Break and Enter

by Colin Harrison

By appearances Peter Scattergood leads a privileged life: a post as Assistant District Attorney, a loving wife, and a townhouse in Philadelphia's exclusive Society Hill. Assigned to an explosive homicide case - the murder of the mayor's nephew and the young man's beautiful mistress - the power and prestige he's always craved seem within his grasp. But soon the illusion of success shatters. His wife walks out on their seven-year marriage. The double-murder case casts a shadow of doubt on his most trusted peers. And, in a moment of weakness, Peter enters into an affair with a woman whose greatest skill is arousing suspicion. With everything spinning out of control, Peter is driven by rage into the blackest depths of corruption and perversity - following a twisted obsession for justice that will force him to break the law he has sworn to uphold: to punish the innocent as well as the guilty.

Genres: Mystery

311 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Colin Harrison is a crime novelist. He is a vice president and senior editor at Scribner.
He lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with his wife, the writer Kathryn Harrison, and their three children (Sarah, Walker and Julia).

He attended: Haverford College, BA 1982; University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. MFA 1986

His short nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Vogue, Salon, Worth, and other various publications.

Reviews

[Glenn Russell]

Two of the most recognizable landmarks in Philadelphia - City Hall and Claes Oldenburg's Clothspin

Colin Harrison has crafted seven turbocharged thrillers that pulse with the energy of New York City, including Bodies Electric, Manhattan Nocturne, Afterburn, and You Belong to Me. Here’s a vital point that cannot be overstated: Harrison’s fiction isn’t just thrilling—it’s fiercely literary, evoking the brilliance of masters like Philip Roth and Don DeLillo.

However, before penning these seven Big Apple scorchers, Harrison—raised and educated in the Philadelphia area—honed his writer chops with his debut novel, Break and Enter (1990), written in his late twenties. The story unfolds in the City of Brotherly Love, following Peter Scattergood, a tall, handsome, athletic, 31-year-old lawyer working for the District Attorney's office in City Hall.

The novel is written in close third person, following Peter from the first page to the last. Readers familiar with Japanese author Hideo Yokoyama's Seventeen will recognize a similar structure: the protagonist is forced to endure an unrelenting barrage of challenges, as if he were the sole target in a high-stakes game of dodgeball. Colin Harrison employs this approach to equally gripping effect.

Oh, yes. In the opening pages, Peter Scattergood is in the midst of a murder trial, expecting the jury to deliver a guilty verdict once he, as the prosecuting attorney, presents the evidence and delivers his final statement. Then it happens: Peter is also assigned a politically explosive double-murder case, one of the victims being the nephew of the city's mayor. Alongside his demanding professional responsibilities, Janice, his wife of seven years, has just walked out on him. Not long thereafter, horny and frustrated, Peter brings another woman to his bed on Delancey Street, further fueling the chaos and drama in his life.

Break and Enter is a legal thriller that will bring to mind Scott Turow or John Grisham. However, unlike Mitch McDeere or Gray Grantham in the Grisham novels, Peter Scattergood has weaknesses and flaws, he's not an entirely likable character. Yet, we can root for him as he battles his way to repair his marriage and uncover the truth behind the Baltimore Avenue murders.

As Colin Harrison does in all of his New York novels, this Philly yarn contains many references to race, class, and gender. We're right there with Peter as he interacts with men and women from all strata of society. For example, here's what goes through Peter's mind as he sits down to interview a black suspect from one of Philadelphia rougher neighborhoods -

"Peter had seen many defendants in his time, all variety of men, from the most despicable to rather likable, talkative fellows; either type could be remorseless or weep with guilt. Carothers possessed a handsome, watchful face and the strong, loose-limbed build that conveyed, like a middle-weight boxer, the ability to move fists quickly through air when angered. He stood rubbing wrists with the quiet detached cool meant to counterbalance his powerlessness in the situation."

Peter was raised a Quaker. When Peter turns his mind back on his past, we're given a taste of what this must have meant for a young Peter. Here's a snip: "His grandfather, an old-school Quaker banker, had been the last one in the family to use the Quaker "thee" and "thou" privately. Twenty-five years back, from across the room, he had stated firmly as Peter complained about something: Thou art an impatient boy, Peter. Thee must learn better discipline."

