What do you think?
Rate this book
Dylan Klein #2
Little Easter
Dylan Klein, having come into some money during his last case, has given up his distinguished career as an insurance investigator to pursue his dream as a writer. But like stray light near a black hole, Klein is sucked into the vacuum of a deadly love triangle by the appearance of a mysterious woman and her subsequent execution.
Klein, alarmed that his best friend - ex-New York City detective Johnny MacClough - might be involved, temporarily turns in his pen. With the questionable assistance of an alcoholic newspaper woman and a notorious criminal lawyer, Dylan Klein plunges headlong into the quicksand of organized crime and the powerful men behind it.
Klein faces enormous problems in his quest, not the least of which is Johnny MacClough's stubborn refusal to cooperate. If anything, the ex-detective appears bound and determined to sabotage the efforts being made on his behalf. Further complicating Klein's travails is the potential fallout from a tragic love affair. Left unresolved and dormant for over two decades, it threatens to explode like some forgotten time bomb left ticking in the attic. Can Klein defuse the situation or will it blow up in his face?
Little Easter is a novel about the falls we take and the ways in which we recoverif we recover at all. Join Dylan Klein's forays into the clandestine worlds of the Mafia, New York's Diamond Exchange, and behind the police department's blue wall of silence. Meet the fallen and the tall.
Klein, alarmed that his best friend - ex-New York City detective Johnny MacClough - might be involved, temporarily turns in his pen. With the questionable assistance of an alcoholic newspaper woman and a notorious criminal lawyer, Dylan Klein plunges headlong into the quicksand of organized crime and the powerful men behind it.
Klein faces enormous problems in his quest, not the least of which is Johnny MacClough's stubborn refusal to cooperate. If anything, the ex-detective appears bound and determined to sabotage the efforts being made on his behalf. Further complicating Klein's travails is the potential fallout from a tragic love affair. Left unresolved and dormant for over two decades, it threatens to explode like some forgotten time bomb left ticking in the attic. Can Klein defuse the situation or will it blow up in his face?
Little Easter is a novel about the falls we take and the ways in which we recoverif we recover at all. Join Dylan Klein's forays into the clandestine worlds of the Mafia, New York's Diamond Exchange, and behind the police department's blue wall of silence. Meet the fallen and the tall.
221 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 13, 1993
6 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Reed Farrel Coleman
166 books749 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 10, 2007
LITTLE EASTER – VG
Coleman, Reed Farrel – 1st book, 1st of series
Would-be writer Dylan Klein is closing up the bar owned by his friend, ex-Detective Johnny MacClough, when a woman comes in, asks for his friend, drops a diamond necklace and wanders back out into the snow. Dylan follows her, and finds her murdered with a canary stuffed in her mouth.
I love his style which has a bit of the classic 50’s tone.
Coleman, Reed Farrel – 1st book, 1st of series
Would-be writer Dylan Klein is closing up the bar owned by his friend, ex-Detective Johnny MacClough, when a woman comes in, asks for his friend, drops a diamond necklace and wanders back out into the snow. Dylan follows her, and finds her murdered with a canary stuffed in her mouth.
I love his style which has a bit of the classic 50’s tone.
June 25, 2022
The book was published in 1993. It doesn't necessarily travel very well to today's readers. When reading this I figured the author has to be in my age bracket and has to be Jewish, probably with older relatives that had been survivors.
I think the Godfather came out in 1969 or 1970. That was at a time frame where first generation Irish, Jews, Italians were largely working class and laborers. They may not have been around rich people but were the folks who were their electricians and plumbers and had delis that provided food to the much higher class and sometimes ruthless people. The persons in this book, as characters, came across as first generation Americans. Readers who probably were in junior higher high school when a lot of this was going on would get this. My mind still a lot of going back and forth and remembering maybe being in the background when some of the important folks that were first generation, as mentioned above, came around and we were not to talk or not to make eye contact.
I fully realize that there are many discrepancies and inequalities with immigrants and their descendants today that largely outweigh that generations that came over in the early 1900s. However, it was a thing. It was a big thing that influnced their lives and was material for a lot of books and movies.
My adult children would not understand the book and would probably not read it, nor would their friends. I am not sure if that was the intent of the author but it is right in your face if you are familiar with that lifestyle.
I did like the Jesse Stone and Gus Murphy stories better. But I plowed through this and I'm trying to read all of his books because it is like reading the work of a favorite cousin that you used to tease it the Thanksgiving dinner table.
