Johnny V and the Razor by Ryssa Edwards

Johnny V and the Razor Reviews

• 
  Vio

  If you are a fan of Film Noir this is the book for you, its a dark and gritty story, beautifully written and drew me into the seedy gangster lifestyle. Fabulous and not your typical romance either, this would have been a magnificent novel. "Sighs" as you can see I am a fan of this genre for good reason, I loved it a lot. Highly recommended, I'm stumped its not more popular.
• 
  Tam

  This review can be found at
  Brief Encounters Reviews.
  
  I’ve read a couple of stories recently set in the 1920′s during the prohibition era and set in the world of alcohol smugglers and organized crime. As the blurb notes, Johnny V is a driver for a crime boss who is trying to get a foothold in the illegal booze market in town. However the local kingpin has taken exception to Johnny’s boss, and one night Johnny is shocked when a strange man jumps in the car. It doesn’t take him long to figure out what happened. He knows he’s got minutes to live and tries to escape, however it goes awry and to his surprise the man doesn’t kill him, but treats him to dinner and takes him back to his apartment.
  
  It seems Sloane, aka The Razor for his way of dealing with the competition, is the brother of the king pin and the enforcer. When his brother realizes that Sloane has allowed a witness to live, he orders Johnny’s death, however for some reason Sloane is compelled to take Johnny and run.
  
  There were two different aspects to this story, one I liked more than the other. The setting, and the atmosphere of the era was a definite character. The tidbits about Johnny’s history, how he left the country to try and better himself in the city, the trauma of being a pretty young man riding the rails, and what that likely meant for him, and how it had shaped his current behaviour pulled me right into Johnny’s story. I was really captivated by the era and the whole organized crime sub-culture.
  
  What didn’t work so well for me was the relationship between the two men, in part because Sloane is really not a very nice guy. His job description is carving up the competition until they talk, and he lets off steam after by rough gay sex with his brother’s bar employees, in what is essentially rape. I wasn’t really sure if Johnny was genuinely attracted to him, or if it was a matter of self-preservation for him. Was he the kind of guy who will do/be whatever you want/need in order to stay alive?
  
  I was also mystified why on a whim, Sloane went from a murdering quasi-rapist, to someone who with one glance from Johnny, completely changes his behaviour. Then not 24 hours later, he takes the money he’s been hiding and escapes with Johnny to live a life of agricultural domestic bliss for the rest of their days. I didn’t understand his thinking. The kind of man who carves up people for a living, doesn’t seem like the kind who would turn all squishy inside because he met some damaged pretty boy.
  
  If you are interested in a well-written book set in an unusual era, I think this is a good choice. However as far as the romance itself went, I was left feeling a bit unsatisfied as it seemed so out of character for Sloane to behave the way he did. Even the concept of love at first sight changing a person profoundly just didn’t ring true for me, but others may disagree with me.
• 
  T.A. Webb

  Johnny V is screwed. The driver for a bootlegger, he knows his number might be up when the big, muscular guy slips in the backseat of the car instead of Donnelly. And when he is ordered to drive, he starts planning how he might survive the night.
  
  Sloan is an enforcer, the brawn to his brother Nick's brains. He is good at eliminating threats, taking care of business and making all loose ends disappear. Until he looks at Johnny V, and sees something in the handsome younger man that makes him want to take a chance. Protect him. Make him his. "His mouth was wide, with smooth lips that could make a man think about things he shouldn't". So he does.
  
  Sloan takes Johnny V home with him. And plans to keep him, till Nick catches wind of it. Orders him to take care of it, or he will. So Sloan has a choice to make. Will this be the end of Johnny V?
  
  This cool and slick slice of life short tale is well crafted, with characters smoothly drawn and brought boldly to the page with mad skill by Ryssa Edwards. She brings a dark, dangerous era to life and populates it with men that are layered, damaged, tough and yet oddly hopeful and capable of love. What starts as a gangster story becomes a life long romance.
  
  Ms. Edwards shows a sure hand here, making Sloan into a multi faceted, interesting character - a brute with a heart, smart and sure of himself. And Johnny V, a young survivor with a past that could have crushed him but which made him resilient and capable. They make a wonderful pair.
  
  This is one of Dreamspinners' Nap Sized Dreams, and is oh so enjoyable.
  
  Tom
• 
  Lady*M

  4.5 stars
  
  Excellent short story set Prohibition-era New York. Sloane is the Razor, a hitman for his brother Nick, who runs the bootlegging business. After killing his brother's rival, he is left with Johnny V, the man's driver and a witness to his crime. In stead of killing him, Sloane is inexplicably drawn to the boy and decides to save him. Johnny, a nineteen-year-old rail rider who had a tough life, is equally scared and attracted to the "man with a wide, dark streak through his heart".
  
  I liked how Sloane finds the vestiges of his humanity in the interaction with Johnny and how Johnny begins to see the safety in Sloane. The best thing about this story though is atmosphere - dark, oppressive and dangerous. The prose was surprisingly lyrical at times, considering the dark themes and atmosphere, but befitting the men's personalities. I could read another 300 pages of this. I remember thinking the same after reading author's contribution to HSD anthology - Spinner. Highly recommended, especially to noir fans.