7,000 Clams: A Novel

by Lee Irby

Frank Hearn is a down-on-his-luck bootlegger and bruiser, looking for the big score in the heart of the Roaring Twenties. When he loses a shipment of top-quality booze to a double-crossing government thief, Frank hunts him down, roughs him up, and finds something that catches his eye. What at first appears to be a scrap of paper is actually a handwritten and unmistakably authentic IOU for $7,000, signed by Babe Ruth.

Seven-thousand clams is a lot of money--and when Frank gets a tip that the Yankees are about to begin spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida, he wastes no time leaving New Jersey to track down the Babe. Frank thinks he's covered his Along for the ride is a dangerous and curvy blonde named Ginger DeMore. She’s smart, she packs a snub-nose pistol in her purse, and she’s the perfect accomplice to help convince the Babe to cough up the dough. It seems like the perfect plan, but Frank and Ginger aren’t the only ones seeking their fortunes in Florida. 1920’s St. Pete is a veritable nest of vipers. Hustlers, gamblers, Yankee fans, and even a sociopath are lurking in the booming burg—not to mention a team of gangsters sent by a prominent Chicago mobster named Al Capone (who’s instructed his boys to scour the town for a curvy dame by the name of Ginger DeMore).

In this taut Roaring Twenties crime novel, filled with colorful characters both real and imagined, Lee Irby takes readers straight into the authentic heart of the era, bringing to life all the sizzling style—from the slang and the fashions to the smell of bathtub gin. Worthy of a place at Elmore Leonard’s table, 7,000 CLAMS is an enormously entertaining tale and a superb fiction debut.

Genres: Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

I started writing fiction at the age of 14 and have not stopped since, forty continuous years of living a life devoted to the art of the novel. I'm a also a member of the Screen Actor's Guild. And I play a lot of basketball.

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent time piece and very fun read. The dialogue reflects the era quite well and demonstrates quality research.

Lee Irby has potent literary range and a keen everyman sense of humor. George Herman Ruth as a fictional character glows.

I think written scenes on trains are vastly underrated and this novel is no different.

Nice to see Boston referenced (327) in a work published just months before (August 2004) the Red Sox finally broke "The Curse of the Bambino." Perhaps it added just that little bit of karma into the universe needed to tip the scale.

[Liv Frick · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was cute and went well w the timing of me visiting the ripleys museum. i also liked how she had a train boyfriend on her way to florida bc so did i

[Dennis Rose]

The Roaring 20's- Mobsters, Bootleggers, Tommy Guns, Flappers, Rich Socialites, Romance, Sociopaths...

If you're a history buff and you love the Roaring 20's, you'll enjoy reading 7000 CLAMS written by LEE IRBY. Al Capone and Babe Ruth are prominent secondary characters. They both have a lot in common, full of themselves and practically indestructible. The main characters, Frank, Irene and Ginger are well-developed and always seem to be right in the mix. Irene and Ginger won't take no for an answer but Frank is always there ready to help if he can, despite the many obstacles thrown in his way.

IRBY, a history professor, picked an exciting time to write about even if much of it is fiction. Imagine the hustle and bustle of Chicago during the 20's with those new-fangled Model T's; shoot-outs between the coppers and the mob; Prohibition vs. bootleggers and rum runners. The action shifts to Florida during the land boom of the 20's with hustlers and shysters at every corner eagerly waiting to take the next passer-by's dough in exchange for a fake deed or a useless bit of swamp land. Bullets are whizzing thru the air and innocent people are dropping like flies while the Chicago mob is out to get the stoolie come Hell of high water.


The editing could have been better but it was quite good: I have yet to read a book with zero errors. I did have trouble believing one small segment. Vecchio, an older hit man, gets shot at close range by a younger off-the-handle mobster while parked across the street from a crime scene loaded with coppers and no one hears the shot?

This was a real enjoyable fast-paced read. I read it in a few days while camping. I came across the book in our library, what a find. I see that Irby has written two other books and I'd sure like to read them.

[Joyce Kinkead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for reading on trip to st Petersburg

Evokes 1920s sports, gangsters, bootlegger, and land speculation. Could have used an editor who knows difference between compliment and complement.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting to read about St. Petersburg in the 20's. Good story