Soul Patch

Moe Prager #4

by Reed Farrel Coleman

Fourth book in the acclaimed Moe Prager mystery series taking place in New Yor k City

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, New York, Detective, Mystery Thriller

233 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

aka 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.

Reviews

[H.W. Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

SOUL PATCH is the second Reed Farrel Coleman book I’ve read, and without a doubt I will read many more.

I “discovered” Reed only recently, but he’s bolted right into the top three of who I consider the best commercial fiction writers in the business. He’s right there with James Lee Burke and Daniel Silva. And I don’t make such comparisons lightly.

SOUL PATCH is part of a series featuring PI Moe Prager. Moe is a disabled (bad knee) ex-NYPD cop, bummed out because he never was awarded a detective’s shield, struggling with a marriage going south, beset by guilt as he teeters on the edge of infidelity, and dispirited because he’s discovering his former colleagues may not have been the pillars of virtue he thought.

Moe is a guy you can root for. In the hands of Reed Coleman he’s very, very real. The mystery Moe has set out to solve is complex, twisting, and intricately plotted. I can’t say I’m a mystery fan by nature. But I’m sure as hell a Reed Farrel Coleman fan. The guy can flat out write.

My only quibble with the book is not with the writing, but with the line editing. Terrible. There were more typos in my Nook version than in any book I’ve read. That’s not the author’s fault. He gets five stars. The line editing gets two.

By the way, if you’re an author, be sure to read Reed’s Afterword in SOUL PATCH. Very interesting.

[Carrie Garza · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story line involves crooked cops and mobsters, drugs and murder. But also Moe Pragers' life spirals around a secret that is eating me up (because I haven't read the first book) and ruining his life and destroying his marriage. These books have been spaced years apart and a lot happens between each one and the story of his life and his marriage is almost negligently woven in to the story. The story of his life is what keeps pulling me back and the guilt he feels for everything seems to be a major factor. Very well written with interesting plot.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Moe is asked by the Chief of Detectives to look into an old murder of a drug dealer. He says no. The Chief soon commits suicide. Or was it?

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent writing. I want to read all his books.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent entry in this hard boiled PI series. Moe is a great character, the writing and plotting were very good, and the Coney Island setting was interesting. This book won the Shamus Award in 2008 for best novel.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...an up-and-comer, the next Jack Kennedy. Talk about a curse. Somehow they all begin as the next Jack and end up as the next Teddy" (66).
"My soul, at least, was at half staff" (68).
"Rip's was the kind of place where old lipstick on your bar glass passed as garnish" (87).
"'Guys that think they're cool, but can't get outta their own way with a tour guide'" (104).
"'Fuck y'all.'
"'Sorry,' I said, not interested'" (106).
"'You can get used to anything,' he'd say. 'The very essence of humanity is adaptability. Some people think it's what makes us great. Me, I think it's a curse. There are things we shouldn't be able to live with'" (109).
"He stared at me like something shit wipes off the bottom of its shoes" (131). *Wow.
"...swallowed their anger like table scraps" (136).
"No doubt, there's something magical in obsession--a spark, the ultimate reminder of what it feels like to be alive. Yet, afterthought is the sad fate of all obsession. Some obsessions rush out like the tide; others recede slowly like middle-aged hairlines, but they do recede" (142).
"At least, thank God, the Cold War was over. My mom's legacy of pessimism would be considerably harder to outrun" (143).
"'What do you want besides to ---- up my good time?'" (151).
"'...I'll throw your skinny ass off this lame excuse for a bridge if you don't just answer me'" (157). *Lame excuse! I love that he says this.
"Who was I to argue? Maybe he hadn't looked in a mirror just recently. Or maybe he had, and all he saw were thin white lines and razor blades" (158).
"That summed up the difference between us. He had seen his being a cop as a means to an end, something to use for his own good. Naively, I suppose, I'd come to see it as a way to do some good" (159).
"The area's unifying theme seemed to be bad taste" (163).

