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Moe Prager #7
Hurt Machine
"The biggest mysteries in our genre are why Reed Coleman isn't already huge, and why Moe Prager isn't already an icon."—Lee Child
At a pre-wedding party for his daughter Sarah, Moe Prager is approached by his ex-wife and former PI partner Carmella Melendez. It seems Carmella's estranged sister Alta has been murdered, but no one in New York City seems to care. Why? Alta, a FDNY EMT, and her partner had months earlier refused to give assistance to a dying man at a fancy downtown eatery. Moe decides to help Carmella as a means to distract himself from his own life and death struggle. Making headway on the case is no mean feat as no one, including Alta's partner Maya Watson, wants to cooperate. Moe chips away until he discovers a cancer roiling just below the surface, a cancer whose symptoms include bureaucratic greed, sexual harassment, and blackmail. But is any of it connected to Alta's brutal murder?
Reed Farrel Coleman has won or been nominated for nearly every major award in crime fiction. His Moe Prager series was selected by NPR's Maureen Corrigan for inclusion in her Best Of list.
At a pre-wedding party for his daughter Sarah, Moe Prager is approached by his ex-wife and former PI partner Carmella Melendez. It seems Carmella's estranged sister Alta has been murdered, but no one in New York City seems to care. Why? Alta, a FDNY EMT, and her partner had months earlier refused to give assistance to a dying man at a fancy downtown eatery. Moe decides to help Carmella as a means to distract himself from his own life and death struggle. Making headway on the case is no mean feat as no one, including Alta's partner Maya Watson, wants to cooperate. Moe chips away until he discovers a cancer roiling just below the surface, a cancer whose symptoms include bureaucratic greed, sexual harassment, and blackmail. But is any of it connected to Alta's brutal murder?
Reed Farrel Coleman has won or been nominated for nearly every major award in crime fiction. His Moe Prager series was selected by NPR's Maureen Corrigan for inclusion in her Best Of list.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published October 11, 2011
97 people are currently reading
557 people want to read
About the author
Reed Farrel Coleman
168 books736 followersaka Tony Spinosa
Reed Farrel Coleman’s love of storytelling originated on the streets of Brooklyn and was nurtured by his teachers, friends, and family.
A New York Times bestseller called a hard-boiled poet by NPR’s Maureen Corrigan and the “noir poet laureate” in the Huffington Post, Reed is the author of novels, including Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series, the acclaimed Moe Prager series, short stories, and poetry.
Reed is a three-time Edgar Award nominee in three different categories—Best Novel, Best Paperback Original, Best Short Story—and a three-time recipient of the Shamus Award for Best PI Novel of the Year. He has also won the Audie, Macavity, Barry, and Anthony Awards.
A former executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America, Reed is an adjunct instructor of English at Hofstra University and a founding member of MWA University. Brooklyn born and raised, he now lives with his family–including cats Cleo and Knish–in Suffolk County on Long Island.
Reed Farrel Coleman’s love of storytelling originated on the streets of Brooklyn and was nurtured by his teachers, friends, and family.
A New York Times bestseller called a hard-boiled poet by NPR’s Maureen Corrigan and the “noir poet laureate” in the Huffington Post, Reed is the author of novels, including Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series, the acclaimed Moe Prager series, short stories, and poetry.
Reed is a three-time Edgar Award nominee in three different categories—Best Novel, Best Paperback Original, Best Short Story—and a three-time recipient of the Shamus Award for Best PI Novel of the Year. He has also won the Audie, Macavity, Barry, and Anthony Awards.
A former executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America, Reed is an adjunct instructor of English at Hofstra University and a founding member of MWA University. Brooklyn born and raised, he now lives with his family–including cats Cleo and Knish–in Suffolk County on Long Island.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
December 27, 2011
P.I. Moe Prager is now in his 60s. He has gastric cancer--"God's hurt machine"--when he's approached by his ex to investigate her sister's mysterious death. The case soon plays in the background while Moe deals with his sickness, treatments, and mortality. His hardboiled fatalism and world-weary attitudes seem to become a facade as his will and even zest to live give him a youthful feistiness. The sections of the book where he mulls over his life and situation are the real gems for me. Novelists are lectured not to write unhappy books about cancer, but this title defies that conventional wisdom. One can only hope that Moe gets through his cancer chemo, and he grows stronger to carry on this fine detective series.