Break and Enter isn't quite on the level of his New York novels, most notably Bodies Electric and Manhattan Nocturne, but it is a strong first novel and one I thoroughly enjoyed. And if you have a particular interest in the city of Philadelphia, this will certainly provide added incentive to give the novel a go.


"Their townhouse stood on the south side of the two hundred black of Delancey. It was a narrow street, with two- and three-story brick homes, none newer than the early 1700s." Peter truly loves everything about his beautiful Delancey Street townhouse in Society Hill. And he yearns for Janice to move back in with him.


"Yeah, son of his sister who lives out on Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia. Everybody loved him, a real prince. Straight-A student at Overbrook High, on full scholarship to Penn. He'd been accepted to Harvard Medical School." So Peter's lawyer boss tells him about the mayor's nephew who was found murdered along with his girlfriend in their Baltimore Avenue apartment.


Driving out to Baltimore Avenue. Peter admires the thriving West Philadelphia businesses in the black community centered around 52nd and Market Street.


Arch Street Quaker Meeting House near Independence Mall. At one point, Peter sits in the historic meeting house and reflects that it was here, seven years ago, he and Janice were married.


Colin Harrison, born 1960

[Robert Rosenthal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of Colin Harrison, having read The Havana Room many years ago. I would still put it on my top 20 list of contemporary fiction. Therefore, I began Break and Enter with high expectations -- never a good idea I've discovered. This is a novel with lots of potential, but like many first efforts (in the Acknowledgments Harrison thanks his editor for taking on an unpublished author), it sadly falters. There are several reasons for this. But first, the positives. The depiction of Philadelphia life in the last years of the '80s is so dead-on that I could practically smell the soft pretzels outside City Hall and the cheesesteaks in South Philly. I lived there for 14 years so I was truly impressed. Also, Harrison is a wonderful writer, that is, one who uses words to craft scenes and images and characters, and uses those words both skillfully and beautifully. This guy can write!

However, the novel has serious flaws. There is a central plot line involving a double-muder (the mayor's gifted nephew and girlfriend), which the protagonist, Peter, an assistant D.A., is assigned to handle. There is pressure from the mayor and Peter's boss, an intimidating power-broker, to close the case quickly. But Peter's thoughts are preoccupied with his wife, Janice -- who's left him -- and on his attempts to save his marriage. He lapses and has, not quite an affair, but a series of one-night stands with an older woman for whom he feels nothing but sexual heat. All of this info is available on the back matter, so I'm not giving anything away. Harrison cannot maintain the right balance between these two plot lines: the emotional, character-driven drama with his wife and sex-life, and the gritty drama of Philly cops and journalists and politics in which Peter finds himself caught up. The latter is by far the better read, although the scenes between Peter and his wife are well drawn and compelling. Janice is a far more interesting and appealing character than Peter. Her flaws foibles make sense of her behavior and she remains likable and desirable despite them. Not so Peter. He's kind of flat: neither likable nor despicable. His motivations feel murky and not well-supported. I found it hard to root for him, even though I wanted to.

This is not a thriller. It needs more of an engine. So the reveals of the murder mystery are not big enough, and don't unfold with sufficient suspense to carry the frequent forays into the protagonist's past. Instead, the emotional plot line outweighs and crushes the other, making for a read that proceeds in fits and starts. As a result, I cannot recommend this book. It's simply not worth the effort.
The finish, which I'll get into in more detail below, was particularly disappointing. Harrison chooses to set his climax in the emotional plot line with Peter and his wife. It's unbelievable, but worse, it eclipses the main action, which is wrapped up in an after-the-fact epilogue. At the end, I felt like I'd gone to a fine restaurant and been served a mediocre meal.

SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ FURTHER UNLESS YOU DON'T CARE


In the climactic scene Peter goes to talk to Janice, encounters her with her lover, and winds up threatening said lover with a gun he's bought for his protection. It's way over the top and inadequately set-up. I wanted to toss Peter and the book.
The real killer, the mayor's long term disciple and true believer, also feels inadequate. Yes, at least his motives make sense, but there's simply no suspense or energy either in the character or his unmasking.
Finally, there is a plot element that Harrison leaves completely unresolved. Peter discovers that someone has broken into his house without his knowing it. They may have messed with his computer. We never learn who or why. His wife? Her boyfriend? The dirty Mafia-like contact to whom he refuses to pay hush money? The mayor's goons? This is emblematic of the whole novel: it simply doesn't hang together.

