What do you think?
Rate this book
Hotshot #1
Reduced Ransom!
Mickey and Dell, two long suffering halfwits come up with the idea of kidnapping at a bargain basement price. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, maybe a victim who doesn't want to be returned, another with a husband who doesn't want her back, one who's tougher than her kidnappers, and another who's entirely the wrong person.
Not to mention local thug Huey Evans who is looking to settle a score.
Well, maybe a victim who doesn't want to be returned, another with a husband who doesn't want her back, one who's tougher than her kidnappers, and another who's entirely the wrong person.
Not to mention local thug Huey Evans who is looking to settle a score.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 26, 2018
1016 people are currently reading
318 people want to read
About the author
Mike Faricy
130 books240 followersI was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, I still live there as well as in Dublin, Ireland. I've been a soldier, freelance journalist, tended bar, sold designer cakes, owned a painting and decorating company along with a number of other schemes and scams. If that doesn't offend you I also play bagpipes with the Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band. All my books stand alone, read them in whatever order you wish. They are filled with the sort of oddballs we are all curious about, but wisely, prefer to keep at a distance. None of my characters will be saving the world from terrorism, international banking conspiracies or coups to take over the government. Rather, they inhabit a world just below the surface of polite society, characters with one foot on either side of the law. The circumstances they find themselves in are usually due to bad decisions, but bad decisions lead to interesting stories. They serve not so much as an example but as a warning to us all. Thanks for taking the time, happy reading.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
April 30, 2019
Fizzled out
I had a feeling of déjà vu when I started reading this. Had I read this story before?
Two not-so-bright losers going into the kidnap business?
But a few deft turns by the author took it into new territory for me, and it amused me.
The constant point-of-view head-hopping worked for me, too, in defiance of the norm.
The ending was a bit abrupt for my liking and didn’t quench my thirst properly. Perhaps one of the unclosed loops bobs up in another book in the series?
But what really took stars away from this book was the poor copy editing. I’m no spelling and grammar nazi — even some very good books have mistakes. But I have my breaking point. ITS NOT THAT HARD (to work out where the apostrophe goes).
I had a feeling of déjà vu when I started reading this. Had I read this story before?
Two not-so-bright losers going into the kidnap business?
But a few deft turns by the author took it into new territory for me, and it amused me.
The constant point-of-view head-hopping worked for me, too, in defiance of the norm.
The ending was a bit abrupt for my liking and didn’t quench my thirst properly. Perhaps one of the unclosed loops bobs up in another book in the series?
But what really took stars away from this book was the poor copy editing. I’m no spelling and grammar nazi — even some very good books have mistakes. But I have my breaking point. ITS NOT THAT HARD (to work out where the apostrophe goes).
April 30, 2018
This could very well be like no other book you have ever read. There are no good guys, only some bad guys that are more likable than others. Mickey and Del have been best friends since either of them can remember. Mickey comes up with a plan to go into the kidnapping business. Only target the rich and only ask for $100,000. By reading the description, you see that is quite a cast of characters they end up kidnapping and quite a cast they are asking the money from. Their plans are so simple and idiotic the rich bad guys think they must be really connected and know a lot more than they do. Very enjoyable!
July 7, 2018
GTo Kidnap or Not
I don't know what to say about this book. The characters were comical, dysfunctional, inept and downright crazy. This book should have been called "How Not to Commit a Crime". Mickey's schemes get him and friend, Dell, into a lot of trouble. To make money they decide to do kidnappings. An adventurous story. I give it 3 1/2 stars.
I don't know what to say about this book. The characters were comical, dysfunctional, inept and downright crazy. This book should have been called "How Not to Commit a Crime". Mickey's schemes get him and friend, Dell, into a lot of trouble. To make money they decide to do kidnappings. An adventurous story. I give it 3 1/2 stars.
July 27, 2018
Clever and funny, this book moves along at a brisk and interesting pace. I was able to become quickly involved in the story and finished it in an afternoon. A great sign that I enjoyed it!
There are a few good laughs, with enough silliness to be funny. The author definitely has a quirky, goofy sense of humor - something I enjoy. I'll be reading more from him!
There are a few good laughs, with enough silliness to be funny. The author definitely has a quirky, goofy sense of humor - something I enjoy. I'll be reading more from him!
November 20, 2018
I haven't had this entertaining a read about botched kidnappings since I found O. Henry's The Ransom of Red Chief way back in the dark ages of high school. Although I have to say that Henry's bumblers didn't get off nearly as easily as Mike Faricy's wacky duo. Not gonna give away any more than that; y'all have to read it for yourself. Just be ready to laugh out loud.