January 7, 2012
So, my new favorite crime writer is Reed Farrel Coleman. Hurt Machine is on my Best Of 2011 book list on Goodreads. Add it to your TBR now.
This is my first Coleman novel, and thus my first in the Moe Prager series (did you notice that this is book #7?). For this one, you don’t need to have read the others to understand this book. It’s awesome the way that you immediately understand Moe and feel for him and with him.
Coleman writes with such depth and maturity, that I got emotional reading Hurt Machine. And I’m not talking about weepy feminine emotional. This is the dude’s kind of emotional, where you’re all like, “Dude, that sucks.” Here are two examples from the ARC that really jumped at me:
And the whole book is written like that. Prose that tears you to the core, rips your being into pieces, then puts all the parts back. There is a real sense of going through this with Moe, kind of like the feeling of a memoir. I just hurt for him, felt the wake of his hurt machine. Especially in the epilogue, Coleman’s writing so heartfelt, honest. So, human. The book is dark (Moe has been diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his abdomen) and there is a lot of introspection, but in a good way, it never feels too weighty or overly self-serving.
By this point in a review I have usually dealt with the characters, who I liked and didn’t like. Um, ok, so I have only one of the many that I don’t like. I really don’t so much dislike Carm as much as I hate her. Want to talk about self-serving, she’s completely selfish and inconsiderate. Take note from the description when she approaches Moe. Yeah, that’s par for the course with her.
Moe is my new hero—in that fictional-character kinda way (my dad is actually my hero). I know he’s completely fictional, but he went through a lot and then at the end, fumbled his way into solving the case! Way to go, Moe!
Do yourself a favor and read this book…NOW!
5 Trees: Hurt Machine is actually an awesome machine!
Get to reading,
Richard
*This book was provided to me by the publicist through netGalley*
This is my first Coleman novel, and thus my first in the Moe Prager series (did you notice that this is book #7?). For this one, you don’t need to have read the others to understand this book. It’s awesome the way that you immediately understand Moe and feel for him and with him.
Coleman writes with such depth and maturity, that I got emotional reading Hurt Machine. And I’m not talking about weepy feminine emotional. This is the dude’s kind of emotional, where you’re all like, “Dude, that sucks.” Here are two examples from the ARC that really jumped at me:
Death and hurt were pretty present on my mind. I wondered when the former would come and if the latter would ever really disappear. I wasn’t so much concerned with my hurt. I’d been long-hardened to the slings and arrows. No, I was more focused on the hurt I would leave in my wake, the damage I’d done and left unaddressed or unrepaired. Humans are like hurt machines. No matter how hard we try not to do it, we seem to inflict hurt on one another as naturally as we breathe. (From Chapter One)
Only in retrospect is life a simple series of easily connected dots. Humans yearn for simple answers to complex questions, but it just ain’t the way things work. Nothing involving human beings is simple. Nothing! (From page 74)
And the whole book is written like that. Prose that tears you to the core, rips your being into pieces, then puts all the parts back. There is a real sense of going through this with Moe, kind of like the feeling of a memoir. I just hurt for him, felt the wake of his hurt machine. Especially in the epilogue, Coleman’s writing so heartfelt, honest. So, human. The book is dark (Moe has been diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his abdomen) and there is a lot of introspection, but in a good way, it never feels too weighty or overly self-serving.
By this point in a review I have usually dealt with the characters, who I liked and didn’t like. Um, ok, so I have only one of the many that I don’t like. I really don’t so much dislike Carm as much as I hate her. Want to talk about self-serving, she’s completely selfish and inconsiderate. Take note from the description when she approaches Moe. Yeah, that’s par for the course with her.
Moe is my new hero—in that fictional-character kinda way (my dad is actually my hero). I know he’s completely fictional, but he went through a lot and then at the end, fumbled his way into solving the case! Way to go, Moe!
Do yourself a favor and read this book…NOW!
5 Trees: Hurt Machine is actually an awesome machine!
Get to reading,
Richard
*This book was provided to me by the publicist through netGalley*
February 20, 2025
This series gets better as it goes along. An excellent mystery that manages to also be a deep reflection on shared pasts and mortality. Really well done.
