City Primeval by Elmore Leonard

 

(pb; 1980)

From the back cover

“Clement Mansell knows how easy it is to get away with murder. The crazed killer is back on the Detroit streets—thanks to some nifty courtroom moves by his crafty looker of a lawyer—and he’s feeling invincible enough to execute a crooked Motown judge. Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz thinks the Oklahoma Wildman crossed the line long before this latest outrage, and he’s determined to see that the psycho does not slip through the legal system’s loopholes a second time. But that means a good cop is going to have to play somewhat fast and loose with the rules—in order to maneuver Mansell into a wild Midwest showdown that he won’t be walking away from.”

 

Review

City’s modern-day cowboy Cruz and his law-enforcement associates face off against a sociopathic, brazen, and murderous criminal (Clement Mansell) whose low-life wiliness allows him to slip out of situations that would normally land another criminal in prison for decades. Leonard’s writing, at his best, is simultaneously slick, action- taut clever, with loquacious dialogue (but tightly edited), with a raw unpredictability thrown into the mix, and City reflects all these qualities. You know there’s going to be a showdown between Cruz and Mansell, just a question of where and when, and when it comes, it’s a doozy of a finale for a book that’s worth owning.

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City Primeval became the basis for FX channel’s upcoming limited series Justified: City Primeval, a continuation/spin-off of their 2010-15 show Justified, featuring Leonard’s book- and story-recurrent lawman character, Raylan Givens (starting with Leonard’s 1993 novel Pronto) in place of Raymond Cruz. As with the 2010-15 series, Timothy Olyphant played Givens. Justified: City Primeval is scheduled to begin airing on FX on July 18, 2023.

Raylan Goes to Detroit by Peter Leonard

 

(hb; 2018: fourth book in the Raylan Givens series)

From the inside flap

“Plato o plomo. These are the last words Special Agent Frank Tyner hears before getting dealt the business end of a .22 Sport King, a gift from known drug trafficker and murderer, Jose Rindo. Nora Sanchez, to track down Rindo and bring him to justice before he slips across the Mexican border. Further complicating things, she’s got some unwanted help from the US Marshall fugitive task force—the kind that’s quick on the trigger and always shoots to kill—in the form of recently reassigned Deputy Marshall Raylan Givens. The duo follows Rindo’s bloody trail through the dusty plains of the Midwest, across the deserts of Arizona and El Centro, and deep into the heart of Mexico.”

 

Review

Set a few years after the events of the show Justified (2010-15) Peter Leonard’s Detroit maintains the same burn-through, tightly written, humor-, character- and violence-driven feel of his father’s previous Raylan Givens novels and stories, making this a worthwhile legacy read, one worth checking out.

Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing by Elmore Leonard

(hb; 2001, 2007: nonfiction. Illustrated by Joe Ciardiello.)

From the inside flap:

"For aspiring writers and lovers of the written word, this concise guide breaks down the writing process with simplicity and clarity. From adjectives and exclamation points to dialect and hoopetedoodle, Elmore Leonard explains what to avoid, what to aspire to, and what to do when it sounds like 'writing' (rewrite)."


Review:

This short, lots-of-white-space nonfiction book about writing was originally published as an article in the New York Times (“Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points and Especially Hooptedoodle”), so if you can get your hands on that, do so.

If you cannot access it that way, purchase this indispensable, direct and fast read that all writers should check out, if not own. Leonard was a master writer, and his rules – which are flexible, depending on the situation – are the key to more effective published works. This is one of my all-time favorite books about being a better author.)

Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard

(hb; 1992: sequel to The Switch)


From the inside flap:

"Jackie Burke's future looks grim.  She's been a flight attendant for twenty years and she's down to working for an island-hopping airline the day she lands at Palm Beach International with fifty grand and is taken into custody.  The Feds know Jackie works for a man who sells machine guns to bad guys, but they don't know his name.  Jackie looks at her options.  She can tell what she knows about Robbie Ordell, the gun dealer, and get off - except that if Ordell suspects you're talking about him, you're dead.  Or she can keep her mouth shut and do five years.  Then she meets Max Cherry - late fifties, recently separated, and just starting to think that maybe there's more to life than being a bail bondsman - and sees she has more option than she thought. . ."


Review:

Thirteen years after the events of The Switch, Ordell, Louis and Melanie are still doing their crime thing, though this time they aren't the only game in town.  As he did in that previous novel, Leonard uses his trademark waste-no-words plotting, character-based twists, and slick dialogue and action to create a sequel that furthers its source novel's excellence.  Worth owning, this.

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The resulting film, Jackie Brown, was released stateside on December 25, 1997.  Quentin Tarantino scripted and directed it. 