October 4, 2018
Oh my gawd was this an awesome read. I loved it. Mike Faricy can sure come up with some colorful characters and great story lines. 'Reduced Ransome!' was hilarious. The characters were such a great combination of personalities that I laughed and shook my head throughout this book. Mickey and Del have got to be the luckiest idiots ever. But man are they funny. Definitely a must add to your tbr list. Recommended read.
July 30, 2018
Reduced Ransome
Loved this! Crazy funny. Laughed so hard at times I had to quit reading to compose myself! His description of his characters and events made me feel like I was right there. Could picture just how the people looked. Great story teller! Read Finders Keepers too. Another fun read!
Loved this! Crazy funny. Laughed so hard at times I had to quit reading to compose myself! His description of his characters and events made me feel like I was right there. Could picture just how the people looked. Great story teller! Read Finders Keepers too. Another fun read!
April 12, 2021
New series, funny and definitely entertaining.a different plot, of being the bad guys.. As you read, you wonder are these guys for real, or just having fun, seeing if there idea would work. His Dev Haskell series is also a good read.
July 6, 2018
Really enjoyable story
Really enjoyed reading this book. Great characters and good plot. I also enjoyed the twist at the end. I look forward to reading the next book in the series and I would recommend these and all the other books by this author.
Really enjoyed reading this book. Great characters and good plot. I also enjoyed the twist at the end. I look forward to reading the next book in the series and I would recommend these and all the other books by this author.
August 23, 2024
Mickey and Dell are low level crooks and part time workers making just enough to keep them in cheap beer and pizza deliveries. Dell is a drywaller and Mickey works part time cleaning and maintaining a real estate office. Because everyone at the office is lazy and leaves their passwords on their computers, Mickey has access to a lot of information that shouldn't be available to a crook.
Since he is the "idea guy", Mickey figures out they could use this information to get some easy money. Just kidnap a few wives or girlfriends from people who have wronged them in the past and demand a ransom discounted enough to make the men not complain too much.
But, they aren't very smart. They kidnap women that either don't want to go back, aren't wanted back, or are way more trouble than the ransom justifies.
Mike Faricy has mystery stories ranging from hard boiled to the absolute lunacy of this Hotshot series. I have loved every book of his I have read so far but I still have a long way to go in his library.
Since he is the "idea guy", Mickey figures out they could use this information to get some easy money. Just kidnap a few wives or girlfriends from people who have wronged them in the past and demand a ransom discounted enough to make the men not complain too much.
But, they aren't very smart. They kidnap women that either don't want to go back, aren't wanted back, or are way more trouble than the ransom justifies.
Mike Faricy has mystery stories ranging from hard boiled to the absolute lunacy of this Hotshot series. I have loved every book of his I have read so far but I still have a long way to go in his library.
March 25, 2020
Overall, this was a nice breather. The author knows exactly who these characters are and doesn't make any excuses for them. The first half of the book flew by for me, and I definitely laughed out loud more than once. The second half slowed down a bit, and I didn't find it quite as engaging. I liked that the perspective jumped between characters; I thought the author handled that pretty well, and after I realized that was what was happening, I came to expect it as I was reading and it didn't pull me out of the story. Similar to other reviewers, I did find the grammar and spelling errors quite distracting, especially when they were so blatant (e.g., "depraved" instead of "deprived", "rotator cup" instead of "rotator cuff"). These errors occurred pretty consistently throughout the book, so I didn't get much of a break from them. I'm not itching to read more in this series, but I would be open to it if I was in the mood for a story like this.
February 20, 2021
REDUCED RANSOM
Hotshot Series #1
MIKE FARICY
Review by Author Roy Murry
Micky and Dell agree to kidnap women. It's is Micky's idea, and he convinces Dell, his friend since childhood.
New at being criminals, a la Mutt and Jeff, and not the sharpish pencils in the box, proceed to kidnap their first woman, Janice. She is the step-daughter of a man who tormented Micky and Dell when they were young. He is a wealthy criminal type with hidden cash.
The events leading to and after this original kidnapping is not Micky and Dell's control. It leads to them receiving the ransom and Micky finding himself in a romantic situation.
So, the morons, as Janice calls them, commit two more crimes that have near disaster and funny developments. That last kidnap victim's payee is a bonified mafioso and arrives at the payment site with guns blazing.
The explosive ending will have the reader surprised and laughing at the same time. The story does not end there.
To find out why you need to read this well-written comical relief. Mr. Faricy keeps your funny bone alive.
Hotshot Series #1
MIKE FARICY
Review by Author Roy Murry
Micky and Dell agree to kidnap women. It's is Micky's idea, and he convinces Dell, his friend since childhood.
