FFB Review: "Walking The Perfect Square" by Reed Farrel Coleman

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott.  Barry remains unavailable these days as he is in the process of moving. While I do have to run a couple more reviews by Patrick Ohl, who is now in seminary, I thought this week I would do one of my own. After reviewing the latest from author Reed Farrel Coleman titled Blind Spot earlier this week, I thought I would revisit the book that first introduced this excellent author to me. The below review of Walking The Perfect Square originally ran in March, 2004.

WALKING THE PERFECT SQUARE

On December 8, 1977 Patrick Maloney, Jr., college student, walked out of a local bar and vanished. As 19977 became 1978 other things in New York City like the arrest of the Son of Sam killer garner media attention. For recently retired Police Officer Moe Prager, the disappearance of Patrick Maloney, Jr. is insignificant and no different than many of the ills that befall the city's population. Not that Patrick isn't important in his own right, but Moe has more on his mind thanks to a ruined knee and is facing limited prospects and a lonely life.

At relative loose ends when his friend and still a cop Rico Tripoli calls, he agrees to meet him for lunch at a local restaurant. Rico wants to talk to him about looking for Patrick. Once there, despite the obvious racism of the missing man's powerful father, Patrick Maloney, he agrees to start working the case in exchange for a favor regarding a much needed liquor license. Moe's brother wants him to go in with him on a wine shop and without any other options Moe has sort of agreed to do so. As he begins working the case, he realizes that he has missed the streets and soon discovers that everyone involved is lying to him. Nothing is the way he thought it was with his enemies or his friends.

Twenty years later the case still haunts him and a call from a Nun in a local hospice brings it all back to life. A man is dying and wishes to unburden himself and will only do so to Moe Prager. He may finally get the last piece of the painful puzzle that has haunted him for years and nearly destroyed his family.

This is a very good novel featuring a number of interesting characters. The read is a little disconcerting at times as it moves back and forth between 1977 and 78, and the present (1998). I'm not a fan of flashbacks, extended or otherwise, but in this case it actually enhances the story. By moving back and forth, it creates a different perspective for the reader as the mystery is slowly solved.

At the same time, the author has an incredible sense of detail and an uncanny ability to bring the work alive for the reader. He really got into my head and made me feel like I was there right with him, step for step, as he worked the case. There are not very many authors who can totally pull me into their world like that and he did it easily within the first ten pages or so. His characters were rich and complex with a decidedly noir slant and his sense of pacing and story development was right on.

This was a very good read and according to my local library, the first novel of a new series built around the main character, Moe Prager. Unfortunately my local library does not have his earlier novels, Little Easter, Life Goes Sleeping, and They Don't Play Stickball In Milwaukee. You can bet I'm going to be looking for them.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2004, 2014