Start reading The Death of Ronnie Sweets (and Other Stories) on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

 
 
 

Try it free

Sample the beginning of this book for free

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

Read books on your computer or other mobile devices with our FREE Kindle Reading Apps.
The Death of Ronnie Sweets (and Other Stories)
 
 

The Death of Ronnie Sweets (and Other Stories) [Kindle Edition]

Russel D McLean , Sean Chercover
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Digital List Price: £1.34 What's this?
Kindle Price: £1.34 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
Unlike print books, digital books are subject to VAT.


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product Description

Product Description

Before he introduced the world to Scottish Private Investigator J McNee, award-nominated crime writer Russel D McLean wrote a series of gritty short stories featuring PI Sam Bryson, a young investigator with a strong sense of justice that is tested to the limit as he walks the mean streets of Scotland's fourth largest city.

The Death of Ronnie Sweets collects all the original Sam Bryson stories in one volume, with an introduction by award-winning US author Sean Chercover and an afterword by the author.

Many of these stories first appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine while others were published by Thrilling Detective Mystery Magazine, Spinetingler Magazine and Needle Publishing. They run the gamut from two-fisted tales of justice to studies of characters who find themselves in the darkest of situations. A heady mix of homage to the American hardboiled and the modern Scottish noir, these stories demonstrate why Russel D McLean is "not to be missed by fans of straight-up hardboiled noir." (RT Book Reviews)

PRAISE FOR THE SHORT STORIES OF RUSSEL D MCLEAN:

"...the stories exhibit such a sharp and honest voice it’s hard to believe they were written by a man in his early 20s. They are dark stories – sometimes very dark – but that darkness is balanced by both a dry Scottish wit and a genuine sense of concern for the people involved" Sean Chercover (from his introduction)

"...filled with rounded, human characters - no cartoon characters, just people who love and hate and care." Steven Torres for Nasty, Brutish, Short.

PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF RUSSEL D MCLEAN:

"The future of Crime Fiction is in good hands" Crimespree Magazine

"An atmosphere of delicious gloom" Mystery Scene Magazine

"Stylish and atmospheric." John Connolly

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 281 KB
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B005I6C0OA
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #98,385 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  •  Would you like to give feedback on images?


More About the Author

Russel D. McLean
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Visit Amazon's Russel D. McLean Page

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Reviews

4 star
0
3 star
0
2 star
0
1 star
0
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Read it, loved it. 25 Mar 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys a good yarn. McLean not only tells an engaging story but he also builds a relationship with his characters. These stories have etched themselves into my memory and I guarantee they'll do the same for you.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
The Original of McNee 15 Dec 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
I've got this theory on how you find good crime writers, purely non-scientific, but pretty reliable so far. Check out the author photo and if they look like a right piece of work, you buy the book. Nine times out of ten you'll get something decent. The other one you get Russel D McLean.
The Death of Ronnie Sweets is a collection of McLean's early short works featuring Dundee P.I. Sam Bryson - yes Dundee has P.I.s, alright, who do you think tracks down the city's unfaithful spouses and insurance frauds? Or, in the case of a more committed character like Bryson, skipped witnesses, nonce councillors and a solicitor with some rather destructive daddy issues.
Across ten short stories McLean builds a credible world around Bryson, the city is present without becoming overbearing and the cast of secondary characters is skilfully deployed, with many recurring right through; there's even a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo by the protagonist of McLean's novels, J McNee.
Bryson is an engaging character, less intense than some literary P.I.'s but he feels refreshing for that precise reason. So he's handy with his fists and he likes a drink - glass houses people - he's also sentimental, loyal and maybe a bit too understanding for his own good.
I was expecting a lot of blood and ruptures in this book, and I wasn't disappointed, but there's an emotional element here which is missing from a lot of gritty crime fiction. Mclean has a keen eye for human frailty and every story has a deep undertow.
This collection is uniformly strong, although you do get a sense of progression in McLean's writing as it continues, finishing with Flesh and Blood, a heavily freighted story about the responsibilities and abuses of fatherhood. Served up with plenty of violence and a surprisingly sweet ending. Her Cheating Heart is another standout, a short but atmospheric story about a man who desperately needs to be told that his wife is being unfaithful. It's a two-hander, tough to write but beautifully executed.
The Death of Ronnie Sweets feels very complete for a collection of short stories and promises great things for McLean's full length novels The Good Son and The Lost Sister.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:  2 reviews
Hard-edged stories with heart 20 Dec 2011
By Rosemarie Keenan - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition
Last year I read and enjoyed Russel McLean's novel The Good Son so when I heard he had a collection of short stories about another Scottish P.I., Sam Bryson, I didn't hesitate to pick it up. I was not disappointed. The stories in The Death of Ronnie Sweets are hard-edged, yet moving, tales of crime in Dundee. McLean draws the city beautifully, taking us into overpasses where skate punks gather and hospitals where innocent and guilty alike lie battered. The stories are full of villains and victims, with Bryson the closest to a hero we meet.
The Death of Ronnie Sweets 15 Dec 2011
By Eva Dolan - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition
I've got this theory on how you find good crime writers, purely non-scientific, but pretty reliable so far. Check out the author photo and if they look like a right piece of work, you buy the book. Nine times out of ten you'll get something decent. The other one you get Russel D McLean.
The Death of Ronnie Sweets is a collection of McLean's early short works featuring Dundee P.I. Sam Bryson - yes Dundee has P.I.s, alright, who do you think tracks down the city's unfaithful spouses and insurance frauds? Or, in the case of a more committed character like Bryson, skipped witnesses, nonce councillors and a solicitor with some rather destructive daddy issues.
Across ten short stories McLean builds a credible world around Bryson, the city is present without becoming overbearing and the cast of secondary characters is skilfully deployed, with many recurring right through; there's even a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo by the protagonist of McLean's novels, J McNee.
Bryson is an engaging character, less intense than some literary P.I.'s but he feels refreshing for that precise reason. So he's handy with his fists and he likes a drink - glass houses people - he's also sentimental, loyal and maybe a bit too understanding for his own good.
I was expecting a lot of blood and ruptures in this book, and I wasn't disappointed, but there's an emotional element here which is missing from a lot of gritty crime fiction. Mclean has a keen eye for human frailty and every story has a deep undertow.
This collection is uniformly strong, although you do get a sense of progression in McLean's writing as it continues, finishing with Flesh and Blood, a heavily freighted story about the responsibilities and abuses of fatherhood. Served up with plenty of violence and a surprisingly sweet ending. Her Cheating Heart is another standout, a short but atmospheric story about a man who desperately needs to be told that his wife is being unfaithful. It's a two-hander, tough to write but beautifully executed.
The Death of Ronnie Sweets feels very complete for a collection of short stories and promises great things for McLean's full length novels The Good Son and The Lost Sister.
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject





i.e., each title must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. GB Privacy Statement Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. GB Delivery Information Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. GB Returns & Exchanges