New at being criminals, a la Mutt and Jeff, and not the sharpish pencils in the box, proceed to kidnap their first woman, Janice. She is the step-daughter of a man who tormented Micky and Dell when they were young. He is a wealthy criminal type with hidden cash.
The events leading to and after this original kidnapping is not Micky and Dell's control. It leads to them receiving the ransom and Micky finding himself in a romantic situation.
So, the morons, as Janice calls them, commit two more crimes that have near disaster and funny developments. That last kidnap victim's payee is a bonified mafioso and arrives at the payment site with guns blazing.
The explosive ending will have the reader surprised and laughing at the same time. The story does not end there.
To find out why you need to read this well-written comical relief. Mr. Faricy keeps your funny bone alive.
July 21, 2023
Pitched as "humor" and a "comedy," I would go as far as to say it is mildly amusing in some situations. As for the ineptitude of the main characters, they were surprisingly successful in their endeavors. Although they decided on one of the most difficult crimes to commit - kidnapping - the exchange of the ransom money is normally fraught with complexities, but our perpetrators had no such problems. I think the victims were dumber or more unstable than the perpetrators. Either that, or the kidnappers were clever in choosing their victims extremely well. There are no good guys in this caper, just some guys better than others.
The plot was straightforward, with a medium-paced narrative, decent characterization, some amusing dialogue dotted here and there. It was an enjoyable and entertaining, lighthearted look at the kidnap business. There seems to be a conflicting message; they say crime doesn't pay, unless you're incompetent and extremely naive, in which case, it does.
The plot was straightforward, with a medium-paced narrative, decent characterization, some amusing dialogue dotted here and there. It was an enjoyable and entertaining, lighthearted look at the kidnap business. There seems to be a conflicting message; they say crime doesn't pay, unless you're incompetent and extremely naive, in which case, it does.
May 20, 2019
This is not my favorite genre, but I loved this book. The quirky characters, in ridiculous situations, made me laugh out loud. I especially enjoyed the Minnesota references. The bus in the woods referred to as a lake cabin is spot on. I have an ancient single-wide trailer on a lake in Minnesota that is our families summer cabin. Directly across the lake is an old school bus. I may have to dig up their fire pit someday. Minnesota has more than 16,000 lakes. They only claim 10,000 on the license plates. The other 6000 have buses, campers, no longer running RV's, trailers, trucks and fish houses that could be mistaken for outhouses on them. I never realized how rampant crime could be in such a location.
September 19, 2024
Beware of Idiots
A pair of idiots have a great idea to kidnap specially selected people and ask for a ransom of only 100,000.
The rationale being that the amount for the chosen people’s family is so low that they will just pay up without involving the police.
Each kidnap has its own disaster so will they reap the rewards they aim for without getting into trouble?
It’s an entertaining read whilst also exasperating as they bumble from one situation to another.
It’s typical Mike Faricy writing and I really do enjoy reading his books. This is no different and I was happy I read the book and look forward to the next Hotshot book.
A pair of idiots have a great idea to kidnap specially selected people and ask for a ransom of only 100,000.
The rationale being that the amount for the chosen people’s family is so low that they will just pay up without involving the police.
Each kidnap has its own disaster so will they reap the rewards they aim for without getting into trouble?
It’s an entertaining read whilst also exasperating as they bumble from one situation to another.
It’s typical Mike Faricy writing and I really do enjoy reading his books. This is no different and I was happy I read the book and look forward to the next Hotshot book.
May 29, 2019
I love the Dev Haskell series so had high hopes. The Hotshot's aren't bad, they just are more confusing with so many people and so many story lines. They all come together eventually, but it takes a while to get there. Still enjoyable, but I need to start taking notes at the beginning so I know who everyone is. Still a Mike Faricy fan, but I love Dev. And his humor is still there, but I love Dev.
February 5, 2025
I’ve read several of Mike’s book and have found them to
Be enjoyable easy reads with interesting characters and twisty plots. This one stars two low level criminals staying to pick up easy cash by kidnapping the wives or other sleazy characters thinking the victims wouldn’t want the police investigating the crime. What could go wrong?
Mike continues to be the replacement to Elmore Leonard, whose work I enjoyed for years.
Thanks Mike, and I’ll continue to read all of your work
Be enjoyable easy reads with interesting characters and twisty plots. This one stars two low level criminals staying to pick up easy cash by kidnapping the wives or other sleazy characters thinking the victims wouldn’t want the police investigating the crime. What could go wrong?
Mike continues to be the replacement to Elmore Leonard, whose work I enjoyed for years.
Thanks Mike, and I’ll continue to read all of your work
July 15, 2019
Mickey convinces his best friend Dell that they can make easy money kidnapping selected women for a small ransom. Unfortunately, Mickey never has all the details quite right and picks some problem women to kidnap. It was a fun concept, but got a bit stale towards the mid/end. The end was wrapped up in a few short paragraphs which needed a bit more development I thought.
