Leslie Thomas - That Old Gang of Mine

review live on show by Brian Lowen 26/7/12
Another hilarious tale from the pen of Leslie Thomas.
The scene is set along Ocean Drive, South Miami, Florida.

It is in this area that many elderly folk while away their latter days, living in cheap hotels and snoozing in the shade under the trees along the waterfront. A few of them get together to try and relieve the boredom of their life by trying their hand at a little crime.

They infiltrate a charity do at a rich couple’s ocean front property with the intention of robbing the safe. They think they have found the safe in the floor of the bedroom situated over the main lounge where the party is taking place, but when they start undoing the large nut in the floor, you can guess what happens next if you have ever watched that episode of ‘Only Fools and Horses’ when Del Boy, Rodney and Granddad try their hand at chandelier cleaning.
I wonder if the script writer for that show had read this book! ? O’Sullivan

That caper is an hilarious failure but things look up when the attractive granddaughter of one of the group and an ex-cop join the gang and they successfully rob a bank. Some of them get
second thoughts though because they are not real criminals at heart.

The local Police Chief is going spare trying to track down this gang who are causing chaos on his normally quiet patch.

The story comes to a great uproarious finale when the gang try one last raid at a famous film star’s soiree where the Police Chief is one of the guests to this party in a huge riverside mansion with a river running through the lounge.

A great book that you wish would not come to an end. Thoroughly recommended.