[Alan Gerstle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grew up in the neighborhood in which this novel is primarily set, i.e., Coney Island, South Brooklyn, etc. Reed is from Brooklyn, which gives him five stars, but this novel, in my view, was awful. It was so cliche ridden, I was predicting the next sentence after reading the previous one. Additionally, there is so much exposition that I am surprised the publisher allowed to keep all of it in. To imitate, 'Mike had grown up in Queens, which was OK with me, but after moving to Staten Island, he seemed to have acquired a mean streak, not the kind of mean streak that's tolerable and circumscribed against a particular target, but more of a global view that the world was wicked and not even wicked in the ways one typically thinks of the world as being wicked. I was thinking about this while waiting for him at what used to be our favorite diner in Brighton Beach, but which, owing to demographic shifts in the Big Apple, was now only a vestige of its former self. I thought about how inferior the food seemed as I sipped my first cup of coffee.' Not much more to say. The author is from Brooklyn. He is forever forgiven.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a handful of crime writers I read religiously and Reed Farrel Coleman has always occupied the "guilty pleasure" corner of that group, even though it makes me feel extremely guilty to label his work as such. The Jewish humor combined with no nonsense toughness is the name of the game here, and the dude lays down lines and paragraphs with a quick reading flow that is extremely impressive. I think the hardest aspect for me is the inclusion of and reliance on characters and threads from past novels. I don't remember Chandler having Marlowe reminisce on his past exploits that much, and Coleman's employment of the device seems so beneath him, as each novel should really be able to stand on its own. I'll keep coming back, don't get wrong, but the battle between me thinking this is a guilty pleasure vs. amazing shit is going to continue. Admittedly it's probably both.

[Alan Korolenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moe Prager investigates the apparent suicide of the Chief of Detectives, a friend of Moe's from his time on the force. The question of what friendship is becomes central to Moe as does the value of loyalty and the self interests which lead to betrayal. Moe also confronts his own doubts about love and family and questions where his life has taken him. Intense issues which feature in a very entertaining hard boiled thriller. This is the most atmospherically noir book of the series so far with the Coney Island boardwalk, the Brighton Beach el and the land dumps off the Belt Parkway both familiar and dark. Excellent series.

[David C Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but Coleman’s Prager series is not as good as his Gus Murphy books. They’re too incestuous and claustrophobic with everything related to everything else. And stylistically, the past is not just influential but is continually rehashed and repeated: the girl in the water tank, the knee injury, the disappearance of his brother in law etc etc. Everything is portentous.Prager is also just a bit too belligerent and tough for a guy who washed out of the police because he slid on some carbon paper decades ago. Finally, who stages a hit of three people in a very crowded Red Hook bar??

[Ed Cannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't hit a homerun every trip to the plate.

I enjoy Mr. Coleman's work, and this character, very much. But this book was the least enjoyable of the series. I kept waiting for something to happen, but the too fast ending felt like "and then they all got hit by a bus". If you haven't read the previous works you'll struggle to keep the past and present characters straight. That said, this cat can write. I'm optimistic the next one will be as much fun as the earlier works.

[Michael Quillin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got a lot of the usual urban detective clichés, but intriguing tale anyway, especially for anyone with a passing knowledge of Brooklyn.
Absolutely the worst job of proofreading ever (if indeed anyone did proofread, or as they would say profrede.) Read just for a Where's Waldo search for as many typos, misspellings or grammar errata. Send me your best count!

[Allen Kirschenbaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brooklyn of the 70’s & 80’s, bleak & hurting

While no place is hipper than Brooklyn now, Coleman captures what was happening to the normal people who were still affected by the loss of jobs and underinvestment from NYC bankruptcy days of the 70s’. How the depth of corruption and crime affects friendships and people.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coney Island and police corruption make for another good Moe story. Former cop and current PI Moe Prager's former commander and sort of friend commits suicide over something yet to become clear. As you would expect Moe gets drawn in to finding out what happened and kicks the hornet's nest in doing so. Well done. Time for the next one.

[Dan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

With his brother in laws mysterious disappearance and his wifes changing attitude, Moe Prager continues to indulge in his search for the truth, while taking jobs in his budding private investigation business

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all 3 of the previous Moe Prager novels, but this was the best one. It had the great characters and a great mystery that involved some of the previous characters and some new ones, but what made this one a 5 star, was the ending. Awesome.

[Tony Rampling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every book he write is a five star!!

