The Dealer

by Tony Royden

'The Dealer' is a gripping and fast moving comedy gangster novel. Hard-core East London villain, Danny 'The Dealer' Dempsey, has settled for a quiet country life in the rural village of Buntleyford, but wakes one morning, in his heavily secured home, to find a letter resting on his pillow. He is bewildered by how it got there, as there are no signs of an intruder, or a break in. The mystery of who the letter is from - and what it contains - is something The Dealer will not share, even with his closest friends, or his dear sister Sally. The Dealer, normally a clear lateral thinker, is suddenly behaving out of character; and so begins a crazy 12-hour period, in which he succeeds in ruining his sister's wedding, disrespecting other gangland leaders, and turning his hand to gambling on ludicrous bets. Slowly but surely, The Dealer is dangerously offending and taunting everyone around him. Could The Dealer be on the brink of self-destruction? Or will he somehow succeed in saving his own skin at the final hour - while revealing to all the secrets of the letter that has clearly been dictating his bizarre behaviour?

Genres: Fiction

261 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2009

Reviews

[Gerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was either going to be a generous three stars or a slightly stingy two stars but given that the label for two stars is 'it was ok', I think that is the most accurate reflection of how I felt about this book.

It is billed as 'a crazy 12 hours in the life of a gangster' and it is just that. The story is written in short punchy chapters, lots of different characters, some bizarre situations, some flash backs but despite this jumble, it is not difficult to follow. It is also a catalogue of gangster based stereotypes and cliches.

For me, most of the characters have little or no depth and many of them are just too quirky to be believable. However, I will acknowledge that perhaps they are not meant to be believable but rather to be amusing and herein lies another failing: it tries much too hard to be funny and at times it is, at best, silly.

So two stars it is although when the twist is revealed, it is a clever twist so the book ends on a positive note.

[Aarti Arora · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping book which revolves around Danny and the mysterious “letter”. Confusing in the beginning, but the idea gets clearer as you move along. This is an action packed tale with slight taste of comedy. Each chapter is more exciting than the last one as new plots disclose their way. It has a good story line. As the book approaches its end it becomes more engrossing.
I would recommend it to people who love to read crime and thriller genre.

[Harshita Arvind · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am happy to have picked this book to begin my 2022's reading. This was a very gripping novel. I patiently read through the details because I really wanted to know what will happen at the end. Though at some pages it got a bit intense. I enjoyed the humour and the ending made me crave for more of Tony Royden's other novels.
A very gripping novel.

[Arpit · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the middle its boring but as the end approaches the book becomes interesting.

[Nirmit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book, one time read... suspense is maintained till the very last page...

But no. of characters used are too many thus creates a bit of confusion.

[Rita Jessop · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down, I read it in a day and it kept me riveted till the end.

It is a mystery suspense crime story, but it is also extremely funny (the Italian Mamma had me howling with laughter). A very good plot, with lots of colourful characters and a great ending that I didn't see coming!

I highly recommend it.