I was scouring a pile of second-hand books in a store a while back and came across this.
Truth be told, I almost let it slip through my fingers, which I don't think I can be blamed for given the cover. It looks like a kids' book, the kind that will get a class of children laughing.
Funny thing is, I reckon I could have read it to a class of children when I was still teaching (Primary 6 or Primary 7, maybe) and I also think they'd have loved it if I had.
I certainly did.
It's definitely an odd thing. A gang of misfit crooks decides to carry out a kidnapping based on a Parker novel called Child Heist by Richard Stark. It even quotes sections of the book to help to make sense of the gang's interpretation. It seemed so well written, I had to check in with my favourite search engine to make sure it wasn't a title I'd missed (which it isn't), and you won't be surprised that it sounded like authentic Stark given that Westlake was the writer.
Of course, the whole thing unravels as the gang either trip over themselves, are hampered by misfortune or are simply outsmarted by their young hostage.
Jimmy The Kid is often silly and playful, yet it's very well put together. The comedy is sharp, there's tension in spite of the obvious direction of events and there's some jolly good character and description, to boot. It also has a pleasing twist that does exactly what it should for the reader (well played).
I shouldn't have been surprised that it was actually very good or upon discover that it was even made into a movie. I'm also happy to say that I picked up a copy of Nobody's Perfect at the same time (similar awful cover), and I can't wait to jump in.
