Confessions of a Contractor [Hardcover]

Richard Murphy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 2008

A sexy, page-turning novel about the combustible mix that results when you blend desire, jealousy, and home renovation—written by a successful screenwriter and former contractor.

Henry Sullivan has spent fifteen years renovating houses for wealthy women in Los Angeles. To distance himself from his clients and the intimate environments he works in, Henry has devised a set of rules to keep out of trouble. Over the course of one very complicated summer, Henry begins breaking those rules after he takes on the houses and the lives of two very different women who used to be friends. Henry falls for both of them, and quickly finds himself erecting an emotional house of cards as he attempts to complete both jobs while piecing together the mysterious events that ended the women’s friendship. Confessions of a Contractor breaks new ground, knocking down the walls of the American home, giving the reader an insightful look into the way people behave behind closed doors—and the secrets they shelter within. Candid, amusing, and hugely entertaining, this novel reveals that a good contractor can fix just about any home, but no contractor will ever be able to fix a homeowner.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In screenwriter Murphy's breezy debut, Henry Sullivan, a single, in-demand L.A. contractor, can pick and choose his high-end home renovation jobs. Henry's self-imposed rules—don't sleep with clients and don't take on too many projects at once—go out a half-finished window when he falls for two clients at once: Sally Stein, a single and successful purse designer, and Rebecca Paulson, an unhappily married mother of twins who is Sally's former best friend. Why the two women he loves are no longer speaking becomes so intriguing to Henry that he begins to dig for answers while simultaneously finishing (or, rather, attempting to finish) both their houses. How Henry finally solves the mystery is neatly wrapped up at the end of this amusing tour through the perils of poking around in others' intimate spaces. (Aug.)
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Review

“In screenwriter Murphy’s breezy debut, Henry Sullivan, a single, in-demand L.A. contractor, can pick and choose his high-end home renovation jobs. Henry’s self- imposed rules—don’t sleep with clients and don’t take on too many projects at once—go out a half-finished window when he falls for two clients at once: Sally Stein, a single and successful purse designer, and Rebecca Paulson, an unhappily married mother of twins who is Sally’s former best friend. Why the two women he loves are no longer speaking becomes so intriguing to Henry that he begins to dig for answers while simultaneously finishing (or, rather, attempting to finish) both their houses. How Henry finally solves the mystery is neatly wrapped up at the end of this amazing tour through the perils of poking around in others’ intimate spaces.”
—Publisher’s Weekly

“Hollywood screenwriter Murphy taps into his own lengthy history in the home- repair business to craft a debut novel about the uneven relationships between love and shelter. Murphy’s fictional doppelganger Henry Sullivan, a blue-collar contractor, is having a hell of a summer. After 15 years working a hammer, this home-repair whiz has learned a few tricks, including maintaining a firm grip on his common sense while clients are losing their minds. “Nothing epitomizes the American dream like a house,” he says. “It is the reason renovation has become the most expensive drug on the market, and the reason some people can’t stop doing it once they start.” Henry breaks his own rules by sleeping with Sally Stein, a charismatic purse designer who finds him to be a perfect accessory. At the same time, he can’t stop thinking about new client Rebecca, the wife of repellent real-estate guru Derrick Paulson, who buddies up to Henry to help him salvage his doomed marriage. As if the self-possessed Sullivan doesn’t have enough trouble with his love triangle, he’s also coping with retaliatory strikes by a vengeful oncologist who believes Henry slept with his wife; good-humored teasing by charming Mexican crew members Hector and Miguel; and his own unresolved feelings about a long-ruined relationship with a sexy Web designer named Gia. Murphy has a good feeling for dialogue, which gives the book’s uncomfortable relationships a strong sense of realism, despite the eccentric and sometimes outright crazy behavior of Henry’s love interests, and he ably captures the absurd humor that often springs from extreme wealth. But where the novel’s real charms lie is in Sullivan’s insightful observations of the thorny relationship between humans and their domiciles. Zen and the art of home repair: Home-improvement addicts, architectural hobbyists and amateur couples counselors should get plenty of mileage here.”
—Kirkus

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Putnam; 1st edition (August 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399155074
• ISBN-13: 978-0399155079
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #774,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Cheever Would Love This Book, August 14, 2008

