Where It Hurts And For How Long

by Philip LoPresti

It’s been a year since Gideon “The Dog Boy” McClusky drove through the streets of his hometown, a butterfly blade stuck between his ribs, and an unknown woman bleeding to death in the back seat. No one knows what happened that night, including Gideon himself, but there wasn’t enough evidence to pin him to her death, and besides, he had what doctors called a psychotic break. Recently released from the mental ward he returns home where he’s seen as a spitting image of his father who years prior confessed to the death of an eight year old boy. Now back Gideon is hell-bent on finding out who the girl was and what exactly happened, but in doing so he must navigate through his old life of ex lovers, obsessed detectives, former boxing rivals, and a killer for hire whose sadistic nature has no bounds, all leading him to the answers he’s been searching for, but a revelation he never wanted.

191 pages, Paperback

Published April 11, 2021

About the author

Philip LoPresti is an author and photographer living in upstate New York. His work is often overtly emotional and thick with themes such as loss, redemption, mental illness, death, grief, and existentialism. When he's not writing or photographing everything he's usually obsessively reading Cormac McCarthy novels, hanging out with his dog and girlfriend, and watching horror, crime, and western films.

Reviews

[Donald Armfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slow burn noir or a psychotic episode LoPresti takes death, crime cases, mental health and
Gideon The Dog Boy McClusky and punches in places where it hurts.
Highly recommended for fans of Denis Johnson

[John The Crippledgimp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was bleak dark and gritty psychological thriller/crime noir/ psychotic episode that draws out like a slow blade and rips you across the throat and lets you bleed out. LoPresti just fucking rules and everyone I read something from him I become a even bigger fan. Highly recommend this and anything else by this author

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read so many hardboiled novels, that whenever I stumble upon a good one these days I go like: why is it good? Why doesn't it feel derivative like all the others.

For this novel, I believe it's a mix of good characterization (they're all equally damaged and depressed) and a hybridization of hardboiled and goth elements that gave Where It Hurts and For How Long a surreal edge to it. It doesn't feel like it's happening anywhere in particular. It could be set in the abandoned backdrop of your hometown. I don't have much to say about it aside that it isn't super duper original, but it's rich and well executed.

[India · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the jump, you are drawn into the world of Gideon “Dog Boy” McClusky, a former boxer from a small town who finds himself in a horrifying and chaotic situation. Heavy with mystery and a smattering of violence, we follow Gideon as he returns home after his release from a mental ward. Here, haunted by voices of his past, he seeks answers, while navigating different aspects of his former life – old boxing rivals, ex-lovers, and detectives who are just as determined as Gideon himself to find answers surrounding the mystery he has no memory of.

As is LoPresti’s style, WHERE IT HURTS AND FOR HOW LONG is dark, filled to the brim with raw and honest emotion; emotion that many of us attempt to avoid in our day-to-day lives. He has a talent for infusing his writing with mood that blends authenticity and sympathy with cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity. He evokes a haunting imagery and paints a detailed scene at every turn that will hold you in its grip from the first page to the final word.

[Lisa Elkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic & spellbinding read from the author. Beautiful imagery of raw emotion & dark reasoning. A brilliant, edge-of-your-seat ride from start to finish.