Four Stars from Red City Review

Thomas Ryan constructs seven perfectly paced capsules of fiction in his book that is entitled exactly as to what it contains: 'Short Stories.' While the tone of the seven stories varies a great deal, the overarching themes present depict the struggles we face in achieving what we want, and how our relationships with the people around us can either help us obtain our goal, or complicate the matter even further. It can be argued that the most compelling story in the collection is the first one, Ruth, which tells the tale of an abused woman who is standing trial for her involvement in her husband's death. The ending of this story comes in an unexpected way, wrapping up the narrative in a dramatic fashion.......... redcityreview.com/our-reviews/short-stories-by-thomas-ryan/