Highway Robbery is a delightful wee book!

This short novel by Kate Thompson is intended for middle-grade readers but is equally fun for adults. Told in the first-person, the story is narrated by a diminutive street urchin in old London who is out begging (unsuccessfully) one day when he finds himself charged with holding the lathered horse belonging to a man who is, by all accounts, none other than the far-famed highwayman Dick Turpin. The dashing rogue promises the young lad a golden guinea for his troubles when he returns.

What follows is a long ordeal for the boy, who must forestall the attentions of curious young girls, passing farm workers and potential horse thieves who are all attracted to the powerful black mare. More dire, however, is the arrival of a troop of king's soldiers who have followed Turpin's trail after a recent robbery and hope to set a trap for him ... using the poor, starstruck guttersnipe and the mare, Black Bess, as bait.

The boy, meanwhile, is torn between the options that lay before him. Does he remain loyal to his hero, Dick Turpin, and try to escape or warn him of the soldiers lying in wait? Should he do his civic duty and assist the authorities in apprehending a notorious criminal who has, after all, robbed and killed his way to infamy? Does he just drop the reins and try to get away and out of this perplexing puzzle? Or does he try to find some way to profit from his tribulations, at least enough to buy himself some food and warm clothing?

Given Dick Turpin's place in history, the tale takes place in the late 1730s. It's presented as a story told shortly after the fact by the boy to an unidentified, well-to-do passerby. But readers might find themselves wondering if the boy's version of events is a true and accurate account of what happened. Ultimately, Thompson leaves that up to the readers to decide.

It's a fast read, just 117 pages and printed in a large font. The book also is liberally illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings by Jonny Duddle and Robert Dress that add a nice Dickensian touch to the work (which is, to be fair, set in the early Georgian period in English history; Oliver Twist would be a century in Dick Turpin's future).

Thompson, an award-winning author of children's fiction, has written a fun and lively narrative that will keep you turning pages to the end. Highway Robbery is a treat!