Call Him Nemesis

"Call Him Nemesis" by Donald E. Westlake is a crime fiction novel written in the early 1960s. The book centers around a unique blend of crime and mystery, exploring the chaotic aftermath of a series of criminal activities and the peculiar figure known as the Scorpion, who intervenes in unexpected ways. The narrative reflects a time that captures the quirks of that era's societal views on crime and justice. The story unfolds through a bank robbery gone awry, resulting in police involvement and the emergence of the Scorpion, a young boy with extraordinary powers that allow him to affect the temperature of objects at will. As the narrative progresses, we see the Scorpion responding to various criminal events, including a man rampaging with a firearm and a street fight between gangs, each time leaving his mark – literally and figuratively. The police, led by Detective-Sergeant Stevenson, are baffled by the events, as they uncover a pattern indicating the boy's eccentric methods in combating crime. The eventual focus on Eddie Clayhorn, the boy behind the Scorpion persona, adds an intriguing childlike innocence to the otherwise serious crime genre, culminating in a blend of humor and suspense. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Donald Edwin Westlake was an American writer with more than one hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction and other genres. Westlake created two professional criminal characters who each starred in a long-running series: the relentless, hardboiled Parker, and John Dortmunder, who featured in a more humorous series.