Dylan Reilly is a peace-loving Irish American who gets pushed too far and is compelled to fight back to protect himself and others. Reilly is a fictional character, the protagonist in my new novel, "A Dangerous Freedom."
I chose the Reilly name to honor a great man, Mike Reilly, who helped me and my five siblings after our parents passed away at young ages and within a 16-month time period. My mother Therese Ruane (nee McInerney) was first-generation Irish.
Her father, Matthew, came over from County Clare in 1917. She passed away at the age of 47 after a four-year battle with cancer. Her husband, my father, Bernard Ruane, came over from Ballymacward County Galway in 1948 and died of a heart attack a year later at the age of 50. Mike Reilly lived two blocks away and was a husband and father of his own with five children, but would always step up to help other people in the Irish community.
He came over in 1955 from Bailieborough, County Cavan. So when naming my hero in this book I thought it very appropriate to name him after a man who was a true hero in my life, Mike Reilly. He made a tremendous effort to help us when we most needed it.” The story begins with Dylan Reilly as a sophomore in high school on 9/11. He witnesses the devastating attack on the twin towers with his classmates on the television in the school’s library. Like most Americans, the horror of that dreadful day stayed with Reilly.
The author, John Ruane.
A decade later, he and his wife, Darlene, visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to see the place where the vicious event occurred to try and bring some perspective and closure. Unfortunately, during their visit, they witness a murderous attack by a lone terrorist. Luckily, they escape. However, over the course of the next few months, they find themselves on site at two more violent attacks in Chicago.
At this point in the story, Dylan, a peace-loving everyman, feels compelled to fight back and protect himself and other innocent people around him. Dylan Reilly is the average man, who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pushed too far, he believes there is no other choice for him than to stand up to the killers and fight back.
Dylan makes the life-changing decision to purchase a Smith & Wesson six-shooter, trains with a former U.S. Marine and becomes incredibly fast with a gun. Then, like a cowboy from the old west with his six-shooter at his side, he confronts armed and dangerous killers carrying semi-automatic weapons. Dylan knows that if he’s not lightning fast and deadly accurate, innocent people will die. This is where the story changes, taking readers into a hero’s tale in which Dylan shoots semiautomatic weapons out of the hands of the killers, saving thousands of lives.
Given all of the shootings taking place in cities like Chicago and New York, this novel provides an opportunity for readers to feel like they are standing right by the side of the hero who is performing acts of courage and bravery many of us can only dream of doing. Many readers have told me that those moments in the story make them feel great.
This is my fifth book and I have also written for the Chicago Tribune and Sun Times. I grew up on the southwest side of Chicago, attended St. Bede’s Grammar School and St. Laurence High School. I am best known for my second book, "Parish the Thought," which is about growing up Catholic in the 1960s. Reviews of "A Dangerous Freedom" have been very positive.
Author and historian Richard Lindberg wrote: “John Ruane has written a compelling story for our times, seen through the lens of Dylan Reilly and a generation coming of age at a time of profound change wrought by globalism, terrorism, fear, and political insecurity. Fast-paced, action-filled, and a moving commentary on war and the state of the post-9/11 world. A Dangerous Freedom is a novel with a statement that will be hard to put down.” Jenny Dela Cruz of Online Book Club wrote: “A Dangerous Freedom is invigorating from start to finish.
The book had me smiling from ear to ear.” A Dangerous Freedom is published by Permuted Press and is available at Amazon.com. Further information is at www.permutedpress.com or www.johnruane.net.
