Annika Bengtzon
nordic noir
Series · hardboiled mystery
Moe Prager
The Moe Prager series by Reed Farrel Coleman has 9 known books (9 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Walking the Perfect Square (2001). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is The Hollow Girl.
- Books
- 9 known books (9 novels)
- Published
- 9
- First published
- 2001
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
- Last checked
Start here: Walking the Perfect Square (2001) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Walking the Perfect Square
Walking the Perfect Square (2001) opens the series with the 1977 New York City blackout that ends Moe Prager's NYPD career, setting the pattern the whole series follows: a case rooted in the past colliding with Moe's present.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Walking the Perfect Square - Book 2:
Redemption Street
Redemption Street (2004) continues Moe Prager's slow accumulation of regret, reopening old wounds in his marriage and family as another case collides with his past. It runs 244 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Redemption Street - Book 3:
The James Deans
The James Deans (2005) keeps Moe Prager's cases tangled up with his own life -- his marriage to Katy, his brother Aaron, the daughter Sarah he loves despite knowing the truth of her conception -- following Redemption Street and preceding Soul Patch.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The James Deans - Book 4:
Soul Patch
Soul Patch (2007) continues Moe Prager's mournful, literary run of Brooklyn investigations, each case reopening some old wound in his own complicated life.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Soul Patch - Book 5:
Empty Ever After
Empty Ever After (2008) closes out several threads from the series' first five books, marking a natural pause point in Moe Prager's slow accumulation of regret before the back half of the series begins.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Empty Ever After - Book 6:
Innocent Monster
Innocent Monster, the sixth Moe Prager book at 291 pages, opens the series' back half after Empty Ever After closed out several earlier threads, continuing Coleman's mournful, literary voice.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Innocent Monster - Book 7:
Hurt Machine
Hurt Machine (2011) continues Moe Prager's late-series cases, letting consequences from earlier books -- marriages ended, friends lost -- carry forward rather than reset. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hurt Machine - Book 8:
Onion Street
Onion Street, the eighth Moe Prager book, runs 320 pages of Reed Farrel Coleman's mournful, Ross Macdonald-indebted voice as the series heads toward its conclusion.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Onion Street - Book 9:
The Hollow Girl
The Hollow Girl (2014) concludes the Moe Prager series, bringing several long-running threads -- Moe's marriage, his brother Aaron, his daughter Sarah's paternity -- to a deliberate close.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Hollow Girl
About the Moe Prager series
Moe Prager is a Brooklyn-born, wine-loving ex-NYPD cop turned private investigator, forced off the force by a knee injury sustained during the 1977 New York City blackout — the incident that opens the series and haunts Moe for its remainder. Reed Farrel Coleman built the series less around procedural puzzle-solving than around Moe's slow accumulation of regret: every case reopens some old wound in his own life, whether it's his complicated marriage to Katy, his relationship with his brother Aaron, or the daughter, Sarah, he comes to love as his own despite knowing the true circumstances of her conception. The first novel, Walking the Perfect Square (2001), sets the pattern that recurs throughout: a case rooted in the past collides with Moe's present, told with a mournful, literary voice that earned Coleman comparisons to Ross Macdonald more than to contemporary procedural writers.
The series moves in real time across more than a decade, tracking Moe from his years running a wine shop with his brother through later cases that draw him back into investigative work almost against his will. Coleman doesn't shy from letting consequences stick — marriages end, friends die, and the emotional cost of each case carries into the next book rather than resetting. The series concluded with The Hollow Girl (2014), which brings several long-running threads to a deliberate close. It won Coleman three consecutive Shamus Awards for Best P.I. Novel, making him the first writer to win the award in three straight years.
Frequently asked questions
How many Moe Prager books are there?
Nine, published between 2001 and 2014, starting with Walking the Perfect Square and ending with The Hollow Girl.
What order should I read the Moe Prager books in?
Publication order. The series is heavily serialized around Moe's marriage, his brother, and his daughter Sarah, so reading out of order risks spoiling earlier books' reveals.
Is Onion Street a prequel?
Yes, partly. It's set in 1967 during Moe's college years, well before the other books, but it was written and released eighth and works best read in that slot rather than first.
Did Moe Prager win any awards?
Yes. Reed Farrel Coleman won the Shamus Award for Best P.I. Novel three years running for entries in this series, along with Anthony and Barry Award recognition.
Is the Moe Prager series complete?
Yes. It concluded with The Hollow Girl in 2014, and Coleman has not returned to the character since.
If you like the Moe Prager series
Reading order last verified .