You may remember me. Think back.
The summer of 1990. I know that's a while ago, but the wire services picked up the story and I was in every newspaper in the country. Even if you didn't read the story, you probably heard about me. From one of your neighbors, somebody you worked with, or if you're younger, from somebody at school.
They called me "the Miracle Boy."
Description:
When you read a lot of books as I do (or at least look at the first sentences of a lot of books), the good and great ones just stand out. Maybe my favorites are not your favorites, much like the art I choose to look at in a museum might differ from your preferences, but definitely we both know which books/art attract our attention. The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton definitely jumped out at me as something I wanted to spend some time quality with.
Mike, the teenage narrator and lock artist, is writing his personal story from his jail cell while serving the last years of a prison sentence. He is just an ordinary kid, not a thug or hardened criminal. His writing is youthful and honest as he records incidences jumping from long-buried recollections to his more recent criminal past. His narrative is full of the teen dreams, insecurities, and pride as he writes his episodes with family, girls, school, and temptations.
We learn Mike experienced an unnamed trauma nine years ago when he was eight, causing him to become the "Miracle Boy," an intriguing moniker he does not immediately explain. Since that incident, he has not uttered a word, but whether he is unable or just unwilling to speak is an ongoing question.
Raised by a distant uncle, Mike wiles away lonely hours developing his self-taught skills of sketching and also picking locks - locker combination locks, padlocks, deadbolts, and more.
His lock artistry does not go unnoticed and he unintentionally drifts into a world of admiring teens as well as heavy-hitters, each with a nefarious schemes involving his talents.
Eventually, he crosses paths with a shadowy figure known only as "The Ghost," from whom Mike learns the elusive techniques of safe-cracking. He becomes a professional "Boxman," available for hire by criminals needing his skills. All this before reaching the age of 18.
But danger lurks. He must always give a cut from each job to an anonymous employer who controls the lock-opening jobs sent Mike's way. And when the pager from this figure rings, it must be answered immediately and the tasks performed perfectly and unquestioningly, or there will be swift, probably fatal repercussions.
Mike does find one benefit accompanying this drudgery: Amelia, the teen living in a house he broke into, someone who takes a secret liking to Mike. Unable to talk to her, Mike communicates with her through drawings he secretly leaves in her room after picking the lock on her house late at night.
The pacing of Mike's tale is smooth and effortless. Author Hamilton masterfully depicts the teenage mind during Mike's encounters with typical high school events and people, as well as his forays into the not-so-typical real world of criminals and pathways pulling him downward.
There is some violence in this book as in most crime novels, but do not be deterred. The Lock Artist is very well written, providing memorable characters (both good and bad) in a plot that draws you in from the opening paragraphs to the thrilling, unexpected conclusion on the final page.
You won't want to stop reading - the highest recommendation I can give a book. And you will learn how a lock works and maybe, with intense practice, you, too, can become a boxman or at least be able to open your combination lock or the back door to your house.
Happy reading.
Fred
www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com
"The Lock Pickers." by Tony Vanderbilt. Slate. March 11, 2013.
Great article on Alfred C. Hobbs who picked the strongest lock in the world in 1851 in London to show the weakness of every lock (except the ones he was selling).
Steve Hamilton's bibliography of 19 other titles, including his Edgar-winning book in the Alex McKnight detective thriller series.
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