Where It Hurts

I’m a Reed Farrel Coleman mystery fan, especially the Moe Prager WhereItHurtsseries. So I was saddened when that series came to a sad but honest end. But Coleman has followed it up with a new protagonist, different but equally as good, Gus Murphy. While Moe was based in Brooklyn, Gus is based in Suffolk County, Long Island, much closer to my home and much more familiar, which always makes for fun reading.

Gus is ex-Suffolk County police. It’s been two years since his son suddenly died and Gus’ life has been a disaster. He dealt with bouts of depression. His marriage collapsed. His daughter, Kristy, once a ‘good girl’, has been acting up. He lives in the low class hotel for which he drives the van to and from the Long Island show more Railroad Station. Things really couldn’t get much more depressing.

When, an ex-con, Tommy Delcamino, who Murphy arrested several times, approaches him to find the killers of his lowlife, druggie son, TJ, because the police haven’t followed up on any leads, Murphy thinks he’s playing the ‘dead son’ card and tells him to fuck off. However, after ruminating over it and discussing it with his therapist, he realizes Delcamino had no one else to turn to. So, he decides to apologize to Delcamino for his insensitivity. However, arriving at his trailer, Murphy finds it tossed and Delcamino brutally murdered. So, of course, Murphy has no option but to pursue both Tommy and TJ’s murder. Being warned off by both policemen and drug dealers alike only reinforces Murphy’s resolve.

Murphy is a real person in the sense that he goes through a range of emotions. He’s lost his faith in God. He’s been wallowing in self pity for the past two years. And when his investigation seems to give him renewed life, he doesn’t understand it and finds it hard to swallow.

I particularly like Murphy’s cynicism regarding God and religion, the various inequities on Long Island, police corruption and life in general. His descriptions of various Long Island neighborhoods, the rich ones and the poor ones, is spot on, cynicism included. The ancillary characters are a mixed bunch, from honest to corrupt police, savage drug dealers, and folks down on their luck. All of this makes for good reading. I’m trying to think of who to compare Gus Murphy to, but can’t come up with anyone.

After reading the Moe Prager series, I read all of Coleman’s other series, which is probably something you should do. It won’t take long to read, but the enjoyment should keep going for a long time.

According to Coleman’s website, this is Book 1 of the Gus Murphy series. That’s good to know. It gives me something to look forward to. show less

This is my first experience reading a book written by Reed Farrel Coleman, and although my reactions are mixed, I doubt that it will be my last. Where It Hurts is a bit too "noir P.I." for me, but Coleman writes beautifully and put me right inside Gus's head. At the beginning Gus is a robot, and "robots know only what they need to know." As he takes on this investigation, we get to watch him coming out of his grief-stricken inertia.

However, the pace of this book was excruciatingly slow for two-thirds of its length, probably because we spend too much time in Gus's head, and he hasn't been properly re-introduced into society yet. Depressing and slow as it may be, after reading Where It Hurts, I can see why Coleman is admired by so many show more people. show less

Gus Murphy lives on Long Island - but not the trendy Hamptons end. A former cop, Gus's life fell apart when his son suddenly died, his marriage crumbled, and his daughter is still struggling to cope. Now, he works as a driver for a mediocre hotel - friendless, purposeless, and essentially numb to the world until a known criminal asks Gus to look into the brutal torture and murder of his own son. Why should Gus care? Even he isn't sure, but the plea from another grieving father gives him something different to do and gradually kindles the fire in his belly for justice. What he doesn't yet know is that the murder is a small part of a much bigger and more dangerous affair. But Gus can't walk away, even when he's advised multiple times to show more do so. Coleman creates a real and admirable character in Gus whom readers will cheer on as he scrapes and claws his way back to a life worth living - provided his unwanted questions don't get him killed. show less

I can't believe this author has written 20 books, and I have never heard of much less read any of them. That is about to change.
Where It Hurts is an Excellent start to a new book series.
Gus Murphy hasn't been a cop since is son died 2 years ago, but he was a cop, a solid good cop, for 20 years. No he is a hollow shell of a man, when a lowlife from his past (Tommy D) reaches out to Gus, to ask for help, regarding the murder of his own son. Gus is soon buried in crosses and double crosses, doesn't know who if anyone in his old police department he can trust, yet the people warning him to stay away, and the dead bodies keep increasing.
The action is non stop, the story is well told, and more importantly it isn't filled with, "that would show more never happen" moments.
I can't wait to read the second book in the series, What You Break. show less

Where It Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman is a very highly recommended detective novel and the start of a new series.

