Every Little Crook and Nanny
Published by Signet 1974
It’s clear from the cover copy that Signet was trying to sell this novel as another hard hitting crime story in the vein of Hunter’s 87th Precinct series. Even going so far as to mention the series and Hunters pseudonym above his own name. With descriptors like “A price had to be paid- in gold or blood…” and “Violence! Vengeance! Intrigue! Betrayal! ” readers would be forgiven for expecting some kind of cross between The Godfather and The Executioner. Providing they can over get this egregious bit of bait and switch, anyone giving this book a chance will discover a wonderfully written and very funny farce.
The set-up is simple. The Nanny employed by mafioso Carmine Ganucci discovers her charge has been kidnapped while her boss is on vacation in Italy. In an effort to solve the problem before Ganucci finds out, Nanny contacts low-level flunky Benny Napkins for help. Benny’s scheme to quickly raise the ransom money triggers one miscommunication after another, until everyone in Ganucci’s gang is unintentionally working at cross-purposes. Instead of a string of dominoes falling, this endless series of accidental sabotage is like the wrong pieces of a puzzle being jammed together.
Hunter adopts an interesting style for this book, almost Runyonesque, but without Runyon’s excessive gangster patois. Characters say each other’s full names a lot, and have whole conversations without ever realizing they’re talking about different topics. One’s tolerance for this Who’s-On-First dialogue will probably determine how much they enjoy this book. I found it to be a lot of fun and highly recommend it.
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