Philly Amateurs — Richard E. Peck

In Philadelphia, Mike Bradley starts a training program at an insurance company for his first job, ever. During lunch break he celebrates his job by picking up his newly purchased Honda Prelude. Then he walks out of a deli to watch the car being hoisted into a moving van and driven away. Stolen.

With the help of Paulie Klein, free-lance wallpaper designer and street-smart hustler, he traces the theft to Lester-the-thief, a New Jersey entrepreneur, who steals cars, to order. And Lester's operation inspires Bradley to steal twenty new Cadillacs, spotless luxury cars he delivers to Lester-the-thief, with clean titles.

But, he stole them from a dealership owned by a Philly mob boss; the cars are too hot even for Lester. So Bradley and his girlfriend Lee are stuck with twenty hot cars, wanted by the police and the mob. That's when the complications begin.

Written in Peck's buoyant, crisp style, Philly Amateurs is whimsical and tough at the same time. Filled with unique and memorable characters, the story races to a surprising climax.