Pam Grier played Jackie Brown (cinematic stand-in for Jackie Burke).  Samuel L. Jackson played Ordell Robbie.  Robert Forster played Max Cherry.  Robert DeNiro played Louis Gara.  Bridget Fonda played Melanie Ralston.  Michael Keaton played Ray Nicolette (a role he reprised in the 1998 film Out of Sight).

Tommy "Tiny" Lister (billed as Tim "Tiny" Lister) played Winston.  Chris Tucker played Beaumont Livingston.  LisaGay Hamilton played Sheronda.  Sid Haig played a "Judge".  An uncredited Denise Crosby played a "Public Defender".  An uncredited Quentin Tarantino provided an "Answering Machine Voice".

The Switch by Elmore Leonard

(hb; 1978: prequel to Rum Punch)


From the back cover:

"Black Ordell Robbie and white Louis Gara have lots in common - time in the same slammer, convictions for grand theft auto, and a plan for the big score.  They're going to snatch the wife of a Detroit developer and collect some easy ransom money.  They don't figure on a bum of a husband who has a secret mistress and no desire to get his wife back.  Or on his crazy, beautiful broad of a housewife who's going to join Ordell and Louis in the slickest, savviest crime of all."


Review:

Leonard's trademark waste-no-words plotting, character-based twists, and slick dialogue and action make Switch a perfect for the crime genre novel.  This is an excellent read.

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The resulting film, Life of Crime, is scheduled for a stateside theatrical release on August 29, 2014.  Daniel Schechter wrote the screenplay for and directed the film. 

Mos Def, billed as Yasiin Bey, played Ordell Robbie.  John Hawkes played Louis Gara.  Mark Boone Junior played Richard.  Jennifer Aniston played Mickey Dawson.  Tim Robbins played Frank Dawson.  Isla Fisher played Melanie Ralston.

Will Forte played Marshall Taylor.  Alex Ladove played Pamela Taylor.

Raylan by Elmore Leonard

(hb; 2012: third book in the Raylan Givens series)

 From the inside flap

"With the closing of the Harlan County, Kentucky, coal mines, marijuana has become the biggest cash crop in the state. A hundred pounds of it can gross $300,000, but that's chump change compared to the quarter million a human body can get you - especially when it's sold off piece by piece. 

"So when Dickie and Coover Crowe, dope-dealing brothers known for sampling their own supply, decide to branch out into the body business, it's up to U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens to stop them. But Raylan isn't your average marshal: he's the laconic, Stetson-wearing, fast-drawing lawman who juggles dozens of cases at a time and always shoots to kill. But by the time Raylan finds out who's making the cuts, he's lying naked in a bathtub, with Layla, the cool transplant nurse, about to go for his kidneys. 

"The bad guys are mostly gals this time around: Layla, the nurse who collects kidneys and sells them for ten grand apiece; Carol Conlan, a hard-charging coal-mine executive not above ordering a cohort to shoot point-blank a man who's standing in her way; and Jackie Nevada, a beautiful sometimes college student who can outplay anyone at the poker table and who suddenly finds herself being tracked by a handsome U.S. marshal." 

 Review

 

Fans of the cable show Justified will likely recognize the events of Raylan as those of Justified's second season. That didn't take away from my enjoyment of this burn-through read; rather, my familiarity with the characters and their frenemy-eseque relationships and dealings deepened my appreciation of this novel - it's mostly because of Leonard's spot-on, reader-immersive and quotable writing, of course, which has earned him many accolades (and deservedly so). 

 Raylan is an excellent novel, worth owning. Followed by Peter Leonard's Raylan Goes to Detroit.

When the Women Come Out to Dance by Elmore Leonard

(hb; 2002: story anthology) 

 Overall review: Superlative, dialogue-snappy anthology that seamlessly blends humor, neo-noir, Western and general crime fiction, with characters that are often larger than life and generally memorable. There's not a lackluster piece in this collection, though some stand out more than others. Worth checking out, this. 

 Standout stories: 

 1.) "Sparks": An arson investigator (Joe Canavan), working for an insurance company, interviews a noir-sexy claimant (Robin Harris). 

 2.) "Hanging Out at the Buena Vista": Two retirement village residents meet and banter with each other. Short, sharp, entertaining. 

 3.) "When the Women Come Out to Dance": Lourdes, a Colombian maid, take on new, more interesting duties when the wife of her employer reveals her marital unease. 

 4.) "Fire in the Hole": U.S. marshal Raylan Givens (last seen in the novels Pronto and Riding the Rap) is reassigned to duty in Harlan County, Kentucky - his hometown - and his first case involves bringing down a longtime friend-turned-criminal (Boyd Crowder). 

