The Roofer (Mira) (Paperback)

by Erica Orloff (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Ava O'Neil grew up within the embrace of New York City's most infamous Irish gang, The Westies. Her father was the Roofer, named for his penchant for throwing enemies from the rooftops of Hell's Kitchen tenements. Raised by her father and two members of his crew, Ava and her brother witnessed events of violence and torment, as well as moments of loyalty and dignity.

When journalist Jack Casey comes looking for Ava, determined to profile her father -- and to uncover the trail of a cold-case murder -- Ava is equally determined to keep her family's darkest secrets hidden. But when the magazine article is published, she is shocked by the impact of seeing the life she accepted as normal committed to public scrutiny. Then Hollywood's most famous director of mob movies decides to base a film on the Roofer's life. Suddenly gangsters and thugs are interacting with Hollywood's A-list.

Caught up in this world, Ava finds herself in an intense love affair with the lead actor from the movie. Yet their relationship, taking them from New York City to Las Vegas to Los Angeles, is threatened by another murder from the past, far more twisted than anything on film. Ava knows that the secrets will either destroy her or free her and, either way, they will cost her almost everything.

The Roofer is an intimate glimpse of a family bound by murder and the mob, taking readers from Irish wakes and funerals to family dinners marred by violence. It is an unflinching and unsparing look at life within the criminal underbelly of New York, and it is the story of one woman's journey as she struggles to break free from the only life she has ever known.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Mira (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778320723
• ISBN-13: 978-0778320722
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #911,515 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely engrossing dark gangster novel!, June 10, 2004

By	CoffeeGurl (MA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I saw immense talent in Erica Orloff's Red Dress Ink novels and couldn't wait to read her first non-chick-lit book. The Roofer enthralled me from beginning to end. The characters and situations had me turn the pages until the late hours of the night. This is the story of an infamous Irish gang in New York's Hell's Kitchen. Ava O'Neil, daughter of "The Roofer," named after his notorious rooftop killings, tells her fascinating and horrifying life story in a series of flashbacks during her father's wake and funeral. She recounts her horrid childhood, her mother's suicide, her father's constant imprisonments, and her overall rather unconventional lifestyle. When a reporter writes about the O'Neils' notorious life, the story sparks a Hollywood director's interest. And that is how she meets and falls for the lead actor of the movie. It appears that Ava has been given a chance to live a semi-normal life, but she cannot escape her past -- the things that have driven her brother Tom to depend on drugs, alcohol and Ava's affection as a form of escape. There are some flooring twists throughout the novel.

As said earlier, I saw great potential in Orloff when I read her RDI offerings. I am glad she wrote this amazing novel. Her plot development and characterization are flawless. The darkness of the novel is not unlike a film noir. And she makes the reader feel what it is like to be in the O'Neil family, to be surrounded not only with crime but also with love -- for the O'Neils showed affection in their own way. Also, Ava's cynical look into her dysfunctional surroundings spoke to me. This is one of the best novels I've read this year. Brava for Ms. Orloff for writing this dark novel. I cannot recommend it enough.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A definite page turner, May 28, 2004

By A Customer

While reading this book I found myself unable to put it down. The characters were well defined and when I finished I wanted to find out more-what happened after the last page. Ms. Orloff's style of writing is very conversational and allows you to feel as if you become part of the characterhs lives. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Dark Look at a Life in a Crime Family, December 2, 2004

By	K. J. Blake "Super Reader" (Phoenix,AZ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Erica Orloff is one of my new favorite authors. I was introduced to her by Urban Legend in the SIlhouette Bombshell series and picked this up because I liked her writing. The Roofer is a dark and dangerous story of a woman and her brother and how their father a brutal man - a leader of one of the Irish gangs in Hells Kitchen in New York lived and died. This is a not often glimpse into the unglamorous lifestyle of those whose life is crime.
Ava and Tom O'Neill struggle through youth as their father is in and out of prison for his works, raised at times by his brother, and dad's gangster colleagues after the children's mother takes her own life early on as a result of a long battle with manic depression.
A journalist sets out to uncover THE ROOFER- that is the street name for their father. He throws men off roofs as a method of making a statement and ruling the are with terror. THe result is not what the journalist expects- the public is fascinated with the Irish Sopranos and a big movie is made about Ava's father. The journey through fame and fortune, the dark secrets never revealed, battles with sanity, sobriety , conscience and guilty have a distinctly Catholic flavor captured beautifully in these pages.
The Roofer would make one heck of a good movie! A nice complement to all of the glamorized Italian princess films. Ava is a dark, tortured, tormented, damaged heroine who longs for nothing. Her hope has long been taken away. Seeing her reach for a different life and moving out of darkness is just great.