48 Broad: Stories

by Tom Lady

When nine-year-old Barry Roggebusch, in all his bedwetting glory, swipes that thick wad of cash from Dad's sock drawer to feed his Garbage Pail Kid habit, he inadvertently sets off a chain reaction that spares no one under that Queen Anne’s roof at 48 Broad Street. Not his father, whose newfound inability to pay off the cleaning lady for a certain something-something leads to no shortage of aw-shits. Nor his mercurial stepmother, whose iron-fisted rule just barely compensates for imaginary conversations with her violently abusive father, a rule that is tested when she can no longer finance her son’s band camp. Not to speak of Bunny (as most don’t, since most can’t see her), the "spooky" smart violin prodigy who's taken up residence in Barry’s room. And did I mention Barry’s six half/step-brothers, one of whom is the town kingpin, and another of whom is just to the right of Attila the Hun? Let’s put it this Gorbachev, the family Lhasa Apso, OD’ing on pot is the least of this family's problems. 48 BROAD is a linked story collection set in New Jersey during the spring of 1986. Pay a visit to this address and you'll find the merry (not) Roggebusch clan, ten stories crammed in a three-story house bursting with boiling resentments, hostile agendas, and a sweaty desperation by all to make it work, come hell or the High Street church. So what are you waiting for? No need to knock. Come on into 48 BROAD, kick back, and make yourself at home. Just don't forget to duck.

398 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 10, 2018

Reviews

[Jivan Hovsepyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

48 Broad by Tom Lady is one of those books you pick up without big expectations and end up completely pulled in. Lady has a knack for making everyday moments feel meaningful, and the setting is so vivid it almost feels like a character on its own. The people in the story feel real—flawed in the right ways, easy to care about, and interesting to follow. The plot had a couple big twists and continuously builds a steady, quiet tension that keeps you turning pages without even realizing how hooked you’ve become. It’s warm, engaging, and written with a natural ease that makes it genuinely hard to put down.