9ミリの挽歌

by Robert Ryan

A hard-boiled tale of guns and revenge under the neon lights of Atlantic City On a floating casino just off the New Jersey coast, two masked gunmen open fire. Their powerful Austrian machine guns shatter mirrors, crack fish tanks, and knock the grand chandelier from the ceiling. By the time the smoke clears, the men are long gone, but two clues a rare weapon recovered from the swirling waters of the Atlantic and the fact that, in an inescapable barrage of bullets, nobody got shot. Atlantic City taxi driver Ed Behr can't remember the last time someone took on the casinos. Then again, ever since he got his head slammed into a prison shower faucet, Ed's memory hasn't been all that great. He keeps track of his days in a little red notebook, or risks losing them forever. The one person Ed can't forget, from the time when he was more than just a fat, broke ex-con cabbie, is Honey - and he can't seem to find her anywhere. But the glimpse of another, less welcome face from the past sets Ed's wheels spinning, and he soon has a plan to reunite his old crew for a score that will make everything right again, or put them all out of their misery forever.

Genres: Crime, Fiction

Paperback Bunko

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.