Reed Farrel Coleman has been called a “hard-boiled poet” by NPR’s Maureen Corrigan and the “noir poet laureate” in The Huffington Post. He has published twenty-five novels, including nine books in the critically acclaimed Moe Prager series, and most recently, Where It Hurts. He is a three-time recipient of the Shamus Award for Best Detective Novel of the Year, a winner of the Barry and Anthony Awards, and is a two-time Edgar Award nominee. Coleman lives with his family on Long Island.
Reed Farrel Coleman has been called a “hard-boiled poet” by NPR’s Maureen Corrigan and the “noir poet laureate” in The Huffington Post. He has published twenty-three novels, including nine books in the critically acclaimed Moe Prager series, and most recently, Where It Hurts. He is a three-time recipient of the Shamus Award for Best Detective Novel of the Year, a winner of the Barry and Anthony Awards, and is a two-time Edgar Award nominee. Coleman lives with his family on Long Island.
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE:Where It Hurts deals a lot with police politics, and calls into question what “justice for all” really means – especially during a time when it seems as though the justice system dooms certain people who enter it to fail from the start. The cops in your novel are so corrupt that in your author’s note you make it a point to state that none of the real-life Long Island cops you know resemble those in the book. Besides the entertainment factor, what made you want to write about corrupt cops?
REED FARREL COLEMAN: Sometimes there is a peculiar synergy between fiction and real life. While I was conceiving the character of Gus Murphy and creating a milieu in which he would operate, a scandal broke in the local newspapers that seemed so appropriate to use as the skeleton for the plot that I would have been a fool to ignore it. But let’s be clear: A writer’s job is to take things that happen in real life and then alter it. I enjoy removing the actual facts and motivations behind the reality of a situation and supplying my own. Otherwise, where is the pleasure in it for me or for the reader?
PRH:You also write poetry, and have even been called the “noir poet laureate” by The Huffington Post. In what ways has your poetry writing influenced your fiction writing, and vice versa?
RFC: I am not conscious of my background and training in poetry as I write. I don’t count off iambs or think, “Hey, let’s do something poetic here.” That would come off as pretentious and artificial. I suppose I absorbed my classes and my experience well enough to just do the things with which I am credited. But let’s make no mistake about it. Poetry or not, I consider myself a mystery/crime fiction author and couldn’t be prouder of it.
PRH:Although Where it Hurts could be read as a standalone novel, enough loose ends were left hanging by the end to make us wonder what might come next. Do you have any future plans for Gus Murphy that you can tell us about?
RFC: Indeed I do. I’ve already completed the next Gus novel, What You Break, though my editor hasn’t yet given me back her notes on it. Whereas Where It Hurts is a meditation on grief, loss, and resurrection, What You Break is an exploration of what people do when they discover that someone they love and are loyal to may have a dark past.