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Moe. It all makes sense.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is much more like the earlier ones in the series.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coleman is right there with Parker at the top of my favorite P.I. authors and Moe Prager is my favorite of his protagonists. This may be my favorite of the first 4 Pragers.

[Joseph Wakal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark dark dark for Moe Prager. Very good, but yikes.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a long time to finish. I will keep reading his books though. LOVED the short story at the end called Gobble.

[Tj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series continues to get even better. The central mystery here was excellent and kept me intrigued. But the Prager character himself is so incredibly well done too.

[Nancy Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, first, I'm not interested in crooked cops and the mob as the main vehicles for a story line. Some people are; not me. So that was strike one. However, there were other things about this book that I really didn't like, and I found this very surprising given the rave reviews (in the front of the book - OK, I should have been suspicious) from people whose writing I greatly admire (e.g. George Pelacanos).

For one, I kept checking to see if I had the "abridged" edition (I didn't) since the plot and characters seemed so ill-formed. I felt like the story line was rushed. He does a nice job of tying it all up at the end, but at that point I thought, "come on, who really cares?" The victims aren't that interesting - a drug dealer, who we don't know at all, and then the chief of detectives who we meet only once at a party (who of course has an adoring (why?) wife (beautiful of course).

I think the book is supposed to propel itself on the strength of the protagonist's character, but while he's a likable enough guy, moral, and all that, he's not that compelling. None of the women characters, who have the potential to be very interesting, are well-developed, and the main female character is, of course, gorgeous, tough, and troubled. Please - can we move beyond the stereotypical female cop? Thank you.

There's quite a lengthy afterword about the author's struggle with this book and the publication process, which as someone who's tried it myself, knows it's incredibly difficult and soul-searing. But the end product should be about the art, right, not the author's angst? I got the impression that Moe Praeger (protagonist) is the author's alter-ego, struggling with acceptance and his place in the world. Absolutely can buy that and sympathize, but ignoring the other characters makes it less credible. Fleshing them out more, spending more time with how they fit into the plot (maybe how they feel about stuff going on - there's an idea). The writing structure, metaphors, style, etc., is strong. Coleman's a good craftsman, and seems like a sensitive, nice guy. I feel bad for dissing his book. But I think he can do better.

[dOnnabud · Rating 5 out of 5]

moe prager is a multi-faceted character with a lot of depth. soul patch is sprinkled with unexpected twists and turns, enhanced by a lot of intrigue woven into the plot. it's a compelling story set amid the decaying landscape of coney island, new york. definitely worth a read :)

favorite passages:
(page 1 of prologue in paperback edition): "Coney Island, the rusted remnants of its antiquated rides rising out of the ocean like the fossils of beached dinosaurs, clings to a comatose existence.... the parachutes [rides] are long gone and now only the looming superstructure remains, the sea air feasting on its impotent bones."

(page 96): "Drunk so that he was barely able to stand. His face a garden of gin blossoms."

(page 105): "... there's a kind of comfort in a dive [bar], comfort like in a pair of ugly old shoes or a messy room.... The wobbly barstools were held together with white adhesive tape and glue, which, since the floor pitched and fell from foot to foot, was probably a good thing. Only place in Brooklyn you could get seasick sitting at a bar. Rip's was the kind of place where old lipstick on your bar glass passed as garnish.

(page 107): "Now we stood at the end of Conover Street, where moot trolley tracks curved directly into oblivion."

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

SOUL PATCH (Unlicensed Investigator-NY-Cont) – G+
Coleman, Reed Farrel – 4th in series
Bleak House Books, 2006- ARC – ISBN (Hardcover): 9781932557411
*** Ex-policeman, now PI and wine-shop owner Moe Prager is approached by Larry MacDonald, a brother cop who is now NYPD Chief of Detectives. Larry gives Moe an unauthorized tape of an interrogation where a snitch claims he has information about the murder of D Rex, a major drug dealer in the ‘70s. Larry wants Moe to investigate as that information could seriously harm the careers of Larry and other top cops. Moe refuses but when Larry is found dead of an apparent suicide, Moe decides to learn the truth.
*** Coleman does do a very good job of incorporating the important elements from previous books into this one so it can be read as a standalone. The book reads very much like an insiders’ story and, I felt, gives an accurate portrayal of the relationships between cops as well as the story’s setting. It is definitely a gritty story. I felt a bit as though I was intruding. The characters are well portrayed, but few of them are likable. While this is not my favorite of the Prager books—it would be hard to beat “Walking the Perfect Square” or “The James Deans”--Coleman is an excellent writer. Moe is a wonderful character; I certainly hope this isn’t the last we see of him. If it is, I shall look forward to seeing where Coleman takes us next.

