Escape From Five Shadows by Elmore Leonard

Corey Bowen is 1 year in to a seven year prison sentence for rustling. He maintains his own innocence. He is assigned to a construction project headed by a corrupt government contractor building a road to nowhere. All he wants to do is escape. After his first attempt he learns that it is not easy to evade the Apache scouts hired to track prisoners. Next time, he plans on making it work.

Escape From Five Shadows is another great western novel from Elmore Leonard's early days. It deals with the themes of corruption and deceit as well as hope and redemption. The characters are as tough as the land that they inhabit. When I was thirteen I started reading westerns. It has been years since I stopped reading them. Books like Escape From Five Shadows remind me why I should read more.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Coyote's In The House

When Elmore Leonard, the master of crime fiction, the man who wrote such novels as Get Shorty, decides to write a children's book he goes all in. This is a fun story of Antwan, a cool coyote who decides that it might be fun to pose as a dog. With the help of Buddy the movie star German Shepherd and the show dog poodle Miss Betty he tries to assimilate into the lifestyle of a Hollywood pet.

This is a cute story and a lot of fun. I listened to the audiobook version read by Neil Patrick Harris. Harris did an excellent job as a reader. This book is recommended for grades 5-8. You can still enjoy it if you are much older.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Up In Honey's Room by Elmore Leonard

Honey Deal is a fun loving girl trying to make her way in Detroit during the Second World War. Her ex-husband is a proud Nazi and a lookalike of Heinrich Himmler. That has attracted the attention of the FBI. The famous Hot Kid of the Marshals, Carl Webster, comes to Detroit to find two escaped German POWs. One of the POWs is a childhood friend of Honey’s ex.

What follows is a delightful romp with some wonderful character. Leonard is known for his memorable characters, a he just keeps them coming here. There is Honey Deal, a feisty young woman from Harlan County, Kentucky. Walter, Honey’s ex, is a Nazi sympathizer who believes that he is the twin brother of Heinrich Himmler, separated at birth. Walter’s circle includes a KKK leader from Georgia and a rich Anti-Semitic gynecologist. Add to that group a fake Polish Countess who is really a German spy and her cross-dressing lover. Let’s not forget the two POWs. There is Jurgen, Walter’s childhood friend, who just wants the war to end so he can become a cowboy, and Otto, an SS officer who loves Hemingway and other American fiction.

If it sounds crazy, it is. Up In Honey’s Room is one of those delightful Leonard books that you can read over and over again.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Hot Kid By Elmore Leonard

Carl Webster does not waste words with criminals. "If I have to pull my gun I'll shoot to kill" is his famous line. Those criminals who call his bluff learn the hard way that he is not kidding. This book follows the early career of Deputy US Marshal Carl Webster as he tracks down some of the toughest outlaws in Oklahoma during the Great Depression. He shoots it out with bank robbers, gangsters, thugs, and an ex-FBI agent with the KKK. Not bad for a man in the Marshal service for only a short time. Along the way he meets the pretty, young Louly who steals his heart. Parallel with Carl's story is the story of Jack Belmont, the son of privilege who turns to a life of crime. As there paths intertwine there can only be one ending. A showdown between lawman and criminal.

The Hot Kid is one of the most enjoyable books I have read yet by Elmore Leonard. The characters leap off of the page. This is one of those books screaming to be made into a film.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Glitz by Elmore Leonard

Vincent Mora, an off duty Miami detective, is wounded in a shootout with a mugger. He goes to Puerto Rico to recover from his wounds. While there he meets a young prostitute, Iris, who wants to rise in the world and Teddy, a man that he helped put away for rape seven years earlier. The ex-con is following Vincent with the desire to get even. Vincent just wants to recover in peace, but that isn't going to happen. Iris leaves to serve as a hostess in Atlantic City. When she is found dead with Vincent's name on her he goes to Atlantic City to track down the killer.
Glitz, written in 1985, has the feel of so many crime movies from that period. You can almost hear the soundtrack while reading it. Like most Leonard stories it is an enjoyable read. The story flows smoothly and the characters always feel spot on. There are several times where the plot makes less sense. One wonders why the characters do certain things. All in all it is a fun book.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Complete Western Stories by Elmore Leonard

This is a collection of Elmore Leonard's thirty Western short stories. These stories were written at the beginning of his career. Several of these classic stories were turned into movies. The most famous story in the collection is "3:10 to Yuma" which was turned into a classic western film starting Glenn Ford and then horribly butchered and mangled into a remake starring Russell Crowe.

