Kidnap

by Philip McCutchan

When Ernest Blundy is released from prison, he finds that his wife, Ag, expects him to get a decent job and earn properly.

Doing just that proves to be too much of a task for him, so when an old acquaintance offers him the chance to earn something more, Blundy takes it. Except, the something more involves the kidnapping of a millionaire’s son.

A dream come true? Not for Ernest Blundy who has neither the stomach for the job nor the guts to turn it down. Not when his contact is a big-shot who could make or break him.

Ag and Ernest capture the young boy at Brands Hatch and make a daring escape to a remote cottage in Yorkshire, which belongs to Ag’s aunt. But with Ag’s aunt recovering from a recent surgery, Ernest and Ag have to be very careful that the boy is not seen or heard. Especially with nurses popping around. But things take an unexpected turn rather drastically and the Blundys are left to deal with a rather smart-mouthed young man.

The Blundys have to come up with another plan, and fast. Time is against them … and some things will simply not last until summer!

181 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1993

About the author

aka Robert Conington Galway, Duncan MacNeil

Philip McCutchan (1920-1996) grew up in the naval atmosphere of Portsmouth Dockyard and developed a lifetime's interest in the sea. Military history was an early interest resulting in several fiction books, from amongst his large output, about the British Army and its campaigns, especially in the last 150 years.

Reviews

[Mrs J · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comic kidnap caper

Mr Blundy and his wife get involved in a kidnap. Completely inept they reveal who they are and other important identifying factors. The plan doesn’t go well and the victim appears to gain the upper hand.
Extremely verbose the narration spins out the story. With stereotypes and two characters I didn’t really connect with there was some dark comedy and some sadness. I did cringe from very early on with some of the obvious mistakes and naïvetés.

[Carol Holder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a humorous story that had me laughing out loud about Mr Blundy and his wife Ag who was responsible for kidnapping Harold Barnwell. It was good reading but sad that Ag aunt died also Mr Blundy. Enjoyable

[Gordon Johnston · Rating 2 out of 5]

The darkly comic tale of the world's stupidest kidnapers. A petty criminal tries to make a big score but is so far out of his depth that the chances of success were always near zero. The characters are not particularly likeable and the narrative is pedestrian

[Carla O]

This was hard to get into, but after persevering, I did enjoy the story-line. I did not like any of the characters, which made it harder to read. I have a low tolerance for stupidity. The ending was very satisfying.