Every Little Crook and Nanny (1972)

by Evan Hunter

When I decided to read this creased, worn paperback, which came out of a box in a friend's garage, little did I realize that I was about to begin one of the most enjoyable, fiercely funny little novels that I'dread in quite a while. Author Evan Hunter (AKA Ed McBain) is well-known as a quality writer, but he was also very prolific. No doubt many of his titles have fallen out of print. I wonder how many treasures like this exist only on the shelves of used book stores these days.

A frustrated intellectual kidnaps a boy, not realizing that it is the son of a major crime boss who is overseas on vacation. When the panic stricken nanny asks a low-level hood to help her get the boy back before her boss returns, a series of comic misunderstandings and misguided attempts to profit from the situation ensues, drawing in a number of eccentric characters. If you can get your hands on this book, read it. You'll enjoy it.