Mark,
Re your question below:
> I must admit that as much of a caper fan as I am,
I
> can't remember
> reading any amateur criminal stories. I'm
guessing
> this would apply to
> a character like Rafferty (would Cary
Grant's
> gentleman thief in To
> Catch a Thief be a distant relation?). I'm
curious,
> what's their stated
> motive for stealing (if they even bother
giving
> one)? Is it just an
> adventure, a form of slumming? A patrician
puzzle
> to outwit the
> authorities? Stealing from the bad to right
a
> wrong? A Robin Hood kind
> of thing? Is there a recommended book of this
sort?
> I think it'd be
> amusing to compare it to Parker or Earl
Drake.
I think the character you may be thinking of is
"Raffles," not Rafferty, and, yes, Cary Grant's "Cat"
character was very similar. They were "gentlemen thieves,"
but their stated purpose was to make money
(in a way they found enjoyable, to be sure, but to make
money), so they were, in fact, professional criminals.
My point about amateur criminals is that, more often than
not, in the traditional cozy, the murderer (whose identity is
concealed) turns out to be someone who is neither an habitual
criminal nor someone who committed the murder for financial
gain. There are professional criminals in traditional
mysteries (i.e Professor Moriarty), but they are
comparatively rare.
Amateur criminals are certainly present in hard-boiled
mysteries, also. But it is in hard-boiled mysteries that you
are most likely to meet professional hit men, organized crime
figures, armed robbers, drug pushers, enemy spies, etc. And
the people opposing them are more likely to be cops,
professional PIs, or secret agents. The hard-boiled world is
a world of pros.
JIM DOHERTY
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