Perfect Square, 2001, etc.).

Kirkus Reviews