With the El tracks, the little shops at street level, and two stories of rental apartments above them, the streets crowded with people, I felt I was looking into the past at old New York. But in the past, the signs would have been in English or maybe Italian or Yiddish. Not the signs here now, Not now. In Brighton Beach the signs were written in Russian. Maybe it was Ukrainian. How the hell would I know the difference?What You Break is the second in series of crime novels by Reed Farrel Coleman

ARC received courtesy of Goodreads.com First Reads GiveawayI cannot believe that I haven't discovered Reed Farrel Coleman before now! What a talent! This novel is so well-written, I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!Gus, the main character, is a retired cop working at a rundown hotel driving the courtesy van. His son died suddenly on the basketball court and out of that grief came a lack of faith, a divorce and brokenness. His brokenness is what drives this story. He has friends of question...

The second book in the Gus Murphy series is another dark take on life after loss. This regional series paints a very dim picture of life on the raw side of Long Island.The death of his son has shattered Gus's life. His job, his wife, his family and his professional relationships as a former Suffolk County policeman have all been irreparably altered.Just as he seems to be coming to the surface to catch a gulp of air, he finds himself involved in two cases that threaten his new love and his new be...

This past weekend I read Where It Hurts and What You Break and not only are they extremely involved stories with several cogs and moving parts, but they serve to get you thinking about a number of issues that you are currently seeing in the evening news. If I learned anything from reading this book, it is that I need to brush up on my history and current events. My favorite part about reading, even if it’s fiction, is the knowledge you pick up as part of the story. So much of this story piqued m...

Gus Murphy is an exceptional protagonist. He was a cop, though never a detective. Still, he has skills, some common sense, second-guesses himself frequently, and on occasion requires someone else's help to get out of a tough scrape. In other words, a character most of us can relate to. A page-turner of a story. Another reason this is an excellent series - his friend Slava (who might deserve his own story). Highly recommended, though do start with Where It Hurts!

Another winner for Mr. Coleman. Few writers take the time to develop their characters but Mr. Coleman certainly is in no hurry to get to the action and I applaud that. His characters are all flawed in some way which makes them more relatable. Mr. Coleman continues to be at the top of his game.

Michael Connolly has Los Angeles, Ian Rankin Edinburgh, Laura Lippman Baltimore; the late Robert Parker Boston; Tim Hallinan Bangkok. Others write about localities they know. And Reed Farrel Coleman not only lives in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, but takes us on a guided tour, in this novel featuring his somewhat flawed ex-cop Gus Murphy, still suffering after the death of his 20-year-old son, John Jr. Gus, divorced after the death blew up his marriage, lives and works at a second-rate

This is the second and latest of the Gus Murphy series of novels and it's a cracker. Murphy is a retired Suffolk County cop whose world fell apart when his son died suddenly and now he works as a courtesy bus driver, bouncer and house detective at the Paragon Hotel in Long Island. He is also an unlicensed PI and in this latest novel he has to keep his Polish friend Slava safe from a Chechen hitman, while trying to discover the reason for a young Vietnamese girl's apparently motiveless death, at

I almost gave this one a "Two" star rating.. I LOVE Coleman's Moe Prager series. But one thing I didn't like about that series was that it seemed like he demanded that you remember EVERYTHING from the books before-and if you happened to miss a book in the series, too bad.... Even though this is just book 2 of his new series, it seems once again, Coleman wants you to recall his previous book-very well. I enjoyed the 1st Gus book, though not as much as his Moe series. Book 2 has left me underwhelm...

4.5 Stars Gus Murphy is back and in this book becomes inadvertently involved in his friend Slava's past and also is asked by his friend Father Bill to look into why a rather nasty man's granddaughter was brutally murdered. The past figures substantially in both of these story lines. In this book, Gus has made progress in his recovery from his son's sudden death. His son's death will always be a part of who Gus is, but it was a lot less heavy handed in this outing than the first. I love Coleman's...

Coleman is one of my favorites and he hasn't lost a step as he transitioned to this latest series.

(2 1/2) The first Gus Murphy book was big fun. This one is a little darker and more involved and it really helps to have read the first one to get a better handle on this one. That all being said, Coleman keeps this one hopping. You have no time to figure out what the hell is really going on because the excitement is pretty much non stop. A wonderful, flawed protagonist, we see lots of different introspective sides of Gus in this story, all if it pretty darn interesting. The looseness of the sto...

3.5 stars

The sudden death of his son ended the life Gus Murphy had as a husband/father and Suffolk County police officer. Now, besotted with grief and regrets, he ekes out a living as house dick/van driver for an airport hotel and bouncer at a sleazy club.All that changes and not for the better when Gus reluctantly accepts a job looking into the brutal murder of Micah Spears' granddaughter. Police have the killer in custody, but Spears wants to know why he did it. In the midst of resolving that mystery,

I like the way Coleman writes: he consistently delivers no nonsense, hardboiled crime fiction. But following the conclusion of his successful Moe Prager series, I was slightly nervous as to how he would follow it up. I shouldn't have been. His first book introducing his new front man Gus Murphy, Where It Hurts, hit all the right notes and I instantly took a liking to (yet) another damaged ex-cop trying to eke out a living whist conunuing to entertainin the thought that he can still bust balls a...

"What you break, you own ... forever"

After liking the first book, this one disappointed. Gus is such a downer. And the characters in this one, although well drawn (especially Slava and the Polish/Russian gang associates )- were cold. Merciless seems like a mantra. There is such repeated talk of young death and endless back looking despair of void over his son, John Jr.- that it just lays like a pall over the whole. Not the new woman or the varied job flow even dents it, IMHO. Only technical or procedural movements and eats seem to

WHAT YOU BREAK by Reed Farrel Coleman is the second book of the Gus Murphy series, and follows Gus in his attempts to move on with his life after the sudden death of his son followed by the break up of his marriage. Gus is a former police officer with several years on the force who never was a detective, but has experience & qualities that enable him to be effective as a private detective.Gas has a relationship with Magdalena, who like him comes along with baggage, yet the two of them have a goo...

What You Break by Reed Farrel Coleman is a very highly recommended second detective novel featuring ex-cop Gus Murphy.Gus is still working as security for the Paragon Hotel in Suffolk County and part time courtesy driver to Long Island’s MacArthur Airport. Gus is asked by his friend Bill Kilkenny, an ex-priest, to meet with Micah Spears and take on an investigation into why Spears granddaughter, Linh Trang, was brutally murdered. The cops have the man who did it, suspect, Asesinos gang member Ro...

What You Break by Reed Farrel Coleman.Gus Murphy, a former cop, is caught up in a situation that has him on the alert and leery of everyone. He's been introduced to a wealthy man, Speares, whose granddaughter was murdered. The police say they have their man but is that the way Gus sees it? At the same time Gus's employee and friend, Slava, has been targeted for a hit. Finally Slava comes clean and unloads all the hidden secrets in his past that has put his very life in jeopardy. Gus understands