Jimmy, Mrs Fisher and Me

Simon Sixsmith, the 17-year-old street-wise narrator of this novel, lives with his feisty young mother, Patricia, and part-Nigerian half-brother, Jimmy, in a run-down Victorian house in the East End of London.

Devastated by the news that Jimmy is losing his sight, Simon resolves to make Jimmy's dream of visiting the Grand Canyon come true. The only problem is he's flat broke and unable to find work. Then, one day, depressed and roaming the streets, he spots a newspaper bill: Scandal of London's Rent Boys.

In no time at all Simon is in London's West End looking for a place on the meat rack, which he finds via Pebbles, a young hustler, who introduces him to The General, the tough-but-caring controller of 70 rent boys.

The General puts Simon to work (hustling in two hotels) and soon he's rolling in money - and having a great time with the pals he's made: Titch, a knife-carrying midget with a passion for Arnold Schwarzenegger and nipple clamps; Tits, a Jewish teenager with a weakness for dark-skinned men in turbans, Pat and Paul, high-camp twins awaiting sex-change ops; College, an outrageous young aristocrat obsessed with the male organ.

But the fun doesn't last: Pebbles is murdered by a gang of deviants, and Simon is seconded by the General to help catch them...with terrifying consequences.

The eponymous Mrs Fisher? She's the mother of Simon's child, conceived when Simon was just 14.

"Poignant, sensual, shocking - and pungently funny. I love this book." - Jan Henley, author of "Separate Lives".

Goodreads' reviewer, Kaden, wrote: "This book isn't going to be for everyone. The subject matter is gritty - all of it, but what you find beneath that is an optimistic, reckless character with a golden sense of humor and a bizarre set of morals who, with his big heart, wants to do right by everyone around him. That's what made this book for me, and I'm delighted that I got around to reading it."

Elisa Rolle of Rainbow Awards and a top reviewer for Amazon gave it five stars. "I drank it in one gulp, but it still lingers around me."

"...found myself not wanting to put it down. A great read." - Trevor, Amazon reviewer. Five stars.

See more reviews on my blog.