August 21, 2019
Funny
Two not so smart individuals become involved in a scheme to ransom women back to the husbands and fathers who have treated them poorly. Their tactics are as much of a mess as they are. When they kidnap the wrong woman, they face off with professionals to a hilarious end. A funny, fast, easy read.
Two not so smart individuals become involved in a scheme to ransom women back to the husbands and fathers who have treated them poorly. Their tactics are as much of a mess as they are. When they kidnap the wrong woman, they face off with professionals to a hilarious end. A funny, fast, easy read.
May 9, 2021
When two inept kidnappers plan on kidnapping rich wives to get back at schoolyard bullies, you know there will be trouble! It was well written and humorous. Characters were well defined. It was not, however, a cozy mystery. Cozies are defined as having no swearing, sex or violence. I would identify it as a humorous crime story.
July 31, 2021
Another hilarious book by Mike Faricy. This time we have a pair of guys who decide they can make some money by kidnapping and ransoming different women married to men, who in the past, had done them wrong. I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down. I also loved that each chapter is only a couple pages, making it easy to stop for bathroom and snack breaks.
July 18, 2022
DNF: 35% and quit.
Starts out funny. The characters are almost too dumb and nonsensible. Was fun for a while, but I soon became bored. I have little patience for people with little common sense.
Reread the reviews to see if it was worth finishing. Many reviews mentioned the abrupt ending. That was enough reason for me to make my own abrupt ending but quitting.
Starts out funny. The characters are almost too dumb and nonsensible. Was fun for a while, but I soon became bored. I have little patience for people with little common sense.
Reread the reviews to see if it was worth finishing. Many reviews mentioned the abrupt ending. That was enough reason for me to make my own abrupt ending but quitting.
July 2, 2018
If you want a good laugh this is it!
Loved this book! It was so funny, I know a couple of people who could fit right in here... Well, maybe not as kidnappers but but just as bumbling! Loved it!
Loved this book! It was so funny, I know a couple of people who could fit right in here... Well, maybe not as kidnappers but but just as bumbling! Loved it!
July 10, 2018
Absolutely tops in my opinion!!! I so enjoyed this I want more of Mike Faricy books!!!! Did NOT want to put it down....everyone says that, I really mean it, it's so good you really want to keep on going!!!! Thanks for a super read and I so recommend it!
August 9, 2018
Found on FreeBooksy, the title caught my eye because I've always been firmly convinced that, if ever kidnapped, I'd definitely be reduced... this was a most enjoyable book with laugh out loud parts, vibrant characters,a nd a great ending. I'll be checking out more by this author.
November 8, 2018
Funny and entertaining!
Two friends decide to kidnap women for ransom and strange things keep happening. They are not very good at planning the details but seem to come out ahead in the end.
Two friends decide to kidnap women for ransom and strange things keep happening. They are not very good at planning the details but seem to come out ahead in the end.
June 19, 2019
This was a funny story about 2 misfits who decided to kidnap some people for ransom. I voluntarily chose to review this. I've given it a 4* rating.They were so dumb that it was a bit funny. If anyone had dumb luck, it was them. So if you want some cheap laughs, then this might do it.
October 15, 2019
Unique
This book was humorous, but there were no real likable characters and no heroes. It is listed as a cozy, but there is quite a bit of profanity but no violent scenes.
This story might play out well in a movie, but I personally did not enjoy it as a book.
This book was humorous, but there were no real likable characters and no heroes. It is listed as a cozy, but there is quite a bit of profanity but no violent scenes.
This story might play out well in a movie, but I personally did not enjoy it as a book.
January 24, 2021
Idiots
This started out like the Random of Red Chief, only these guys are BIG time Idiots. Mickey's plans sort of work only on pure dumb luck. I love the Dev Haskell and Marshall Dillon series but didn't really care for these two idiots. The ending was good.
This started out like the Random of Red Chief, only these guys are BIG time Idiots. Mickey's plans sort of work only on pure dumb luck. I love the Dev Haskell and Marshall Dillon series but didn't really care for these two idiots. The ending was good.
February 7, 2021
Quirky tale of two morons
Two not so bright dudes decide to go into the kidnapping business. Their plans are hit and miss, not much organization. They hit every obstacle known to a kidnapper and than some. Join them as they navigate the waters of crime for pay.
Two not so bright dudes decide to go into the kidnapping business. Their plans are hit and miss, not much organization. They hit every obstacle known to a kidnapper and than some. Join them as they navigate the waters of crime for pay.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews