The Pain Scale

Written by Tyler Dilts

Narrated by Mel Foster

Long Beach homicide detective Danny Beckett returns from a year-long medical leave badly scarred and in constant pain, yet determined to prove he still has what it takes to do the job. He gets his chance when a call comes in that shocks even the toughest guys in the squad room: A California congressman’s daughter-in-law and grandchildren have been brutally murdered in their upscale home. At first glance, it looks like a robbery gone wrong, but Danny’s not so sure. Something doesn’t quite add up. With state and local law enforcement in an uproar and the media circling like vultures, the pressure’s on for Danny and his partner, Jennifer Tanaka, to solve this one. Too much is at stake…and not just politically. Even if they manage to crack the case, there’s no guarantee the stress won’t derail Danny’s recovery. Because while the doctors can treat his physical pain, no one can erase the agony of the past that haunts every step he takes—and threatens to destroy his career once and for all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Oct 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469238036

Tyler Dilts

Tyler Dilts received his BA in theater from Cal State Long Beach and performed in more than sixty plays before turning his focus to writing. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Best American Mystery Stories. He is also the author of the Long Beach Homicide series of detective novels: A King of Infinite Space, The Pain Scale, A Cold and Broken Hallelujah (an Amazon #1 bestseller) and, most recently, the Edgar Award–nominated Come Twilight. In 2014, he was the Writer-in-Residence at John Cabot University in Rome, and in 2015 he joined the teaching staff of the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. He currently teaches English at his alma mater, where his specialties include creative writing, crime fiction, and literary theory. He lives with his wife in Long Beach, California. Contact Tyler at www.facebook.com/tylerdiltsbooks.

Reviews for The Pain Scale

[nospi-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book. I came to really care about the main character. The author's description of chronic pain is spot on.

[cherilove · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great new author, in the vein of Michael Connelly. Setting the story in Long Beach brings the grittiness of Connelly's Los Angeles, but grounds it. (Sometimes I think that Connelly's books show L.A as larger, but shallower, than life in the same way The Day of the Locust does.) Anyway . . . the author is particularly good at portraying the interior life of a "real" man: one who isn't all about emotions, but nonetheless still has deep feelings.The conversation, and premise of the book, that underlies the title is both obvious and profound, something that I've discussed in several conversation in the few months since I read this book.

[ptdilloway-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was written competently enough but it was so boring. The author seems to think random facts about characters will give them personality, like the main detective has chronic pain and his partner is looking for a house but it doesn't work. If this were a network TV show it would have been cancelled after three episodes.

[ghostwriter57 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very good read! Solid plot, good writing... Same characters/setting as in his first book, A King of Infinite Space. I would highly recommend this book and author