Review: Moe Prager Series Ends Up 'Empty Ever After'

It seems fitting that EMPTY EVER AFTER (Bleak House Books 2008) starts in a cemetery and ends with the spreading of ashes, given that the book's theme is that of ghosts. Ghosts and secrets--the two things protagonist Moe Prager has been most plagued by throughout author Reed Farrel Coleman's series--along with his almost pathological inability to live with evidence that contradicts the results when a case appears to be solved.

Coleman has played out the arc of the Moe Prager series to its apparent end in this book. The ghosts in question are that of Patrick Maloney, his (now) ex-wife's late brother and her late father, Francis Maloney, a man haunting Prager by revealing (in a message delivered after his death) a devastating secret they shared about Patrick, thus effectively putting the postmortem kibosh on Prager's marriage.

A series of grave desecrations and some indications that Patrick may still be alive are what draw Prager into the mystery. With Patrick's voice showing up on ex-wife Katy's answering machine and someone who looks like Patrick making the odd appearance or two, is it any wonder that Katy starts to come apart at the seams and Prager's daughter, Sarah, is so worried about her mother she delays her return to college to look after her?

Bleak, moody, but still infused with Prager's ironic sense of humor, Coleman takes us through the investigation that asks who would do this to the Prager family and why? And, of course, when the puzzle seems to be solved, there are just enough pieces that don't fit to keep Prager going until he gets to the truth. As usual, it comes at a cost.

One character seems to sum up our hero's lot when he says, "Lost is what you are, Mr. Prager. You always have been and I sense you will always be so."

While it isn't absolutely necessary to read all the stories that came before this to understand what's going on, I would highly recommend it. The end is shattering, though not without its bright spots. And brings to an apparent close a wonderful series about a deeply-troubled man.