Robert Ryan (born c.1951), also known as Tom Neale, is an English author, journalist and screenwriter. Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, he moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to study natural sciences at university and began his writing career in the late 1980s for '' The Face'', ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

'' and the US edition of '' GQ'', and then ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''. Most of his novels are set in historical wars, such as

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Career

Ryan published his first novel, ''Underdogs'', in 1999 and collaborated with jazz trumpeter

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

on an extended version of a piece called ''Underdogs'', based on the novel. As of 2010, he published eleven more novels and was working on a novel due for release in 2011. His most successful and acclaimed novels as of 2010 are ''Death on the Ice'', which was praised and recommended by the

Antarctic Heritage Trust The Antarctic Heritage Trust (New Zealand) which was formed in 1987. Although the two regularly collaborate, the NZAHT is not the same as the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, formed in 1993{{Cite web , title=UKAHT - Celebrating 30 years of UKAHT , url= ...

, and ''Empire of Sand'', inspired by

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...

’s ''

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...

'', to end the book where the film begins. He is also known for his "Morning, Noon and Night" series of books, ''Early One Morning'' (2002), ''The Blue Noon'' (2003), ''Night Crossing'' (2004), and ''After Midnight'' (2005), and for the "Vince Piper" series he wrote under the pseudonym Tom Neale: ''Steel Rain'' (2005) and ''Copper Kiss'' (2006). His ''Watson at War'' thrillers feature

Dr. Watson Dr. John H. Watson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). "The Adventure of Shosc ...

from the

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

stories, getting caught up in various conflicts during the First World War. Using the pseudonym R. J. Bailey, Robert Ryan and his wife Deborah Ryan collaboratively write the Sam Wylde series of mysteries.

Novels

*''Underdogs'' (1999) *''Nine Mil'' (2000) *''Trans Am'' (2001) *''The Last Sunrise'' (2006) *''Dying Day'' (2007) *''Empire of Sand'' (2008) *''Death on the Ice'' (2009) *''Sunset Road'' (2010) *''Signal Red'' (2010)

Morning, Noon and Night series

*''Early One Morning'' (2002) *''Blue Noon'' (2003) *''Night Crossing'' (2004) *''After Midnight'' (2005)

Vince Piper series (as Tom Neale)

*''Steel Rain'' (2005) *''Copper Kiss'' (2006)

Watson at War series

*'' Dead Man's Land'' (2012) *''The Dead Can Wait'' (2014) *''A Study in Murder'' (2015) *''The Case of the Six Watsons'' (2015) (short story collection) *''The Sign of Fear'' (2016)

Sam Wyle series (as R.J. Bailey, co-written with Deborah Ryan)

* ''Safe From Harm'' (2016) * ''Feel No Pain'' (2017) (short story) * ''Nobody Gets Hurt'' (2017) * ''Winner Kills All'' (2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Robert 21st-century English novelists English male journalists Novelists from Liverpool Living people 1960s births English male novelists 21st-century English male writers Writers of Sherlock Holmes pastiches Year of birth missing (living people)