January 18, 2012
When Carmella Melendez, Moe Prager’s ex-wife and former PI partner, shows up at Moe’s daughter Sarah’s pre-wedding party he finds himself reliving the past while trying to keep the future at bay. Carmella needs a favor from Moe. Her sister has been murdered but the police don’t seem concerned about finding her killer. Unable to resist Carmella’s plea, Moe decides to try to find out who killed Alta. This decision does not sit well with Pam, a PI from Vermont and a woman that currently holds a special place in Moe’s life.
Carmella took her son Israel, a child close to Moe’s heart, and went to Canada to live leaving Moe behind. She had also cut her family out of her life with the exception of her grandmother so it was a puzzle to Moe why she was so concerned with her older sister’s murder. Alta and her partner Mayna Watson were EMTs who had refused to give assistance to a dying man at a downtown restaurant. The man’s family were furious and the public had no sympathy for Alta or her partner as evidenced by the ton of hate mail Mayna turned over to Moe to help his investigation.
Moe moves forward in his investigation taking him to places that have held a lot of meaning to him in the past. Moe also renews old acquaintances while making his inquiries. However, his thoughts are always touching on his own future or even if he will have a future. Moe has recently discovered that he is suffering from stomach cancer. This is a fact that he hasn’t shared with his family so he is carrying the burden alone. Carmella has left town and gone back to Canada without saying good-bye. Mayna, Alta’s partner, is uncooperative and only wants to be left alone. It seems no one really cares what actually happened but Moe is determined to find the answer.
It is as if finding Alta’s killer is keeping the cancer at bay in Moe’s mind although his body continually reminds him that the cancer is there and demanding more of his strength daily. He finds all the answers he is seeking and learns why Alta was murdered.
I am hoping that the fact that Moe has cancer is not an indication that the series will be ending. The author’s website states that The Hurt Machine is “reportedly the next-to-last Moe Prager book.” If this statement is true, it is a disappointment to me but it looks as though I will have one more book to read in the series.
Carmella took her son Israel, a child close to Moe’s heart, and went to Canada to live leaving Moe behind. She had also cut her family out of her life with the exception of her grandmother so it was a puzzle to Moe why she was so concerned with her older sister’s murder. Alta and her partner Mayna Watson were EMTs who had refused to give assistance to a dying man at a downtown restaurant. The man’s family were furious and the public had no sympathy for Alta or her partner as evidenced by the ton of hate mail Mayna turned over to Moe to help his investigation.
Moe moves forward in his investigation taking him to places that have held a lot of meaning to him in the past. Moe also renews old acquaintances while making his inquiries. However, his thoughts are always touching on his own future or even if he will have a future. Moe has recently discovered that he is suffering from stomach cancer. This is a fact that he hasn’t shared with his family so he is carrying the burden alone. Carmella has left town and gone back to Canada without saying good-bye. Mayna, Alta’s partner, is uncooperative and only wants to be left alone. It seems no one really cares what actually happened but Moe is determined to find the answer.
It is as if finding Alta’s killer is keeping the cancer at bay in Moe’s mind although his body continually reminds him that the cancer is there and demanding more of his strength daily. He finds all the answers he is seeking and learns why Alta was murdered.
I am hoping that the fact that Moe has cancer is not an indication that the series will be ending. The author’s website states that The Hurt Machine is “reportedly the next-to-last Moe Prager book.” If this statement is true, it is a disappointment to me but it looks as though I will have one more book to read in the series.
December 24, 2011
I'm in the "why doesn't Reed Farrell Coleman get more recognition?" camp.
The Moe Prager series continues to be highly readable yet complex mysteries with the former cop/PI fighting for (his definition of) justice.
Moe has the weight of the world on his shoulders...in this one more than usual. His ex-wife/ex-partner asks him to look into her sister's murder. Old friends are called on; new friends are made as he digs in even after she changes her mind. The conclusion comes after several twists.
Touches on timely issues such as discrimination, New York post-9/11, NYPD and FDNY culture/politics and sometimes has a philosophical bent.
This series always uses New York location to full advantage.
(Start with Walking The Perfect Square, 2002, to get full enjoyment.)
The Moe Prager series continues to be highly readable yet complex mysteries with the former cop/PI fighting for (his definition of) justice.
Moe has the weight of the world on his shoulders...in this one more than usual. His ex-wife/ex-partner asks him to look into her sister's murder. Old friends are called on; new friends are made as he digs in even after she changes her mind. The conclusion comes after several twists.
