Down and Out on Murder Mile: A Novel (P.S.) Paperback – Import, 28 October 2008

This is the second book I have read by Tony O'Neill, he is a fantastic author. "Down & Out on Murder Mile" seems to be an autobiography. The story starts off in the slums of Los Angeles where the two main characters of the book, a married couple, are running out of options. They are chronic drug addicts and money is scarce, so they move to Murder Mile in the UK.The narrator remains nameless for the whole book, his wife's name is Susan. She is a few years older then him, sadly years of drug abuse hasn't been kind to her looks. Throughout the book we see the couple battle with their addiction. They try rehab, but fail. The narrator works different jobs and even turns to crime to support their habits. Every day seem like a battle to survive and feed their addiction.Even though the main character is a bit of a hopeless case I couldn't help but like him. I was rooting for him the whole way through, but this couple just can't seem to catch a break. Their lives are totally chaotic, everything that can go wrong on them, does go wrong. Anytime it seems like things could possibly go right for them something happens to mess it all up.This is quite a dark book, but the author still manages to add in some humor. I love this authors style of writing, I felt I was right there in the middle of things with the characters. I know it sounds really cheesy, but I could really feel the characters despair. This book is really well written.I read "Sick City" by Tony O'Neill just before I read this book. That is how impressed I was with this author. "Sick City" is also a brilliant book. I would highly recommend both books. I intend to read more books by this author. I found author Tony O'Neill through another equally as good author by the name of Shane Levene.

If you like this kind of reading you won't be able to put it down. He doesn't try to surround it by forced literature, to give excuses and blames, it is brut and honest the 'diary' of someone who lost it along the way somewhere.I enjoyed it very much!

Mildly entertaining I suppose, but what was the bit in the methadone clinic where everyone looked shamefaced and avoided eye contact with each other all about? Places like that are more like a school reunion/friends re-united type of thing IME. And the idea of a "seasoned junkie" being unable to score in a town like Blackburn stretches credulity somewhat - The former milltowns have been awash with it for decades.

Tony is the man. He has never let me down. Easily one of the greatest and most prolific writers of the last decade, he consistently puts out quality work.Down and Out on Murder Mile is the roman a clef sequel to Digging the Vein. It focuses on his move from Los Angeles to the slums of London. The only thing he brings with him is his shot out wife and a crippeling drug habit. The novel is bleak, it definitely lacks the innocense of Digging the Vein.I'm a recovering heroin addict and as lame as it sounds, one of the most exciting parts of my addiction was hitting the streets of a new city. I shot dope all over the country: Boston, Florida, New Mexico, San Franciscio, LA, etc. My life was so dull as a junkie that I actually thought it was interesting to experience drug cultures in new cities. I finally cleaned up but I always said if I did relapse I'd want to go on a run in Europe. That's what I really loved about this book. I got to vicariously experience the European run through Tony's writing.As always, everything was spot on. I've been in de facto, codependent, sexless relationships with drug-aged women. I've had to jump through the bureaucratic hoops of the Mehadone program ( 180 mg for three years, worst kick of my life), having to boost CDs, freaking girls out when they walked in on me slamming dope, prodding around in the painful wrist when almost every other vein collapses, and finally meeting a special girl that makes me want to actually try every single day.Tony is real. His writing is real. If you've been there you'll find solace in the fact that someone actually remembers all of it. And if you haven't, you might find some understanding of what it's like to live in a self-imposed hell.

Session musician turned session junky.Bland, boring, uneventful, completely lacking in insight and a blatant rip-off.It's a novella stretched out to novel format. Those addicted to junkie tales are being lumped in with the 'true crime' audience as easy marks who'll read anything. Even the blurbs that drew me to this seem to be referring to his earlier book. This one really isn't worth reading. There is no craziness and certainly no art.