Jimmy, Mrs Fisher and Me / Matador (ePub)

Jimmy, Mrs Fisher and Me is narrated by Simon Sixsmith, a street-smart 17-year-old who 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 determines 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 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; College, an outrageous young aristocrat addicted to sex; Tits, a Jewish teenager with a predilection for Arabs; and twins Pat and Paul, two high-camp gays awaiting sex-change ops. The fun, however, 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.