Moe Prager is not of the Humphrey Bogart school of private eyes. He's an ex-Long Island cop who's in his thirties but out of the force due to an injury. He's a decent guy -- a family man, a man of principles. He's tough but he's smart too, and he likes justice -- though he wonders if justice is ever really possible. Moe is a great character and, as with the best noir, his first person narrative voice is sublime.
"Now I had all the perspective I could stand."
The writing is wonderful, with amazing metaphors and sharp dialogue in service to the tale of a Senator trying to clear up suspicions he had something to do with an intern's death, and when the case is solved halfway through the book, you know there are a few twists ahead.
I've been reading a lot of Scandinavian fiction lately, and one of the things I like is the detectives -- different from our own U.S. hard-boiled loners, these characters are often quiet and private but still out in the world, with relationships, and they often have a sense of humor. So it's great to find an American author who can capture that more interesting, multi-faceted personality as well. All due respect to Hammett and Chandler, I love the genre but want a more human protagonist. Moe Prager is a Middle-aged Jewish man with a wife and child. He's in business with his brother, and he acts reluctantly as a private eye. He's exactly the guy you'd want to help you out if your life was spiraling out of control. Unless you're the bad guy.
This is the third book in the series. If you can, try to read them in order, because the arc of Moe's life story is a major element in these tales. To date they are: Walking the Perfect Square, Redemption Street, The James Deans, Soul Patch, Empty Ever After, Innocent Monster, Hurt Machine, Onion Street.
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