Review: Brooklyn-born author’s ‘Where it Hurts’ is superb detective novel
Brooklyn BookBeat
Gus Murphy was looking forward to retirement after a distinguished career as a Long Island police officer, but when his son dropped dead of an undiagnosed heart defect during a pickup basketball game, Gus’ life all but ended, too.
His marriage couldn’t endure the strain, his daughter self-medicated with illegal drugs and Gus descended into depression.
Now, two years later, he is living alone, subsisting on what little he earns as a courtesy van driver for a crummy hotel and sleepwalking through life.
That’s when Tommy Delcamino, a small-time crook Gus used to arrest, shows up looking for help. Tommy’s son is dead, too, gunned down in a mysterious murder the Suffolk County police show little interest in solving. At first, Gus wants no part of it and sends Tommy packing. But Gus understands Tommy’s pain. So reluctantly, he finally agrees to poke into it.