Touches on timely issues such as discrimination, New York post-9/11, NYPD and FDNY culture/politics and sometimes has a philosophical bent.
This series always uses New York location to full advantage.
(Start with Walking The Perfect Square, 2002, to get full enjoyment.)
August 27, 2012
Moses Praeger may be dying. He has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. His daughter, Sarah, is getting married and he doesn't want her to know until after the wedding. When his ex-wife, Carmella, approaches him about finding out who killed her sister, Alma, Moe jumps at the chance to take his mind off his troubles. Nothing is as it appears when Moe begins investigating. Why did Alma and her partner, both EMTs for the FDNY walk away from a man who had a stroke and leave him to die? Why was no one suing the City over their dereliction of duty? Moe has spent his career as a P.I. being lucky, but his luck appears to have run out. Another great entry in the Moe Praeger series that will leave the reader wanting more.
January 17, 2012
I picked up this book because it was free and because I had seen Mr. Coleman on a panel this year and really enjoyed listening to him speak.
Moe Prager is a guy I have absolutely nothing in common with. He's old, of Jewish ancestry, an atheist, a former cop and PI. I'm not particularly fond of his philosophy or impressed with his methods. He likes the big city, I prefer open spaces.
So why was I hooked by this book?
The writing is incredibly engaging. Prager jumps off the page and drags you into the mystery he's working to solve. I had no idea this was the 7th book in the Prager series until I saw a review here. The book flows like a standalone and the mystery keeps you guessing until the very end.
Highly recommended.
Moe Prager is a guy I have absolutely nothing in common with. He's old, of Jewish ancestry, an atheist, a former cop and PI. I'm not particularly fond of his philosophy or impressed with his methods. He likes the big city, I prefer open spaces.
So why was I hooked by this book?
The writing is incredibly engaging. Prager jumps off the page and drags you into the mystery he's working to solve. I had no idea this was the 7th book in the Prager series until I saw a review here. The book flows like a standalone and the mystery keeps you guessing until the very end.
Highly recommended.
February 11, 2015
This is the seventh Moe Prager novel from (in the UK at least) this largely unknown writer. It'a a fantastic series, very reminiscent of Lawrence Block's Scudder books. Hurt Machine is a book I could and should read again; I can't help feeling that although I captured the flow of the story I left (skipped over) some of the brilliant prose as I was too intent on finding out what happened next. Very classy stuff.
August 5, 2016
Somewhat slow-moving and predictable at times but a perfectly adequate crime novel. Wouldn't necessarily recommend it or rush out to read another novel by Reed Farrel Coleman, but as it's a free Kindle download, I can't really grumble!
March 12, 2012
good mystery plotline, but too much angsty end-of-life rueing and regretting
October 24, 2018
At a pre-wedding party for his daughter Sarah, Moe Prager is approached by his ex-wife and former PI partner Carmella Melendez. It seems Carmella's estranged sister Alta has been murdered, but no one in New York City seems to care. Why? Alta, a FDNY EMT, and her partner had months earlier refused to give assistance to a dying man at a fancy downtown eatery. Moe decides to help Carmella as a means to distract himself from his own life and death struggle. Making headway on the case is no mean feat as no one, including Alta's partner Maya Watson, wants to cooperate. Moe chips away until he discovers a cancer roiling just below the surface, a cancer whose symptoms include bureaucratic greed, sexual harassment, and blackmail. But is any of it connected to Alta's brutal murder?
I cannot understand why this author is not more famous and his character an icon!!!!
I cannot understand why this author is not more famous and his character an icon!!!!
November 6, 2018
"Grandpa. I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever hear that name spoken in love" (56).
"About halfway through, it occurred to me that people with hearts so full of hate much have no room in their brains for spelling or syntax. The drab sameness of the vulgarity and racism was mind-numbing" (57).
"She smelled like an ashtray rinsed out in vanilla bathroom spray" (124).
"About halfway through, it occurred to me that people with hearts so full of hate much have no room in their brains for spelling or syntax. The drab sameness of the vulgarity and racism was mind-numbing" (57).
"She smelled like an ashtray rinsed out in vanilla bathroom spray" (124).
August 29, 2020
I could like this detective, might read more. Interesting plot. When I thought I had it figured out, there was more to it. Also, in this episode, Moe is facing some tough personal issues, so that added value to the public side for me.
I don't mind some vulgarity for shock value, but honestly, not five f-bombs on every page. Real people don't normally speak that way. No, really, they don't.