There are a number of other excellent stories here. Leonard does not use the normal stereotypes seen in so many western television shows and movies. "Tonto Woman" tells the story of a woman who has been rescued from captivity only to be exiled by society. "Hurrah for Captain Early" gives us a story rarely heard. How black soldiers saved Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders at San Juan hill.

These are all good stories. This was my first Leonard book and I enjoyed re-reading it as much as
I enjoyed reading it the first time.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard

Maximum Bob is the nickname given to Judge Bob Gibbs. Judge Gibbs is known for handing out hard sentences from the bench. Dale Crowe Junior has the misfortune to draw Maximum Bob. Dale gets five years and threatens the judge. His probation officer Kathy Baker has her hands full. She is trying to fend off the advances of Judge Gibbs, keep Dale in line, and deal with Dale's uncle Elvin. Things get complicated when an attempt is made on the Judge's life. Now the list of suspects long, and Kathy seems to have a number of them among her parolees.


Maximum Bob is a fun book in that great Leonard style. There are the usual lowlifes populating the pages of the book. Readers of the Raylan Givens stories fans of the FX series Justified will recognize the relatives of Dewey Crowe, everyone's favorite redneck moron. Something I have grown to love about Leonard's novels and stories is how they are often linked with each other. Dale Junior is mentioned in "Fire In The Hole," Judge Gibbs is the judge who sentenced Jack Foley to prison in Road Dogs. There is even a scene in the book where one of the characters is recalling a western novel that he read in prison. The unnamed novel is Leonard's Bounty Hunters. These little Easter Eggs are quite fun for the loyal Leonard readers.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard

A high dive performer is on the top of his 80 foot dive platform preparing for his opening act. As he looks down he sees two men kill another man. This is the opening action for this tale of murder, crime, and Civil War reenactment in Tunica, Mississippi.

Leonard once again brings memorable characters to the page. High dive daredevil Dennis Lenahan just wants to perform. He gets dragged into a murder involving the Dixie Mafia. As if that isn't bad enough a blues-loving con-man from Detroit who is in Tunica to extend his drug trade befriends him.

This novel has the usual flawed, yet fascinating characters that Leonard is known for. The plot line is far more convoluted to explain that it is to experience in the book. This is standard fare for Leonard.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Raylan by Elmore Leonard

The television series Justified has propelled Elmore Leonard's character Raylan Givens into millions of homes. This is the third Raylan novel and is a lot of fun. The book began when Leonard decided that he needed to be part of the writing process. He wrote several story ideas and then condensed them into a single novel. This explains some of the structure. If it seems that the first story just ends early on and then another picks up, that is why.

The stories that make up the novel were intended to give the writers of Justified material to mine. They did so. Viewers of the television show will recognize several plots and themes from season 2 of the series. From interviews it seems clear that we may see more of them this season.

In Raylan we run into some relatives of Dewey Crow who decide to diversify their pot business by adding stolen body parts. Leonard takes the classic urban legend of the man with the stolen kidneys and gives it life. We also have a group of pot addled strippers turned into bank robbers, a college girl putting herself through school playing poker, a violent mine company woman, Boyd Crowder, and the usual assortment of strange and wonderful characters. If you are a fan of Justified, do yourself a favor and get this book. If you are just looking for a good book, do yourself a favor and get this book.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Law at Randado by Elmore Leonard

Another classic Elmore Leonard western. Two men are arrested for rustling and town leaders, urged on by the son of the wealthy rancher, form a kangaroo court. They decide to hang the men and do so. When the deputy sheriff in charge of the town returns he confronts the men responsible. He is run out of town, but returns with the sheriff and deals with those responsible.

There are a lot of standard Western themes in this story; the young deputy, the entitled son of the wealthy rancher, the tough older mentor. All great themes. While some of the plot is predictable, there are some really great twists and turns on these themes. I would say more about them, but then that would ruin the story.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Mr. Paradise

Anthony Paradiso, also known as "Mr. Paradise," is a retired lawyer with a young girlfriend. His girlfriend, Chloe, arranges an evenings entertainment with her roommate Kelly, a fashion model. They play cheerleaders while he watches University of Michigan football on TV. The evening ends in murder. Mr. Paradise and Chloe are murdered by hit men hired by Montez, Mr. Paradise's assistant. Kelly sees it all.