By 

Adam Levine (Eden Prairie, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Confessions of a Contractor (Hardcover)

John Cheever says that the hallmark of good fiction is when the action on the surface of the narrative is underlined by deeper meaning below the surface. Confessions of a Contractor has that in spades. On the surface, it is a romp through the lives of LA's too-wealthy-to-give-a-crap-about-money set, and as such it holds up hilariously. But Confessions is much more psychologically astute than just that. The novel is really about the unfulfilled needs and desires we all have, but that wealthy people try to fill up with the right tile for the bathroom and a new addition to the guest house. Murphy very cleverly shows that, once the basic human needs of food, shelter and clothing are met, if the more basic human need for love goes unfulfilled, no amount of expensive food, shelter or clothing is going to fill that aching void. A very exciting first novel. I can't wait for more.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Renovating? Don't miss this!, August 27, 2008

By 

K. Gilligan "grad student & literature lover" (Haddon Heights, NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Confessions of a Contractor (Hardcover)

"The first thing a woman needs to know about renovating a house or apartment is simpe: do not, under any circumstance, sleep with your contractor, no matter what your husband or boyfriend is doing to you, or not doing to you."

("Confessions of a Contractor" pg 1*)


And before we get started, I have to say I would never sleep with my contractor........ unless he looked like Richard Murphy. I mean, oh my God, how did that slip out?

I wasn't sure I was going to like "Confessions of a Contractor". From the cover art, to the first line- I was sure that it was going to be a book that had sex all over the place. Lol, and in a way there was sex all over the place- in the 'steam shower in the master bath', on the 'sandstone floor in the kitchen', etc... but it was mentioned quickly and didn't bog down the rest of the story.

It's told all in first person, so the audience knows only what the main character, Henry the contractor, knows. This offers us a unique look at what your contractor is really thinking about you. And despite the fact that, yes, he slept with some of his clients- I still liked the guy! Besides liking the main character, I also enjoyed the others. Perhaps my favorites were Hector and Miguel, because if they didn't like you- they pretended to only speak Spanish.

I would very much recommend "Confessions of a Contractor" to anyone looking for a fun read. And I'll definitely be interested in reading anything else Richard Murphy puts out- right after I find out if there really are blind caterers.... well if you've read it- you know what I'm talking about!! If not, pick you copy up today.

*These lines may change in the final publication of the book
(Originally reviewed for "Kathleen's Book Reviews")

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unexpectedly good...cover does it a disservice, September 11, 2008

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Confessions of a Contractor (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Richard Murphy's novel Confessions of a Contractor is a mix of many elements. Coworkers looking at the book resting on my desk asked, "is this a tell-all about what contractors do when you're not looking?' and "oh great, is this some sleazy tell-all about all the women this guy has slept with?" The cover art of a filmy nightie hanging from a ladder and some cast off high heels didn't help lift my expectations.

Confessions is told I through the voice of Henry Sullivan, a contractor working for the very wealthy in Los Angeles. After seventeen years, Henry is able to choose who he works with and takes only clients who have been "referred" by another client. To survive that long he has a firm set of rules about interactions with the homeowners. Of course, when repeat client, Sally Stein asks him to build her a guest house and brings him into her home to live with her, Henry has breached his own boundaries and more trouble is to follow. Clients Rebecca Paulson and her husband Derrick have called him after a contractor walked off the job leaving a mess. They have asked Henry to rescue them and Henry is bothered by a memory of Derrick. Despite sensing something very wrong about the couple, he agrees and finds himself trying to finish both jobs. His crew is getting frustrated and then INS comes calling. Enter Gia, his last girlfriend who needs him to go to couple's therapy, even though they have been kaput for over six months.



Against all my expectations, Confessions of a Contractor proved to be a witty, well crafted tale of a working man trying to do what he has agreed to do. Characters are deeper than expected, there are no easy fixes, and not everything is spelled out. Henry Sullivan proves to be a likable man trying to keep true to his set of ideals and who wants to not only renovate his client's homes, he wants to help them renovate their lives. There are no easy fixes. This was far better written and I enjoyed this book much more than I had ever expected.