Jay Cronley (1948–2017)

Quick Change follows the misadventures of career criminal Grimm, his bombshell girlfriend Phyllis, and loose cannon cohort Lackey, as their getaway to the airport from a nearly flawless bank job is repeatedly delayed and complicated by one misfortune after another.

A bit more nihilistic and hard-edged than the 1990 Bill Murray adaptation of the same name, Quick Change is an 80s crime farce in the tradition of authors like Carl Hiaasen, although quite possibly lesser known than it's American film adaptation. It's a straight forward "What else could go wrong?" comic vehicle, as unforeseen errors in judgement and cruel twists of fate keep getting in the way of Grimm's gang and the airport while enraged police chief Rotzinger slowly gains on their trail. Much of the incidents they become involved in along the way mirror absurd societal norms and inner-city frustrations that can make life difficult on even a normal day, which goes a long way towards humanizing the predicaments of the lead characters.

Part of the humor in the novel comes from the narrator's asides into the thoughts and histories of major and minor characters alike, which may be a bit distracting to some readers when time dilates during active scenes in order to diverge into brief insights of a minor character's motivation, but they are generally performed to solid effect. The witty banter the makes up most of the novel's dialogue, however, feels a bit stiff and clunky in some spots, and does less to demonstrate the personalities of characters than the meandering narrator. Sometimes the dialogue isn't as clever as the characters (or author) think it is, but you're guaranteed to laugh when it does hit the mark.

Despite these minor setbacks, it's an overall fun read, especially if you've never seen the 1990 film Quick Change. The 1985 French adaptation Hold-Up bears little resemblance to the source material beyond the clown costume bank robbery, so having seen that beforehand should be less of a hindrance.… (altro)