YMMV / Help I Am Being Held Prisoner

• Magnificent Bastard: Phil Giffin leads a gang of incarcerated criminals who use a tunnel to sneak out of prison for a few hours each day to enjoy the outside and commit crimes while having perfect alibis. He avoids detection through bribery, forming a close-knit unit with his fellow conspirators, and the occasional Seamless Spontaneous Lie. Phil is friendly, generous, and supportive toward new gang member Harry, who secretly wants to avoid being an example of Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook. At the same time Harry never doubts that Phil will kill him if he poses a security risk. Even after six failed attempts to rob two banks during their busiest days of the month, Phil remains unfettered and swears to keep trying if it takes the rest of his life. He succeeds in robbing one of the banks on the seventh try and plans to use his share to open a gym with two of his partners rather than return to a life of a crime. In the last chapter, he reluctantly comes to view Harry's practical joker past and interference with several of the robbery attempts as Actually Pretty Funny and seeks no revenge against him.
• Unintentional Period Piece: Harry's parents being German refugees and Max and several of his acquaintances being former student radicals give the story a very 70s feel.
• Values Dissonance: While impersonating a military inspector, Eddie cracks some jokes about how some of the soldiers have been stealing women's underwear. Said jokes aren't explicitly homophobic but might not have been written in a modern novel.