Hard Feelings

By Jason Starr

Things aren’t going so well for Richie Segal. His prospects at the job are pretty miserable and, what’s more humiliating, his wife’s prospects at her job are pretty good. Richie knows he’s a good salesman, but he just can’t seem to land an account. And he’s starting to drink again. And worry about whether Paula’s seeing that old high school flame, or maybe someone new. It’s a little early, at thirty-four, for a mid-life crisis, but that’s pretty much what it feels like. And there’re those unwelcome memories of the neighborhood bully, Michael Rudnick and what he did to Richie when he was thirteen. Richie Segal’s feeling, well, abused.

Just when Richie’s about as low as he can get, he runs into Rudnick on the street and knows exactly what he needs to do. And suddenly things seem to be going much better. That is until they get much, much worse. In the classic tradition of Jim Thompson and James M. Cain, Hard Feelings is novel that lets us into the mind of an ordinary guy capable of things that even he couldn’t have imagined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Polis Books
• Release date: Sep 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781940610917

Jason Starr

JASON STARR is the international bestselling author of many crime novels, psychological thrillers, and graphic novels. His thrillers include Cold Caller, Nothing Personal, Fake I.D., Hard Feelings, Tough Luck, Twisted City, Lights Out, The Follower, Panic Attack, Savage Lane and Fugitive Red. Additionally, he's the author of the acclaimed Pack series of urban fantasy novels. His work in comics for Marvel and D.C., includes Batman, The Punisher, Ant-Man and the entire Wolverine Max series. He's also written many original comics and graphic novels including Red Border and Casual Fling for AWA/Upshot. He has co-written several novels with Ken Bruen for Hard Case Crime, and he's the writer of the official Gotham novels, based on the hit TV series. Several of Starr's novels are in development for film, TV and theater. His books have been translated into fourteen language and he's won the Anthony Award twice, as well as the Barry Award. His new novel, Curved Glass, will be published in 2021. He lives in New York City.

Reviews for Hard Feelings

[trivigo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I happened to see this on the shelf at the library as I was looking at what they had by Dan Simmons. I read the back and saw that he was compared to Jim Thompson. "We'll see about that," I thought, skeptically. The book passed my first page test, so I checked it out with relatively low expectations.Wow. This is simply a magnificent book that really challenges the line drawn between "literature" and crime fiction.Fans of Thompson, Bukowski, Fante, and many of the other writers I enjoy (see a list here) should really take note of this. The lead character has that outsider's view on things, despises douche-baggy frat-boy types, and generally has a cynical outlook. We find out what happens when a guy like that recalls blocked memories of being molested as a kid by running into his molester on the street.Starr really takes the time to establish his characters--ultimately this novel has such a strong pull because of the insights Starr provides into what drives these people. The plot, here, is extremely interesting, but as a thriller the book is far less about unfurling some tinkertoy plot than finding out WHAT HAPPENS TO THIS GUY.You just don't tend to find this kind insightful, honest writing in combination with interesting stories. I will have to hold myself back now from going on a Starr binge. Magnificent.