Jamal Davis is a young man buying a gun from a local gangbanger. Adam Rangel is an alcoholic vet with suicidal tendencies. Arthur Fromm is the cliched old cop just weeks away from retirement. Lanie Stone is a married woman with a secret fella. Carlos Sanchez is a man with something valuable in a bag. Brett Abbott is a family man deep in debt and eager to perform well on his probation for his new boss. All their lives will converge at once on Ninth and Nowhere, Pulp Fiction-style, but how - and what will happen?
Ninth & Nowhere is another brilliant short story by Jeffery Deaver who really seems to shine in this medium. He jumps from the life of one character to the next and instantly draws you into each person’s minds and plans for the day, as well as pull you along an increasingly compelling narrative without revealing to you what the story is (though, assuming Deaver follows Chekhov’s rule about guns in stories, you can kinda guess one thing that’ll happen).
Like his more recent short story, Turning Point, when you reach the end of Ninth & Nowhere and look back, the finale and what the story was about is a bit underwhelming and overfamiliar - it’s not that memorable or creative, which is the only real critique I have for this one. But, also like Turning Point, what makes the story so good is its execution - Deaver tells his story in such a masterfully tense way that it feels fresh and exciting. I even forgave the stereotypical characters - black gangbanger, old cop, army vet with PTSD - because Deaver brings them to life so convincingly. Deaver proves that it’s how you tell a story that counts, not necessarily the originality of its content.
The story starts slow - the opening chapter on Jamal felt a bit too macho and try-hard - but it gets going quickly after that and I was hooked straight through. Though somewhat forgettable in the end, while you’re reading it Ninth & Nowhere will definitely hold your attention and keep you guessing as to what’s going on. Superbly written and well-conceived, this is another gripping short story from a great storyteller.
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