The police know what happened, but how to prove it. This story has all the elements of a great crime story. You have crooked lawyers, contract killers, gang bangers, beautiful women, and no nonsense cops. The one thing the cops have going for them is the sheer stupidity of the criminals involved. As these less than brilliant criminals come up with ever more complex schemes, it all begins to fall apart.

Written with the sparse, straight-forward prose that Leonard is known for it is a lot of fun.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Bounty Hunters

The Bounty Hunters was Elmore Leonard’s first novel. He had published a number of short stories in Western magazines before this. As a writer of westerns he was brilliant. The love of character is evident from this first novel.

The Bounty Hunters follows Dave Flynn, former cavalry officer turned scout as he leads a young lieutenant into Mexico on the trail of an Apache war chief. Along the way they encounter American scalp hunters who work for the local Mexican commander. Trouble with these scalp hunters is that they aren’t particular with whose scalps they take. A young woman, the daughter of a friend, is taken by the scalp hunters and Flynn goes after them.

All the classic western themes are here. The rugged individual, the dangerous situations. We have good guys, we have bad guys, and in the end both the good guys and bad guys get their reward. Bounty Hunters delivers all that could be expected from a western written by Elmore Leonard.

Road Dogs

Elmore Leonard is known for his characters. When talking about his writing style he always explains that he focuses on an interesting character and then tells a story about them. In Road Dogs Leonard brings three of his characters from earlier novels together for a fun and interesting story. Jack Foley is the Gentleman Bank Robber from Out of Sight, Cundo Rey was a character from LaBrava, and Dawn Navarro was last seen in Riding the Rap.

In Road Dogs we see Foley in the aftermath of Out of Sight. He is now friends with Cundo Rey, a recent arrival at the prison. Ray hooks Foley up with an attorney and gets him an early release. After his release Foley goes to LA and waits for Cundo with Dawn Navarro, Cundo’s common-law wife. Dawn is scheming to get Cundo’s fortune, she is running a grift on a rich Hollywood widow, and she want Foley’s help.

The book is written in that great Leonard style, it contains lots of fun twists and turns. It is a lot of fun.I listened to this as an audiobook. Peter Francis James was the reader for this book. He captured the nuances and style of each character. I can recommend this as both a book and an audiobook.

Get Shorty

Get Shorty is considered to be one of Elmore Leonard's great novels. Like all Leonard stories I have encountered it is a wonderful experience to read. The story is amusing. A man who runs a dry cleaning business owes money to a loan shark. He misses a plane, but his luggage doesn't. When the plane goes down the dry cleaner is believed dead. He and his wife keep quite to collect the insurance money and settle a lawsuit with the airline. Once they get the money the man leaves his wife with the cash and heads to Vegas.

Once the loan shark, Chili Palmer, learns that his mark is still alive he goes after him. Palmer takes a side job to collect some money from a Hollywood producer, goes to LA and decides that he would like to break into the movie business. A great deal of hilarity ensues. The book has that distinctive Leonard prose. Short and too the point, with just the right amount of humor. It is a great look at the world of Hollywood through the eyes of a Miami loan shark.

This was made into a film starring John Travolta, Danny DeVito, and Rene Russo. Many Leonard fans consider the film to be an excellent interpretation of the book. I intend to watch at and will let you know.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Moonshine War

The Moonshine War is the story of Son Martin a Prohibition Era bootlegger in rural Kentucky. Son's father hid over $100,000 of top grade moonshine. Now Frank Long, an old army buddy of Martin's is looking for it. Long is now a prohibition agent and wants the whiskey for himself. Long brings in some bootleggers to help him and things get hot.

This book was published in 1969, but like all great books, still holds up to repeated readings. This has Leonard's classic style. Heavy emphasis on dialogue, interesting characters, and sudden explosions of violence.

I listened to this as an audiobook. Mark Hammer gave a wonderful reading of the text. His voice captures the sound of the hills and the rhythm of Leonard's prose.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

When The Women Come Out To Dance

First book in the Year of Elmore Leonard. This is a collection of short stories that cover both the crime and western genres. There are some familiar names here. A fun Karen Sisco story and a story about the grandson of Carl Webster. The highlight for many will be the Raylan Givens story "Fire in the Hole." This is the story that inspired the FX series Justified. This is classic Leonard writing and is a pleasure to read. You could read this book straight through and then come back and just savor the stories individually from time to time.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad