The two main drug-dealing ringleaders at Slobend, Fleecem & Skinnem try to get rid of Jim by playing pranks on him. However, Jim is made of steamer stuff, refusing to leave. He then realizes that Moira Buckle, another staff member, is also being bullied and coming to her aid. Poor old Jim. He just wanted a part-time job, but finds himself dragged into the local underworld, bullying, drug dealing, and race-fixing. What else could happen?
Review
I bought the audible format of this book and enjoyed it immensely.
The narrator, Anne-Lise Kadri’s clever voice variations, helped to distinguish the unique characters, each with their own quirks and distinct mannerisms. I think she really captured the mood of the book perfectly. The ease of her narration really made this a likeable story.
Jim’s Revenge is a witty, cleverly planned plot with so many happenings you must keep up. With this book, details made the story and the dialogue’s realistic flow keep your attention. Through it, you really get to know the characters, some were likeable and some a real menace. Jim’s character was perfectly verbalized to one who can think on his feet. Despite a few disadvantages, he was the unwilling hero of this story, and the outcome was a perfect end.
Jim, the main character, is a pensioner that knows nothing about modern technology. Cell phones, WhatsApp and cameras, but common sense and a keen interest in his surroundings made him the natural hero.
To curb the boredom, he applied for a job across the street where he lived, at Slobend, Fleecem & Skinnem. Without adding some spoilers to the review, it is good to know, because it centered the plot neatly. The entire plot involves the employees of this company and Jim learned quickly.
The connection between him and Moira was very sweet, and like a father, he tried to help her. Especially when the bullies bully became adamant to hurt her. All I am willing to mention is that practical jokes have a way to catch up to you. Watch out who you play with. Jim might be old, but not senile or stupid. And having a team of young men with their own agendas helped.
The supporting characters were a mixture of sweet and sour, with a tangy twist which made it surprisingly witty. From drug barons to the damsel in distress, each character forms part of the suspense filled plot.
Other books by Andrew R Williams
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Practical Guide to
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Spon’s Practical Guide to
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Excerpt
Jim and Moira
After searching for a pencil, Jim
Godwin put a ring around an advertisement in the sit’s vac page of the Tipham
Star. Reading further, he found another possible job and circled that too. By
the time Jim had finished, there were six rings on the page. He started
re-reading. Within seconds, he put a line through four of the circles; he
didn’t want to work anti-social hours and he didn’t want to travel far.
Ideally, the job would be part-time.
He was just about to reach out
and call one of the numbers when his mobile rang and startled the life out of
him.
Answering it, a high-pitched
voice shouted, “Hello Grandpa Godwin!”
Jim smiled, “Hello, Sam.”
Sam’s voice was suddenly replaced
by Amanda, his daughter-in-law, “I’m going shopping. D’you want anything?”
Jim raised his eyebrows at the
brusque tone in Amanda’s voice, but he ignored it because he had no desire to
lock horns with her. Instead, he reached for his list of special items he’d
written out the previous day and read them out.
“Is that all you want?” Amanda
demanded.
“That’ll do,” Jim confirmed.
“Thank you.”
“Okay, I’ll get Tommy to bring
them over later.”
“That will be nice,” Jim replied. “Will Sam be
coming too?”
There was a silence but instead
of the line being cut as it usually was, Jim heard Sam protesting, “I want to
speak to Grandpa again.”
A moment later, Sam came back on
the phone, “Hello Grandpa!”
After talking to Sam and
listening to his football exploits in the local junior team, Jim eventually
terminated the conversation and went back to his paper, but swiftly grew bored
with sit’s vac and the local news. Finally, he decided to visit Cunningham Park
and feed the ducks; it was one of those rituals he did practically every day to
waste away a few hours.
Picking up the specially bought
bird food instead of the stale bread he’d given innocently for years but which
he’d recently learned was potentially lethal for them, Jim left his flat and
set off towards the park. He noticed that Adrian Drinkwater was already sitting
in his usual position.
Moving towards the bench, Jim sat
down beside Drinkwater and said, “I hope you’re not going to accuse anyone of
being a drug dealer today.”
Drinkwater frowned, “And why
would I do that?”
“You did yesterday.”
“Did I?”
“You did,” Jim replied opening
the bag he was holding. The slight rustle was enough to spark the local
wildfowl into a frenzy; the lake emptied, and the air filled with the sounds of
quacking and honking.
After throwing some food to the
thronging masses and watching them gobble it up, Jim glanced at Adrian and
said, “So how’s things today?”
Adrian shrugged and said what he
usually said when Jim fed the birds. “They’re going to ban people feeding the
ducks y’know, Jim. They say it attracts rats.”
Jim ignored the comment and
responded with, “How’s your family?”
“Never see ‘em,” Adrian replied
dismissively but Jim suspected the comment was untrue. In all probability, his
children had visited Adrian but his Alzheimers had wiped away all memory of
their visit.
Adrian added, “How’s your
family?”
“Tommy’s coming around with Sam
to deliver my special items shortly,” Jim replied.
Adrian frowned, “Special items?”
“I’ve told you about the special
items before,” Jim replied. “I ask for them every week so Tommy has an excuse
to come around and see me.”
Noting the blank expression on
Adrian’s face, Jim concluded Adrian’s Alzheimer’s had once again wiped his
memory banks.
“Tommy is my son. Amanda is his
wife. Amanda and I fell out a few years back and she’s not the sort to forget a
grudge.”
“Tommy,” Adrian said. “Which
one’s that? Is he the one you said would regret marrying again?”
Jim only had one son but he
didn’t correct Adrian. “That’s the one.”
Adrian responded with, “Is he the
one like Henry the Eighth?”
“That’s the one.”
Partially recalling one of their
previous conversations on the subject, Adrian said, “Tell me how it goes
again.”
When Jim didn’t respond, Adrian
said, “Go on.”
“Okay,” Jim said. “Tommy has a
typical English family. Like King Henry the Eighth, Tommy has gone through
several wives and has children by most of them.
Unlike Henry’s spouses, none have
been beheaded. In Tommy’s case, the sequence is divorced; buggered off with
another man; died in car crash; remarried.”
Amused by the description of
Tommy’s family, Adrian let out a cackle. He said, “So who is Tommy married to
now?”
“Amanda. She’s Tommy’s fourth and
twenty years younger wife. Sam is the fruit of her loins.”
After talking about his family
for a while longer, Jim was surprised when Adrian remembered something from a
previous conversation.
“Have you found a job yet?”
Jim shook his head, “I’ve
contacted a few firms but I’ve begun to realise no one wants to employ someone
of my age. It’s as if I have ‘supplanted’ tattooed on my forehead.”
Adrian eyed him thoughtfully.
“I’m surprised you want a job at your age.”
“That’s what Tommy keeps on
saying,” Jim replied tartly. “But there are times when I get really bored.
Having a part-time job, something light would break up the day would do me
fine.”
After giving the ducks the
remainder of the food, Jim bid Adrian adieu and went back to his apartment.
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