I don't mind some vulgarity for shock value, but honestly, not five f-bombs on every page. Real people don't normally speak that way. No, really, they don't.
January 8, 2023
Moe Prager investigates the death of the much hated sister of his ex-wife, Carmella. But this Prager is a 60 year old man who has just been told he has stomach cancer. Treatment will begin shortly after his daughter's wedding. This physically diminished Prager, struggling with thoughts of his mortality, is a jolting ingredient in the context of a strong detective procedural.
April 24, 2018
Starting with the first book in the Moe Prager series, and running through to this one. The series is smart, emotional, and written with incredible depth and maturity. Highly recommend the author and this series. I have read all seven of the books.
April 10, 2025
Fantastic. I typically prefer to read series in order but this is my first book. Apparently the next one jumps back to the 60s anyway. I always wonder how writers map out detective stories like this, really good work. 4 1/2
May 10, 2018
One if the best writers anywhere!!
September 29, 2019
Poor Moe. But I sort of solved the case before Moe.
January 23, 2021
Mr. Coleman writes very well, but, man, his books are depressing
June 5, 2022
Another good Moe Prager mystery. Love the protagonist and the setting.
September 19, 2025
Not quite as intelligent as his other books, but still a good whodunit.
June 23, 2018
A very fast paced and well written book. Moe Prager is a 60 something old PI, who has just received some bad news from his oncologist. His daughter’s wedding is in a few weeks and an old flame turns up with a request that he finds difficult to turn down - to find out who murdered her sister. The twists in the story were mostly good, except the big reveal, which I guessed at the beginning itself.
November 3, 2012
“Humans are like hurt machines. No matter how hard we try not to do it, we seem to inflict hurt on one another as naturally as we breathe.”
Moe Prager, newly diagnosed with stomach cancer, is a hurt machine. Yet, he is at a happy time in his life. His only child, Sarah, the daughter of his dead wife, Katy, is getting married. It is at the rehearsal, two weeks before the wedding when he is approached by his ex PI partner and second wife, Carmella Melendez who asks him to take on a new and controversial case. Carmella’s sister, Alta has recently been murdered and the police are not making head way. And, probably for a good reason. Alta and her FDNY EMT partner were involved in a very unpopular case where they stood by and refused to treat a heart attack victim. They have been crucified in the press, ostracized by their department, and left to fend for themselves against death threats from the public.
Hurt machines one and all. Moe wants nothing else than to come to grips with his mortality, and to see Sarah married. But their history runs too deep for Moe to turn her down and he might have the chance to see Carmella’s son, who Moe had thought of as his own son when they were married. Moe takes the case.
Travelling the length and breadth of Brooklyn and New York City, he meets FDNY firemen, New Yorks Bravest, but they are closed lipped and nearly cheer at Alta’s death, he meets bureaucrats and bureaucratic greed, gangsters and petty criminals who have their own crimes to hide and bartenders and blackmailers. But none of this seems to lead anywhere close to a murderer until he breaks the case down to its component parts and decides to solve each piece separately. What he comes to realize is that everyone had secrets, everyone is a hurt machine or has been run over by one.
Coleman crafts a complicated plot that is painted with a marvelous character, that being the city itself. If there ever was a character in fiction that could be a city, that city is New York. New York is a microcosm of every ethnic, religious, and tradition, every kind of restaurant and restaurants that could only exist in New York. Every saint and every sinner, every priest and every penitent . Prager takes us along to the eateries great and small, to the Irish pubs and The ‘Red Sauce’ restaurants in his quest to solve Alta’s murder.
The supporting characters are real people as you’d expect from the man NPR called a hard boiled poet. The plot is clever, twisty and comes full circle. As we accompany Moe on what could be his last case we get to see not only how the hurt machine takes its victims, but how we all drive the machine, willingly or not. Or as Moe puts it, “It is one thing to say oy vey – oh, woe – and another to say oy vey iz mir – woe is me.”
The Dirty Lowdown
Copyright © 2012 Robert Carraher All Rights Reserved
Moe Prager, newly diagnosed with stomach cancer, is a hurt machine. Yet, he is at a happy time in his life. His only child, Sarah, the daughter of his dead wife, Katy, is getting married. It is at the rehearsal, two weeks before the wedding when he is approached by his ex PI partner and second wife, Carmella Melendez who asks him to take on a new and controversial case. Carmella’s sister, Alta has recently been murdered and the police are not making head way. And, probably for a good reason. Alta and her FDNY EMT partner were involved in a very unpopular case where they stood by and refused to treat a heart attack victim. They have been crucified in the press, ostracized by their department, and left to fend for themselves against death threats from the public.