 This story is followed by the novel Raylan. This story is also the basis for the first episode ("Fire in the Hole") of the cable show Justified, as well as good portion of that show's first season - "Fire in the Hole" originally aired on March 16, 2010. Timothy Olyphant played Raylan Givens. Walton Goggins played Boyd Crowder. Joelle Carter played Ava Crowder. Nick Searcy played Chief Deputy Art Mullen. Jacob Pitts played Tim Gutterson. Damon Herriman played Dewey Crowe. Doug E. Doug played Israel Fandi. Kevin Rankin played Devil. Ryan O'Nan played Jared Hale. Daniel Stewart Sherman played "Pork #1". Joel Garland, billed as Joel Marsh Garland, played "Pork #2". Danny Wildman played "19 Year Old Raylan". David Michael Holmes played "19 Year Old Boyd". Graham Yost wrote the episode's teleplay; Michael Dinner directed the episode. 

 5.) "Karen Makes Out": Karen Sisco (federal marshal, from the novel Out of Sight) discovers that her new boyfriend (Carl Tillman) might have a foolhardy - illegal - source of income. 

 6.) "Tenkiller": A rodeo cowboy-turned-Hollywood stuntman (Ben "Tenkiller" Webster) returns home to Okmulgee, Oklahoma, where criminals are living on his property, under false pretenses - a situation he seeks to remedy, via action and the law. 

 Other stories: "Chickasaw Charlie Hoke"; "Hurrah for Capt. Early"; "The Tonto Woman"

Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard

(hb; 1996)

From the inside flap:

"Deputy U.S. marshal Karen Sisco is just stopping off to serve a summons and complaint on Florida's Glade Prison. She's all decked out in her black Chanel suit and heels but ready with her pump-action shotgun when the breakout begins, minutes after she pulls into the prison parking lot. But she's not ready for Jack Foley, the celebrity con who disarms her, invites her to climb into the trunk of her own car, and then joins her as his pal Buddy guns the blue Caprice onto the highway, heading for freedom. Squeezed into a trunk littered with handcuffs and tactical gear, the escapee bank robber is a perfect gentleman who shares her passion for movies and wonders if it would be different if they'd met in a bar.

"Only this time she's part of the federal task force hunting the escapees. This time she's sitting in the bar of the Detroit Westin, nursing a sour mash and watching a blizzard outside. This time Foley finds her. First come cocktails and conversation, Then Time Out. In Karen's suite, 'You like taking risks,' she says 'So do I.'

"Next morning Foley's gone and Karen's out to get him. She cruises Detroit's mean streets and boxing hangouts looking for Foley, Buddy and a hard case named Maurice, one step behind them as they plot the biggest heist of their careers - and a double cross that will leave only one man holding the goods. . ."


Review:

Out of Sight features Leonard's trademark character-based quirkiness and wit, waste-no-words plotting, and slick dialogue and action, this time flavored with a curiously cinematic, warm and romantic tone.

Worth owning, this.

#

The resulting film was released stateside on June 26, 1998. Steven Soderbergh directed it. Scott Frank wrote the screenplay.

George Clooney played Jack Foley. Jennifer Lopez played Karen Sisco. Ving Rhames played Buddy Bragg. Don Cheadle played Maurice Miller. Steve Zahn played Glenn Michaels.

Dennis Farina played Marshall Sisco. Catherine Keener played Adele. Albert Brooks played Richard Ripley. Luis Guzmán played Chino. Isaiah Washington played Kenneth. Paul Calderon played Raymond Cruz. Nancy Allen played Midge.

An uncredited Samuel L. Jackson played Heijira Henry. An uncredited Michael Keaton played Ray Nicolette: this was the second time he played this character; the first time he played this character was in Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film Jackie Brown (which is based on Elmore Leonard's novel Rum Punch).

Miami Blues by Charles Willeford

(pb; 1984: first book in the Hoke Moseley series. Introduction by Elmore Leonard)

From the back cover:

"After a brutal day investigating a quadruple homicide, Detective Hoke Moseley settles into his room at the un-illustrious El Dorado Hotel and nurses a glass of brandy. With his guard down, he doesn't think twice when he hears a knock at the door. The next day, he finds himself in the hospital, badly bruised, with his jaw wired shut. He thinks back over ten years of cases, wondering who would want to beat him into unconsciousness, steal his gun and badge, and most important, make off his with his prized dentures. But the pieces never quite add up to revenge, and the few clues he has keep connecting to a dim-witted hooker, her ex-con boyfriend, and the bizarre murder of a Hare Krishna pimp."


