• A Good and Useful Hurt

  • By: Aric Davis
  • Narrated by: Luke Daniels
  • Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (290 ratings)

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A Good and Useful Hurt  By  cover art

A Good and Useful Hurt

By: Aric Davis
Narrated by: Luke Daniels
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Publisher's summary

Mike is a tattoo artist running his own shop, and Deb is the piercing artist he hires to round out his studio’s motley crew of four. The last either expects is romance, but that’s what they get as they follow their off-kilter careers and love lives into complete and total disaster. When Mike follows a growing trend and tattoos the ashes of deceased loved ones into several customers’ tattoos, he has no idea that it will one day provide the solution - and solace - he will sorely need. And when the life of a serial killer tragically collides with the lives in the tattoo shop, Mike and Deb will stop at nothing in their quest for revenge, even if it means stepping outside the known boundaries of life and death. Ink that is full of crematory ashes, a sociopathic killer, and pain in its rawest form…this is going to hurt.When the hope of redemption runs headlong into the dark side of life’s chaos, we are left with one of the most haunting thrillers in recent memory. A Good and Useful Hurt delivers the bittersweet essence of life with the sting of a needle in skin.

©2012 Aric Davis (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about A Good and Useful Hurt

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A New and Different Horror Story/Mystery

I only follow four audible reviewers. Elle from the Northwest led me to this paranormal mystery and love story, and as usual, she hit the mark. This story line is original and entertaining. This horror novel is about a talented and likable tattoo artist who unintentionally creates a new artistic trend by mixing the ashes of cremated love ones into tattoo ink. This audible mystery was very well done. The ability to suspend belief would have been challenging had it not been for the narration of Luke Daniels, who keeps it real. Worth a credit.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Good enough to kill time, but that's about it

Any additional comments?

The writer seemed outdated and out of touch with the community he was writing about. He dwelt quite a bit on the edginess of the tatooed and pierced and described other types of permanent body ornamentation as though he had gotten the descriptions from an encyclopedia (or "Counterculture for Idiots"). The killer's motivations were never really explored and the story seemed like a vehicle to allow the writer to list out all the awful things people might do to each other for lust, hatred or revenge. Not worth the time.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Murder-mystery/love story/paranormal

An artistic man becomes a tattoo artist. He has a lot of pain in his life, along with a group of great friends who work in the tattoo parlor with him. Then comes love, pain and slight paranormal incidents that leave to a fairly cool and unexpected conclusion.
On sale right now (5/12/14) for a few more days, I encourage those of you who like slightly oddball but well written stories combined with one of the best narrators around..Luke Daniels has a great voice. I love his narrating.

This is my first Aric Davis book and I decided to try another one because I enjoyed this so much. Hope you do too!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good book!

I really liked this book, it was nice change from your typical thriller. I liked how the girls were given voices. I really like this narrator he makes it even better!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great cast of characters

This book was a happy surprise, good, believable characters, and a good mystery mixed with a bit of paranormal. A tattoo artist along with some old friends try to find a serial killer through some unorthodox methods of tattooing and ghosts. I will look for more books from this author.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stephen King Fans, Say Hello to the New Kid

I wasn't expecting much from this; I downloaded it based on a recommendation and then let it sit for awhile. And I just finished it. And...it's really, really, really good. It. blew. me. away. I wasn't expecting the supernatural angle, and Davis does it as King does - the focus is on the characters, and the characters are great. Wow.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Good story, but a bit too far fetched and gruesome

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes. Remove gruesome ritual and disturbing inner-monolog of villian.

What was most disappointing about Aric Davis’s story?

I was tempted by the mystery and even the tattoo theme. I am not into tattoos, but a housemate introduced me to LA Ink and I became interested in why and how people get tattoos. However, I found the supernatural premise in this book a bit much and the gruesome ritual way too much. There is also something deeply disturbing about the villain's inner monolog and its inclusion. I am a fan of Dexter and Criminal Minds and have a fascination for the whole profiling/trying to figure out and track serial killer thing, but something about the way the villain's thoughts were recorded felt creepy even in that context.

Have you listened to any of Luke Daniels’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I love Luke Daniels and he is a big reason I finished the book and won't actually return it. There are good aspects to the story and characters and Luke Daniels brings those out even more. Great style, pace, and character voices.

Could you see A Good and Useful Hurt being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I really hope not, at least not without significant rewriting.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting, but Jarring

Is there anything you would change about this book?

At the risk of spoiling a good portion of the book for those who have not read it yet, I would remove the shifts from the protagonist's perspective to that of the killer. It felt tremendously unnecessary, and the shift in language was enough to jar me out of the story. This was true both when I was listening to the narration and when reading the novel on my Kindle.

I felt that it was unnecessary - we already know that the antagonist is not a likable individual. Why accentuate with ugly, jarring language that completely removes the reader from the experiences of the protagonist?

Would you be willing to try another book from Aric Davis? Why or why not?

I'm not sure at this point. The voice of the protagonist rang authentic to me, but there were several points that I was just ripped out of the story.

Have you listened to any of Luke Daniels’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any of Luke Daniels's other performances. That said, I felt that he did an excellent job of carrying the protagonist's voice (Mike), though I disliked his portrayal of Deb. I think I would have preferred an inflection-less reading, rather than an attempt at modulating his voice to be more feminine.

Did A Good and Useful Hurt inspire you to do anything?

No.

Any additional comments?

Aric Davis has a sort of sparse elegance to his writing, which made reading most of this novel a pleasure. I enjoyed the setting of the tattoo parlour and the inclusion of the supernatural in the story, though I felt that the changes to the antagonist's perspective were gratuitous and unnecessary. I was constantly jarred out of the cadence of the story, which might have been Mr. Davis' intention.

However, I found that less than pleasant, and the language used when making the change in perspective felt forced and unnatural. To steal a phrase from television, it felt like jumping the shark. My belief in the world that Mr. Davis was building was shaken each time it occurred, and it was actually a challenge to finish the novel. I'm not sure that I would chose to read anything else by Mr. Davis at this time.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An interesting new take on catching the bad guy

Any additional comments?

I greatly enjoyed listening to this book! I really fell for the cast of characters. This book begins as a love story and changes into a with our powers combined for the common good thriller. My only qualm is that a few of the characters felt one-sided.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I'm loving it

If you could sum up A Good and Useful Hurt in three words, what would they be?

No I don't have a tattoo nor ever want one. But this book is a 'can't put down'. Engaging characters, people I would like to know and a strong story line. Plus this is one of the best narrators I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. He seems to be as engaged in the story as I am. Love it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mike, of course. He is a deep soul and genuine good guy

Which character – as performed by Luke Daniels – was your favorite?

Deb, Daniels has the ability to make her seem natural.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

I want to find more of this combination

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