Gus Murphy has had a bad couple of years and his life still seems to be spiraling downward. He was a Suffolk County cop, happily married with two kids and a house on Long Island, but after his son tragically, unexpectedly dies, his life is in shambles. Now he's retired from the force, divorced, and working as a security guard and courtesy driver for a run-down hotel, where he also lives. He's still mourning his son and the disintegration of his marriage and family. He tries to keep busy so he doesn't have to think. Thinking means remembering and Gus doesn't want to remember or think about what he's lost.

When ex-con Tommy show more Delcamino finds Gus and asks for his help, he tells Gus it is because Gus is the only cop who he ever trusted. Tommy's son T.J. was brutally tortured and murdered, his body left in a vacant lot. The Suffolk County PD doesn’t seem interested in pursuing the case and Tommy wants answers. He offers Gus all the money he has. Gus's first reaction is anger, thinking that Tommy came to him because of his son's death, but later circumstances cause him to start asking a few questions and looking into T.J.'s murder.

What Gus doesn't know until he is already involved in the case, is that he has inserted himself into a case where everyone seems to have something to hide. And it is becoming dangerous, even deadly, for anyone who asks questions or seems too interested in this case. Gus fights through his own personal demons and pain to find out what really happened. His investigation brings him into contact with a cast of bad, bad dudes and his life is on the line.

Where It Hurts is a totally engrossing novel and portends a great new series that I'd certainly follow. Coleman does an excellent job with the character of Gus. He has captured the nature of a man who is in mourning and unable to move on with his life after the tragedy that struck his life until circumstances force him to start thinking and interacting with people again. This is a well written, descriptive novel with a tight plot, and plenty of action and clues to follow. The cast of characters, while long, are easy to keep track of because they are so well defined as individuals. The ending was great, with an eye for future investigations and maybe some healing for Gus.

This is a winner for me and I'm thrilled that it is the start of a new series. Perfect stuck-overnight-at-the-airport book. You won't even know time has passed - but make sure you have another book with you because you're going to be racing through this one!

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of G.P. Putnam's Sons for review purposes.

http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/2016/01/where-it-hurts.html show less

I can't believe this author has written 20+ books, and I have never heard of much less read any of them. That is about to change.
Where It Hurts is an Excellent start to a new book series.
Gus Murphy hasn't been a cop since is son died 2 years ago, but he was a cop, a solid good cop, for 20 years. No he is a hollow shell of a man, when a lowlife from his past (Tommy D) reaches out to Gus, to ask for help, regarding the murder of his own son. Gus is soon buried in crosses and double crosses, doesn't know who if anyone in his old police department he can trust, yet the people warning him to stay away, and the dead bodies keep increasing.
The action is non stop, the story is well told, and more importantly it isn't filled with, "that would show more never happen" moments.
I can't wait to read the second book in the series, What You Break. show less

The fact that Reed Farrel Coleman was selected to continue Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone novels is testament to his skill in writing crime fiction. He also has won a number of awards for his independent detective novels, known for their “hard-boiled” aspects. In Where It Hurts, Coleman begins the first of a new noirish series featuring a former Long Island, New York policeman, Gus Murphy.

Both Gus's career and marriage came apart after his son inexplicably dropped dead on a basketball court. When he lost his job as a homicide detective, Gus began working as a van driver and bouncer for a middle-grade hotel near Long Island MacArthur Airport. The first 30-40 pages of the novel are a bit slow as we wallow in Gus’s self-pity. show more

Things get more interesting when a petty crook, Tommy Delcamino, whom Gus had arrested in his cop days, comes to see him. Tommy D’s son had been murdered, but the Long Island Police seem quite uninterested in solving the case. Tommy seeks out Gus because Gus always had treated him like a human being.

Gus initially rejects Tommy’s request that he look into Tommy’s son’s murder, but he changes his mind and goes to apologize for giving Tommy a hard time. When he arrives at Tommy’s place, he finds Tommy recently murdered, and is lucky to escape with his own life as some bad actors on the scene start shooting at him. Gus takes this assault personally, and then gets quite involved in trying to find the murderers and figure out why the police seem so uninterested in the matter. As he uncovers a trail of high level corruption and cover-up, he can’t be sure of whom to trust. The story gets fairly complicated, and Coleman creates at least two fast-paced, exciting scenes.

Evaluation: Murphy is cynical and disillusioned when we first meet him, but a likable character. Moreover, by the end of the book he is not nearly as morose as he was in the beginning, and there seems to be some hope of his achieving a modicum of happiness. I look forward to more books in this series.

(JAB) show less