I think the Godfather came out in 1969 or 1970. That was at a time frame where first generation Irish, Jews, Italians were largely working class and laborers. They may not have been around rich people but were the folks who were their electricians and plumbers and had delis that provided food to the much higher class and sometimes ruthless people. The persons in this book, as characters, came across as first generation Americans. Readers who probably were in junior higher high school when a lot of this was going on would get this. My mind still a lot of going back and forth and remembering maybe being in the background when some of the important folks that were first generation, as mentioned above, came around and we were not to talk or not to make eye contact.
I fully realize that there are many discrepancies and inequalities with immigrants and their descendants today that largely outweigh that generations that came over in the early 1900s. However, it was a thing. It was a big thing that influnced their lives and was material for a lot of books and movies.
My adult children would not understand the book and would probably not read it, nor would their friends. I am not sure if that was the intent of the author but it is right in your face if you are familiar with that lifestyle.
I did like the Jesse Stone and Gus Murphy stories better. But I plowed through this and I'm trying to read all of his books because it is like reading the work of a favorite cousin that you used to tease it the Thanksgiving dinner table.
February 9, 2015
AUTHOR: Coleman, Reed Farrel
TITLE: Little Easter
DATE READ: 01/24/15
RATING: 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS Crime Fiction/1993/The Permanent Press/221 pages
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: #2 in the Dylan Klein series
TIME/PLACE: 1990's Long Island
CHARACTERS: Dylan Klein/former insurance investigator
FIRST LINES: The new TV talked to no one but me. Its virginal speakers babble to an empty bar, a rapidly decomposing dartboard and pay-for-pool table at which no one was paying and no one was playing.
COMMENTS: Dylan Klein is a middle-aged man who wants to be a writer. He has had some poetry and shorter works published but wants to write a book. He has been an insurance investigator and is taking some time off to devote to his craft. He is tending bar on Christmas Eve for a friend when a woman walks in looking for Johnny Blue. Although at first he doesn't want to get involved w/ this stranger & her request... his loyalty to his friend Johnny MacClough (aka Johnny Blue) compels him to use his investigative skills, especially after finding the woman lifeless w/ a dead canary stuffed in her mouth. Kate Barnum, a journalist, who at one time was employed for a major newspaper and was well-known is now working for a small newspaper on LI, exactly how she has fallen from grace, Dylan is not sure. She seems to appear at crucial times in this investigation and now he is not only looking into the murder but into Kate Barnum's background. Ultimately the story is about rising from loss and how far one will go to reach that "resurrection/little Easter".
TITLE: Little Easter
DATE READ: 01/24/15
RATING: 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS Crime Fiction/1993/The Permanent Press/221 pages
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: #2 in the Dylan Klein series
TIME/PLACE: 1990's Long Island
CHARACTERS: Dylan Klein/former insurance investigator
FIRST LINES: The new TV talked to no one but me. Its virginal speakers babble to an empty bar, a rapidly decomposing dartboard and pay-for-pool table at which no one was paying and no one was playing.
COMMENTS: Dylan Klein is a middle-aged man who wants to be a writer. He has had some poetry and shorter works published but wants to write a book. He has been an insurance investigator and is taking some time off to devote to his craft. He is tending bar on Christmas Eve for a friend when a woman walks in looking for Johnny Blue. Although at first he doesn't want to get involved w/ this stranger & her request... his loyalty to his friend Johnny MacClough (aka Johnny Blue) compels him to use his investigative skills, especially after finding the woman lifeless w/ a dead canary stuffed in her mouth. Kate Barnum, a journalist, who at one time was employed for a major newspaper and was well-known is now working for a small newspaper on LI, exactly how she has fallen from grace, Dylan is not sure. She seems to appear at crucial times in this investigation and now he is not only looking into the murder but into Kate Barnum's background. Ultimately the story is about rising from loss and how far one will go to reach that "resurrection/little Easter".
March 12, 2011
As RFC is one of my favorites these days it was interesting to go back to an early work ('93). The story/plot was good, as is the theme (the meaning of friendship). The writing is not as well developed as later work. The germ of the Moe Prager character origin can be glimpsed along w/ RFC's knowledge and love for NYC (especially Brooklyn).
February 3, 2012
Early Coleman that is not as strong as the Moe Prager books but still enjoyable...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews