Excerpt:  The triplets stood staring at the back of the house. It was old and in disrepair. Peeling paint, once green, was weathered black. The porch screen door was off its hinges and propped to the side of the back steps. Yellowed lace curtains covered the kitchen window and door. The upstairs window on the right looked bare. Wood was cracked all along the eaves, their dirty white paint peeling worst of all. Several shingles were missing from the steep wrinkled roof. Pieces of brick, eroded off the chimney, lay scattered in an intricate pattern at its base where it entered the rooftop. But, most notable, was the small third story, a one room structure that stood tall and square beneath its separate and pointed roof. Blackish-green gargoyles, centered one each on the four eaves, gazed out over the neighborhood like evil snarling sentinels. The curtain covering the window facing the backyard was pulled back as though someone was peeking out from the dark shadowy interior.

This story is one of my favorites because it takes you back to the 1950's, to a time of childhood innocence and guilt. It's about 11-year old triplets who resort to criminal behavior thinking it will solve their family's financial problems. The story is metaphorical of the way in which petty crime can easily escalate into armed criminal activity, and thus is good adult reading also.