Review:

Darkly and brutally hilarious crime comedy that fans of Elmore Leonard will likely enjoy. It's all there: character quirkiness, effective violence and humor, and water-tight, character-centered plotting and pacing.

This is a wonderful neo-noir read, worth owning.

Followed by New Hope for the Dead.

#

Miami Blues was released stateside as a theatrical film on April 20, 1990. George Armitage scripted and directed the film.

Alec Baldwin played Frederick J. Frenger Jr. (aka "Junior"). Fred Ward played Sgt. Hoke Moseley. Jennifer Jason Leigh played Susie Waggoner.

Charles Napier played Sgt. Bill Henderson. Nora Dunn played Ellita Sanchez. Paul Gleason played Sgt. Frank Lackley.

An uncredited Brent Armitage, son of the film's director, played "Carjacked Dealer".

52-Pick-Up, by Elmore Leonard

(pb; 1974)

From the back cover

"Detroit businessman Harry Mitchell was having a mid-life crisis. He had an attractive wife at home. He had a voluptuous girlfriend on the side. And now he had a problem with porno movies.

"He was in one.

"A man with a stocking over his head and a .38 in his hand wanted a hundred grand to keep Harry's picture out of circulation. But the hoods behind this blackmail scam made a big mistake when they fingered Harry Mitchell for their pigeon.

"Because Harry Mitchell was the type of guy who played every game by nobody's rules but his own. And the more they got him mad, the more certain it was that the only pay-off Harry planned was getting even."


Review

Taut, plot corkscrew-y, riveting, edgy crime thriller, with characters and a denouement you're not likely to forget any time soon.

Excellent work from a top-notch writer.

Check this out.

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The film version was released stateside on November 7, 1986.

Roy Scheider played Harry Mitchell. Ann-Margaret played Barbara Mitchell. Kelly Preston played Cini.

John Glover played Alan Raimy. Robert Trebor played Leo Franks. Clarence Williams III played Bobby Shy. Vanity played Doreen. Lonny Chapman played Jim O'Boyle. Doug McClure played Mark Arveson.

Ron Jeremy (billed as Ron Jeremy Hyatt) played "Party Goer". Other porn star "Party Goer" cameos included: Amber Lynn, Tom Byron, Sharon Mitchell and Herschel Savage (billed as Harvey Cowen).

John Frankenheimer directed the film, from a screenplay by book author Elmore Leonard and John Steppling.

Riding The Rap by Elmore Leonard

(hb; 1995: second book in the Raylan Givens series) 

 From the inside flap

"Raylan Givens, U.S. marshal, is working on Warrants, bringing in fugitive felons, when Harry Arno disappears again and Raylan feels obligated to find him. This time with misgivings. Raylan believes Harry has dropped out of sight to get attention and win back his former lover, Joyce, who had fallen into Raylan's arms, but now seems concerned only with Harry's welfare. 

"The last person to see Harry is a nifty young psychic -- certified medium and spiritualist -- named Dawn Navarro. As soon as Raylan talks to her he senses that Harry has very likely been kidnapped and Dawn is involved. . ." 

 

Review

More colorful characters, slick writing and fast-paced action from Leonard. If you liked Pronto, chances are you'll like Riding The Rap. Check it out. Followed by the short story "Fire in the Hole," published in Leonard's anthology When the Women Come Out to Dance. # Riding The Rap is the basis for an episode of the cable show Justified ("Fixer", which aired stateside on March 30, 2010). Timothy Olyphant played Raylan Givens. Nick Searcy played Art Mullen. Joelle Carter played Ava Crowder. Page Kennedy played Curtis Mims. Jacob Pitts played Tim Gutterson. Erica Tazel played Rachel Brooks. (Raylan Givens is the only character that appeared in the novel. The other characters are television stand-ins for some of the other novel characters.)

Pronto by Elmore Leonard

(hb; 1993: first book in the Raylan Givens series) 

 From the inside flap

"For twenty years Harry Arno has operated a sports book in Miami Beach, taking bets on all the pro games. And for twenty years Harry has been skimming the profits, shortchanging his silent partners, the local wiseguys. Harry is ready to retire to a villa on the Italian Riviera with his girlfriend, Joyce -- maybe even marry her -- when he becomes the fall guy in an FBI assault on organized crime and has to run for his life. 

"A U.S. marshal named Raylan Givens happens to know what Harry did in Italy in '45, during the war, and why it draws Harry to return, so Raylan takes off after the bookmaker to bring him back. Years before, on their way to a grand jury hearing, Harry ducked out and Raylan looked downright dumb. It would seem he's not going to let it happen again. or is it that he follows Harry to protect him from the Zip [aka Tommy Bucks, birth name Tomasino Bitonti], a gangster in the classic style who has his own reason to see Harry dead?" 

