Nine Mil

by Robert Ryan

Ed Behr is a man trapped in a nightmare. As a kid, he and his crew played some rough games. But one game involving concrete blocks and a bridge over the freeway resulted in tragedy - and an early introduction to the living hell known as the Penal Correction System. Years later, Ed scrapes a living as a taxi driver, his youthful dreams gone, his one obsession to find the girlfriend he lost all those years ago. Then one day Ed gets a fare with a familiar face, a face he remembers from long ago. Billy, the one who got away. Suddenly Ed can see a way of redeeming his life, of getting revenge. It's time to play the game one more time...

Genres: Crime, Fiction

448 pages, Paperback

First published February 3, 2000

About the author

aka Tom Neale

Robert Ryan was born in Liverpool but moved to London when he was eighteen to attend university. He lectured in natural sciences for several years before moving into journalism in the mid-1980s, first with The Face and then the Dylan Jones-edited Arena. During this time, he also wrote for The Daily Telegraph, US GQ, US Conde Nast Traveler, Esquire and The Sunday Times.

Robert Ryan lives in North London with his wife and three children.

Reviews

[John G. Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big disappointment.

Can not believe was written by author of such great novels set in WWII ENGLAND should stay with country and culture knows best.

[David Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read like his others are. In the intro, Rob says that he is basing the characters on a Winnie the Pooh book but he doesn't say that this is 'Winnie the Pooh in Hell' It's more Dante's Inferno than The House at Pooh Corner but it's non-stop horror-show descriptions don't pall and the characters in the Lunatic Asylum that Ryan describes are always interesting - if never engaging.
It has some interesting points of discussion about the inevitability of damnation if born in New Jersey and whether playing games like Alley-O are a Rite of Passage that prepares you for life or the gateway to the Asylum. An interesting meditation on the the corrupting influence of violence - and the necessity of using it to make your way in Modern Society.

[Jeff Russo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not my kind of book in either style or substance, I just got the itch to read some book, any book, set in contemporary-ish Atlantic City and this is what I came up with, a book that in blurbs promised a view into "scuzzy" AC.

I was reading with an eye for local flavor and errors only a local yokel would spot, and I did see a few, but I won't bore the audience by enumerating them.

Three stars as a semi-sympathy vote for even bothering to set parts of a novel in AC.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book but its a little too obvious that this guy's a Brit writing an American story. It's a good story but I was a bit let down in the end.