Hurt machines one and all. Moe wants nothing else than to come to grips with his mortality, and to see Sarah married. But their history runs too deep for Moe to turn her down and he might have the chance to see Carmella’s son, who Moe had thought of as his own son when they were married. Moe takes the case.
Travelling the length and breadth of Brooklyn and New York City, he meets FDNY firemen, New Yorks Bravest, but they are closed lipped and nearly cheer at Alta’s death, he meets bureaucrats and bureaucratic greed, gangsters and petty criminals who have their own crimes to hide and bartenders and blackmailers. But none of this seems to lead anywhere close to a murderer until he breaks the case down to its component parts and decides to solve each piece separately. What he comes to realize is that everyone had secrets, everyone is a hurt machine or has been run over by one.
Coleman crafts a complicated plot that is painted with a marvelous character, that being the city itself. If there ever was a character in fiction that could be a city, that city is New York. New York is a microcosm of every ethnic, religious, and tradition, every kind of restaurant and restaurants that could only exist in New York. Every saint and every sinner, every priest and every penitent . Prager takes us along to the eateries great and small, to the Irish pubs and The ‘Red Sauce’ restaurants in his quest to solve Alta’s murder.
The supporting characters are real people as you’d expect from the man NPR called a hard boiled poet. The plot is clever, twisty and comes full circle. As we accompany Moe on what could be his last case we get to see not only how the hurt machine takes its victims, but how we all drive the machine, willingly or not. Or as Moe puts it, “It is one thing to say oy vey – oh, woe – and another to say oy vey iz mir – woe is me.”
The Dirty Lowdown
Copyright © 2012 Robert Carraher All Rights Reserved
June 19, 2020
Brooklyn PI Moe Praeger, recently diagnosed with cancer, investigates the murder of his ex-sister-in-law, an FDNY EMT. Barry Award Nominee for Best Novel (2012), Anthony Award Nominee for Best Novel (2012).
May 21, 2013
I stumbled upon this book when it was offered free for kindle over a year ago. It got buried among all my other freebies until I recently noticed I could get the audible version at a steeply discounted price since I already owned the kindle version. I decided to give it a try and am so glad I did! In regard to the audio version, the reader does a nice job with Moe's voice and narration but just an OK job with the other voices. It wasn't so bad as to put me off listening to it and since the bulk of the book is told in Moe's voice, it was OK. The book itself, whether you listen to it or read it, was excellent. It is exceedingly well-written and has an insightfulness and depth that I wouldn't expect from a PI novel. Moe Prager is an interesting character and I almost wish I hadn't started with the 7th book in the series. I could probably go back and read previous books but enough details were given for some of them that they mystery part would be ruined (particularly details for book 6). Since I didn't know Moe's background, understanding his past relationships in the beginning was a little difficult but eventually I figured it out. This book can definitely be read without first reading others in the series but as I mentioned, it might be hard to go back and read them after the fact. I don't know if the older books in the series are as good as this one but I cannot speak highly enough of this book. The mystery was complex and intriguing and the characters very interesting. Highly recommended.
February 15, 2012
Kindly downloaded from NetGalley.
Private investigator Moe (Moses) Prager ponders on the nature of hurt - emotional and physical - as he solves the murder of his ex-sister-in-law, Alta Conseco. This is a case he didn't want for more than one reason - he still has feelings for his ex-wife and it seems that the victim deserved to die. Alta Conseco was a paramedic in New York City, who, with her partner, refused to help an employee of the restaurant they were visiting. Although asked to help the man, Alta insisted that she and her partner Maya were on their lunch break and couldn't do anything, and that someone should call 911.
Moe takes the case because he's just been diagnosed with cancer and wants to do something that will distract him from his fate. To complicate matters, his daughter is getting married in a few weeks, so he has to tell complicated lies to everyone.
Moe is a man with a strong conscience, but not strong enough to prevent some shady acts. He is haunted by the memory of cops he once worked with and an ex-wife who was murdered, and lives each day suffering different indignities from the cancer corroding his stomach.
Author Reed Farrel Coleman filled this story with enough suspects and motives to keep me guessing, as Moe discovers the truth about both Alta's murder and the reason the two EMT's refused to help the dying man. Both Moe and I were surprised to discover how the two events are related and how little we know about those closest to us.
Private investigator Moe (Moses) Prager ponders on the nature of hurt - emotional and physical - as he solves the murder of his ex-sister-in-law, Alta Conseco. This is a case he didn't want for more than one reason - he still has feelings for his ex-wife and it seems that the victim deserved to die. Alta Conseco was a paramedic in New York City, who, with her partner, refused to help an employee of the restaurant they were visiting. Although asked to help the man, Alta insisted that she and her partner Maya were on their lunch break and couldn't do anything, and that someone should call 911.
Moe takes the case because he's just been diagnosed with cancer and wants to do something that will distract him from his fate. To complicate matters, his daughter is getting married in a few weeks, so he has to tell complicated lies to everyone.
Moe is a man with a strong conscience, but not strong enough to prevent some shady acts. He is haunted by the memory of cops he once worked with and an ex-wife who was murdered, and lives each day suffering different indignities from the cancer corroding his stomach.
Author Reed Farrel Coleman filled this story with enough suspects and motives to keep me guessing, as Moe discovers the truth about both Alta's murder and the reason the two EMT's refused to help the dying man. Both Moe and I were surprised to discover how the two events are related and how little we know about those closest to us.
January 15, 2012
This is my first Moe Prager book, but it definitely read fine alone. As a mystery, it kept me glued to the pages. I wanted to know throughout the entire book what happened but no matter how hard I tried to piece it together, I had no idea what happened until it was revealed. Though the mystery of who killed Alta is the focus of the book, the back story is what really kept me going. Moe is a fascinating character study. In this book he's finding himself faced with some serious life decisions to make, as well as severe health problems. Having his past thrown at him makes things even more difficult for him. As we delved into Moe's personal life and the personal lives of those around him, they become dear friends that we can't help but love and be concerned for.
The feel of this book is what struck me the most. Instead of being the cutesy, cozy mystery of today, it has a bit more Sam Spade to it. Actually, I think it's the perfect blend of the mysteries of our grandparents and the mysteries of our children. It's right there in the middle where we find mysteries we want to solve and people we want to care about, but the tone is set so that we realize these people are untouchable realities. I strongly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys mysteries. I personally can't wait to see where Moe heads in the next book nor to pick up the previous books and see where he's been.
The feel of this book is what struck me the most. Instead of being the cutesy, cozy mystery of today, it has a bit more Sam Spade to it. Actually, I think it's the perfect blend of the mysteries of our grandparents and the mysteries of our children. It's right there in the middle where we find mysteries we want to solve and people we want to care about, but the tone is set so that we realize these people are untouchable realities. I strongly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys mysteries. I personally can't wait to see where Moe heads in the next book nor to pick up the previous books and see where he's been.
May 30, 2012
A New York novel by a New Yorker is not the same as a New York novel written by someone from Peoria. I’m not talking so much about the quality of the writing but of the little nuances that can only be added by a person writing about their home-turf.
Reed Farrel Coleman is both a very good writer and a Brooklyn native who brings those nuances to the fore in his Moe Prager stories.
Prager, a retired beat cop, former PI and now the aging part-owner of a chain of wine stores, is not your typical mystery novel protagonist. He brings these various elements of his history along with the color of a place his creator knows very well into carefully crafted, gripping stories.
In this latest in the series, he is preparing for the wedding of Sarah, the daughter with whom he was only recently reunited, when he receives grave news about his health and an unexpected visit from Carmella Melendez, his former wife and private investigation partner. Carmella’s sister, an emergency medical technician, has been murdered and no one seems to care because Alta had refused to aid a dying man.
Moe takes on the case, more as a means of distracting himself from his own mortality than as something he feels he owes Carmella. The title refers to the damage we do to ourselves and those around us. Moe is only one of many to suffer hurt before the end of this compelling tale.
Reed Farrel Coleman is both a very good writer and a Brooklyn native who brings those nuances to the fore in his Moe Prager stories.
Prager, a retired beat cop, former PI and now the aging part-owner of a chain of wine stores, is not your typical mystery novel protagonist. He brings these various elements of his history along with the color of a place his creator knows very well into carefully crafted, gripping stories.