[Dewayne Stark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tried reading this on my Kindle App and had to quit before finishing it.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be fair, I did not finish this book. I shelved it unfinished and it's probably the first book for which I have done so. Historically, I read everything in front of me. Once a book is started, I feel compelled to complete it, even if I don't particularly enjoy it. One year I got it into my head to make angels out of old books by ripping off the covers, breaking the spines and folding and tearing out pages as needed. The only thing I could in good conscience use to do this project were Harlequin romance novels purchased for pennies at thrift stores. I even read THOSE cover to cover, hating myself the entire time.

Two chapters in, I was feeling sufficiently dissatisfied that I came here to Goodreads to read what other people had to say about this book. The reviews were...mixed...at best. I have seen similar reviews for books I enjoyed, so I pressed on.

Four chapters in, the main character was so unredeemable, I felt the need to turn to the back of the book and read the epilogue. And yes, at one time I did shake all my Christmas packages to try to guess what was inside. What I read at the end was sad and depressing. The only reason to press on to an ending like that was if the reader was enjoying the journey, which I was not.

By the end of chapter seven I knew it was over. Never before have I just abandoned a book. Never before have I just said No, this is not worth my time. I finished The Fountainhead. I finished Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses. I've even read And Ladies of the Club (a friend swore it was amazing...yeesh). I am no stranger to long, meandering fiction. This didn't meander it circled...the drain.

Many people stated that this author had amazing novels published after this one. I will have to assume that is so. I do not think I will be reading anything else by him.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was more a novel about a guy (an ass't state attorney general) trying to win his wife back than it was a legal thriller. That was fine, & there were some excellent sections. But the actions the protagonist took near the end of the book so beggared belief that I was quite disappointed & certainly can't recommend the book.

Let me add that this novel was published in 1990; his The Finder, published 18 years later in 2008, was an excellent book in the mystery/thriller category, tho' not for the weak of stomach.

[Phenomene]

Not very memorable.

[Sam Reaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anybody who still doubts that crime fiction can be literature needs to read Colin Harrison. What he does is not exactly mystery, not exactly suspense, just rich, ambitious novels about people and the crimes that change their lives. In this one, a Philadelphia prosecutor juggles the breakup of his marriage, a high-profile murder case and corruption on several levels. A great read from a very underrated novelist.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story line had great potential but never delivered. It starts out good enough, building the characters and an intriguing plot line, but then half way through everything gets disjointed and difficult to follow. At times I felt I was reading a different book that's how detached the story became. I kept thinking it would get better and all come together but it never did and then, to top it all off, the last chapter/ending was pretty far fetched in my opinion. Wouldn't recommend.

[Kyra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very different from the two other Colin Harrison novels I have read to date. Sort of a John Grisham wannabe. Rather clumsily assembled and not particularly gripping. When the descriptions of Philadelphia are more interesting than either the plot or the characters...there is something definitely missing.

[Erik Tanouye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't buy the ending. But the set-up was great, and his other books are worth reading -- thrillers without the bad writing that mars many other thrillers.

Gossip: He's married to Kathryn Harrison, author of "The Kiss"

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited about this because it takes place in Philly, but the story just drags on and isn't as compelling as it sounds like it should be.


Note: as of 10/29/10, the summary for this book as listed on goodreads is not at all what the novel's about.

[Marti · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out okay, and I enjoyed it, but then it seemed to get somewhat tediousl, then a little preposterous and off kilter. The Chicago Tribune blurb on the front cover said, "Unpredictable to the very last page, so I expected something more dramatic than the author delivered.

[Peter Genild · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love all of Colin Harrison's other books (and so will you, if you're into thrillers set in New York City and written in a Paul Auster kind of vein) but this, his debut, is quite a disaster. Avoid at all cost.

[Cws]

M Har

[Joe Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start...

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book in which the main character was flawed and not terribly likable. The story kept me going however, and I am glad to have read it - good writing.

[Peggy]

I didn't particularly care for this book. There was just not much to it and a very boring ending.

[Peter A. Hendricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping legal thriller!

A compelling plot, yes, but much more than that, Harrison confirms what an extraordinary and knowing student of human nature he really is. Superb!

[Julia Williamson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't remember what I think....story is lost in time.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stsrted out okay but lost interest halfway thru so never understood half of what was happening.