There were seven books in the Moe Prager series: Walking the Perfect Square, Redemption Street, The James Deans, Soul Patch Empty Ever After, Innocent Monster and Hurt Machine, and in the last book it seemed ambiguous about whether or not Moe would be back. Now we get a prequel, which was a bit alarming -- was it a signal that Moe wouldn't be coming back in any new cases? But I needn't have worried. Or, rather, it's still sort of ambiguous, which is sort of good news, right? In Hurt Machine Moe has been diagnosed with stomach cancer, but he doesn't want to tell anyone until his daughter Sarah's wedding is past so he doesn't spoil it. As this book opens we see Moe and Sarah talking several months later. Moe has been through chemo and so far so good, but no bed of roses either. Sarah is visiting and asks him how he became a cop, so we get to hear Moe's tale of 1967. He's going to Brooklyn College as much to get out of the draft as anything else, because he still doesn't know what he wants to do. He envies his brother Aaron and his best friend Bobby because they seem to already have a good sense of where they're going and the confidence that goes with that. The story opens with him bailing Bobby out of jail after an anti-war protest. When he gets back to his girlfriend, she's acting really strange, and warns him to stay away from Bobby. The next day Bobby is almost run down by a car and his girlfriend is beaten and in a coma. Moe decides to find out what's going on, and so he comes into contact with several police officers in the course of his investigation.
It was a real blast getting to watch Moe solve his first case AND develop an interest in police work. The writing is wonderful. Of all eight Moe Prager books, there is not a loser in the bunch. Each is populated by intriguing, complex characters and bristling with sharp dialogue and twisty plots. This is a great series, and this prequel is tremendous. If you haven't read any of the series you could certainly read this one first, followed by Walking the Perfect Square and the rest, or you could read them in the order written. The advantage of the latter option is that you can see the beginnings of some of Moe's later ideas and situations. We're already hearing Aaron plan to open a wine shop with Moe as his partner. That guy really DID have his act together early!
If you're a fan of the series, this is a terrific addition to the canon. If you haven't tried these yet, you're in for a treat with Moe Prager, Jewish Coney Island cop and PI, here at the very beginning of his career -- a wise, decent guy who may not be good at planning business enterprises, but someone who is already smart, knows people, and has a strong sense of justice. This modern noir series is fantastic, and I think the best American competition to the great police procedurals coming out of Scandinavia lately.
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