In this latest in the series, he is preparing for the wedding of Sarah, the daughter with whom he was only recently reunited, when he receives grave news about his health and an unexpected visit from Carmella Melendez, his former wife and private investigation partner. Carmella’s sister, an emergency medical technician, has been murdered and no one seems to care because Alta had refused to aid a dying man.
Moe takes on the case, more as a means of distracting himself from his own mortality than as something he feels he owes Carmella. The title refers to the damage we do to ourselves and those around us. Moe is only one of many to suffer hurt before the end of this compelling tale.
March 7, 2012
Reed Farrel Coleman's Hurt Machine is superb.
The latest in the Moe Prager series, Hurt Machine shows us a depth to humanity that goes far beyond the standard mystery/crime formula.
Prager has learned he has cancer, just as he is preparing to attend his daughter's wedding. Then the woman who left him without warning years before, taking her child with her, appears out of the blue, seeking his help in finding the murderer of her sister.
The sister was an EMT worker. She and her partner were reviled by all of New York CIty for walking away from a dying man in a trendy west side eatery. There is no shortage of suspects in the FDNY and hispanic community.
A chilling river of depravity and treachery runs underneath the surface as Prager ignores everyone's advice to let this one go. But he can't, impelled forward by the knowledge of his own mortality.
Reed Coleman has a knack for reaching deep into the hearts of his characters without spending a lot of words. His characterization is intuitive, subconscious, and very authentic. It is no surprise that he was a student of philosophy. And his descriptions of Queens, Brooklyn, Coney Island, etc. leave the scent of pizza, gelato, hot dogs, in the air.
This was my first Coleman novel. I will turn to the 13 that precede it.
The latest in the Moe Prager series, Hurt Machine shows us a depth to humanity that goes far beyond the standard mystery/crime formula.
Prager has learned he has cancer, just as he is preparing to attend his daughter's wedding. Then the woman who left him without warning years before, taking her child with her, appears out of the blue, seeking his help in finding the murderer of her sister.
The sister was an EMT worker. She and her partner were reviled by all of New York CIty for walking away from a dying man in a trendy west side eatery. There is no shortage of suspects in the FDNY and hispanic community.
A chilling river of depravity and treachery runs underneath the surface as Prager ignores everyone's advice to let this one go. But he can't, impelled forward by the knowledge of his own mortality.
Reed Coleman has a knack for reaching deep into the hearts of his characters without spending a lot of words. His characterization is intuitive, subconscious, and very authentic. It is no surprise that he was a student of philosophy. And his descriptions of Queens, Brooklyn, Coney Island, etc. leave the scent of pizza, gelato, hot dogs, in the air.
This was my first Coleman novel. I will turn to the 13 that precede it.
January 1, 2012
Unlike the previous six novels in the series, this book is a lot more introspective and deep since Moe Prager learns he has stomach cancer. This leads to a lot of looking at the past and present and less at the lighter side of life. But that does not stop the formidable Moe from undertaking another tough task, made especially hard by the time restraints of his daughter’s upcoming wedding in a week and his own possibly limited lifespan.
After a pre-wedding dinner, Moe’s ex-wife and PI partner, who left him years before, accosts him outside the restaurant, asking him to look into the murder of her estranged older sister, one of two EMTs who refused to assist a dying man at a high-end bistro where they were supposedly having lunch. Moe doggedly takes on the task, and therein lies a tale.
The tone of this book is a lot different from its predecessors, necessarily so in light of Moe’s serious illness. That does not, of course, take away from the plot; it only reinforces the intensity of the various elements. It is written with power and passion [albeit sometimes with too much schmaltz]. Let’s hope the doctors can save Moe and that he returns to his old self.
Recommended.
After a pre-wedding dinner, Moe’s ex-wife and PI partner, who left him years before, accosts him outside the restaurant, asking him to look into the murder of her estranged older sister, one of two EMTs who refused to assist a dying man at a high-end bistro where they were supposedly having lunch. Moe doggedly takes on the task, and therein lies a tale.
The tone of this book is a lot different from its predecessors, necessarily so in light of Moe’s serious illness. That does not, of course, take away from the plot; it only reinforces the intensity of the various elements. It is written with power and passion [albeit sometimes with too much schmaltz]. Let’s hope the doctors can save Moe and that he returns to his old self.
Recommended.
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