[John Devlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So a little backstory of my own. In the first few years of kindle use I got far our in front of my reading speed. Some 400 books decorated my device's inner eye. Over that time two things occurred: one, I became much more interested in non-fiction, and two, I discovered that most of the books I desired were free through the county's E book library.

Nevertheless, the Completionist in me soldiered on, determined to read all the books I had purchased in those halcyon mornings of E book glory.

I have liked detective/crime novels. James Elroy is the Master; however, the form now tires me. There will be a ambivalent down and out protagonist with a whole armoire of issues. This character will solve a mystery by interviewing folks. Sooner or later one or more of these interviewees will try to kill out hero bc he's getting too close to the truth. The hit will fail, but the hero will gain valuable new info, which will lead to a crescendo of gunfire and confessions.

Not to be flippant, but Scooby-Doo owes some of its success to this formula.

Coleman writes a fine yarn and he keeps the characters and stakes small - something that detective novels sometimes fail to do. If I had any interest in reading more of this genre, I would read more about Moe Prager: Jew, disabled cop, now PI, Brooklyn bound, but I do not.

[Chuck Barksdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another great book in this new to me series. This is the fourth book (2007) in the series that began in 2001 with the also excellent WALKING THE PERFECT SQUARE. Although all of the books that I've read so far are definitely on the dark side, this one is certainly by far the darkest. Moe must not only deal with the suicide or murder of his old friend and NYPD Chief of Detectives Larry McDonald soon after he begs for Moe's help, but also the struggles of his personal relationship with his wife. This book in set in the fictional area of Soul Patch area of Brooklyn, New York in the last 1980s.

I'm not sure which of the books in this series I like the best but this one is close. I'd probably pick the first one since the author was brand new to me and the book was so well written, with developed realistic characters and a real sense of time and place. I also enjoy reading books in the first person as in this series to get into the mind and feelings of the main character. I'm now 1/2 way through the 8 books that have been published so far (with 1 more to go...) and fortunately I already own the other 4.

[M. Sprouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, the Moe Prager books, there's no better PI series out there! Since it's apparent Mr. Coleman is no longer writing these, I've had to space the reading for better enjoyment. I limit myself to one a year. This one was great, better IMHO than "The James Deans". Coleman's writing is superb, the Prager novels are deeper than any other series I've read. The are almost therapy between two book covers, they feed my soul.

There are other things to love too. The fact that the stories about Moe are spaced out over years and years I actually remember is also special. Coleman's writing gives a deeper mood to the story's timeline and he makes you feel you are Moe Prager. Often a character's personal life is addressed to heavy-handed and detracts from a mystery-thriller, not in this series. The first book took place as flash backs from the 1990s, so we know where Moe's personal relationship with his wife is going, but that only adds layers to the intensity of reading about their relationship. Definitel 6, that's right 6 stars!

[Kathleen Hagen]

Soul Patch, by reed Farrel Coleman, A-minus, narrated by Andy Caploe, produced by Audible Inc., downloaded from audible.com.

The 4th in the Moe Prager series. In this one, the ex-cop, now wine shop owner of yet a third wine shop, is approached by his old friend from police days, Larry MacDonald, now chief of detectives. Larry seems very worried, asks for Moe’s help, and gives him a tape. Moe refuses to help him and that’s the end of his second longest friendship with a policeman. He listens to the tape and figures out it’s an interrogation of a witness from one of the police interview rooms. He doesn’t understand the significance of the tape. Then MacDonald commits suicide. Now he feels he must figure out what happened. He delves into the remaining secrets of the past 20 years, including his time as a cop, and finds much sadness and corruption. But he does seem to put the ghosts to rest, finally.