Road
to Perdition
By Max
Allen Collins
Michael
Sullivan was a killer, a hired enforcer for the Rooney mob in Rock
Island, Illinois. The year was 1931, when the gangs were experiencing
the most violent times in their history. Michael Sullivan was considered
the best at what he did.
He was
also a husband and father, successfully separating his family life
from his professional existence. Michael's wife Annie and his two
innocent sons, Michael Jr., age twelve and Peter, ten, had distanced
themselves from the horrible things that people accused Michael
of doing.
All
of that changed the night that Michael Jr. stowed away in the trunk
of his father's car and witnessed the killing of three men at the
hands of his father and Connor Rooney, son of mob boss John Rooney.
When Michael Sullivan Sr. finds his son crouching and crying in
the rain outside the warehouse where the murder had taken place,
he knew that his family had now been placed in harm's way.
Connor
Rooney devises a plot to eliminate the witnesses. Michael is alert
enough to escape the attempt on his life but his wife Annie and
youngest son, Peter, are gunned down in their home by the crazed
son of the gang leader. Michael Jr. narrowly escapes with his life
and father and son are forced into hiding as marked quarry.
The
pair embark on a perilous journey that combines their flight with
guerrilla-style vengeance. Michael effectively undermines the Rooney
organization before becoming a victim of his own suicidal lifestyle.
This
is a very dark story, narrated by Michael Sullivan Jr. There are
parts of this book that may be too intense and too depressing for
some readers. There can be no Utopian happy ending to this kind
of tale based on such a violent and immoral segment of society.
Although well written, it's definitely not for everybody.
Max
Allen Collins adapted this novel from a screenplay by David Self,
which was based on Collins' original graphic novel.
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