The Dropouts (Paperback)

Robert Goodney

ISBN 13: 9798886011883

Published by Stark House Press, 2026

About this Item

Paperback. THE DROPOUTSShaker is back in town, and gets his old room at the Houston Hotel just off Times Square. It's a place full of memories. This is where he lived when he met Cass, the Midwestern girl who was looking for something completely different than her safe upbringing. She finds it in New York City in a crummy, low-rent apartment. Shaker is a drifter, and hates to be pinned down, but they take up together. They're an easy fit. Then Cass becomes pregnant, and Shaker has to leave.Cass eventually pulls herself together and goes on a new date. Which is how she ends up at a bar and meets Ernie. He and his partner hustle her date on a drunken bet. Later, Ernie takes Cass aside and tells her a heroic war story of his time in Korea, and she invites him to spend the night. Now she has a new man in her life. But she can't forget Shaker. and Shaker can't forget her. They all wander the seamy streets of New York, each in search of something-something they will never find. Black Gat #80. A drifter comes to rest an old hotel, drawn back again to the neighborhood where his father had been murdered in an alley fifteen years before. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9798886011883

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Dropouts (Paperback)
• Publisher: Stark House Press
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798886011883
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Shaker is back in town, and gets his old room at the Houston Hotel just off Times Square. It’s a place full of memories. This is where he lived when he met Cass, the Midwestern girl who was looking for something completely different than her safe upbringing. She finds it in New York City in a crummy, low-rent apartment. Shaker is a drifter, and hates to be pinned down, but they take up together. They’re an easy fit. Then Cass becomes pregnant, and Shaker has to leave.

Cass eventually pulls herself together and goes on a new date. Which is how she ends up at a bar and meets Ernie. He and his partner hustle her date on a drunken bet. Later, Ernie takes Cass aside and tells her a heroic war story of his time in Korea, and she invites him to spend the night. Now she has a new man in her life. But she can’t forget Shaker… and Shaker can’t forget her. They all wander the seamy streets of New York, each in search of something—something they will never find.

About the Author

Robert John Goodney was born in Ashland, Wisconsin, on July 21, 1934, the son of a grocery store owner. He attended local schools. In 1952, he entered Drake University, intending to major in drama. There, he became interested in writing fiction. In September 1957, after a 3-day stint as a graduate student at the University of Chicago and a marriage, he enrolled in Vance Bourjaily's fiction workshop at the State University of Iowa. In September 1959, Bob and his wife Rosemary came to New York, where Bob edited the Ed McBain Mystery Magazine and clerked at the Tompkins Square Branch of the New York Public Library. Two of his short stories were published in Manhunt magazine. Robert John Goodney died in November 1963 at the age of 29. The Dropouts is his only published novel.