 Review

 

Slick writing, colorful characters, and fast-paced action -- all Leonard trademarks -- comprise this fun, solid, quick-read crime/neo-Western novel. Worth reading, this. Followed by Riding The Rap.

Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace

(hb; 1999: Book One of the Yorkshire Quartet, aka the Riding Red Quartet)

From the back cover:

"Jeanette Garland, missing Castleford, July 1969.
"Susan Ridyard, missing Rochdale, March 1972.
"Clare Kempley, missing Morley, since yesterday.

"Christmas bombs and Lucky on the run, Leeds United and the Bay City Rollers, The Exorcist and It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

"It's winter, 1974, Yorkshire, and Ed Dunford's got the job he wanted. Crime correspondent for the Evening Post. He didn't know it was going to be a season in hell. A dead little girl with a swan's wings stitched to her back. A gypsy camp in a ring of fire. Corruption everywhere you look. . ."

Review:

This is a fictionalized account of the "Yorkshire Ripper" killings, which took place between 1975 and 1981.

Raw, riveting, twist-laden, and damn near impossible to put down, this is one of the best crime novels I've read this year. Peace has written a novel that's reminiscent of the finer crime works of Elmore Leonard, Mickey Spillane and James Ellroy (his L.A. Noir trilogy seems to be a heavy influence, stylistically, structurally and character-wise).

No one is innocent here. Everybody's running some sort of game, whether it be emotional, financial, criminal, political, or a variation of the aforestated -- even Dunford comes off as a heel: a heel with a conscience, but still a heel.

Nineteen Seventy-Four gripped me from the first word to the last, with a finish that's as explosive as anything Spillane put on the page.

Followed by Nineteen Seventy-Seven.

Nineteen Seventy-Four is now a film, titled Red Riding: 1974. Set to be released stateside in 2009, and scripted by Tony Grisoni, Julian Jarrold directed the first part of the Grisoni-scripted Red Riding trilogy.

Andrew Garfield played Eddie Dunford. Anthony Flanagan played Barry Gannon. Sean Bean played John Dawson. Cathryn Bradshaw played Marjorie Dawson. Michelle Dockery played Kathryn Tyler. Kelly Freemantle played Clare Strachan. Rebecca Hall played Paula Garland. Eddie Marsan played Jack Whitehead. Daniel Mays played Michael Myshkin. Robert Sheehan played BJ.

Mr. Majestyk, by Elmore Leonard

(pb; 1974)

From the back cover

"Once Vincent Majestyk crashed through a jungle with an M-15 and a sack of grenades. Now he works under the open skies of the American Southwest, growing melons on his farm. But a strong-arming punk came to Majestyk's fields and set off a violent chain reaction that left Majestyk without a friend in the world -- except for one tough, beautiful woman. Heading to prison, Majestyk finds himself shackled beside a notorious Mafia hit man. And now a man who's been searching for peace and a man who's been looking for an angle are about to be set free by a violent breakout: making the farmer and the hit man each other's only hope -- and worst possible enemy."


Review

Solid, straight-forward action novel from Leonard, one of the best and more prolific crime novelists in the writing business. There are few surprises, but the writing is worthwhile, with a touch of quirkiness here and there.

Good read.

The film, starring Charles Bronson as Vince Majestyk, was released in the U.S. on July 17, 1974. Al Letieri played Frank Renda. Linda Cristal played Nancy Chavez. Lee Purcell played Wiley. Paul Koslo played Bobby Kopas. Taylor Lacher played Gene Lundy.

Richard Fleischer directed, from a script by script-uncredited book author Elmore Leonard.

Cat Chaser by Elmore Leonard

(hb; 1982) 

 From the inside flap

"One of the stupidest things George Moran ever did was fall in love with the wife of a Miami millionaire. The ex-Marine should have known better, but there's something about beauty and money and that seductive Miami heat that sizzles the brain and throws common sense out with the tide. Add in a con that puts Moran smack in the crossfire, and there's trouble, the kind even an ex-leatherneck knows is going to be tough to handle." 

 Review

All of Leonard's best crime-novel trademarks are on display here: slick action-pacing; snappy dialogue; characters whose intentions (at best) are murky; and plenty of who's-zooming-who twists that leave the reader guessing what's really going on until the end. Add to that a finish that's reminiscent of a Mickey Spillane tale, and you've got a sure-fire winner. Check this out. 

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 The movie version, lensed in 1989, premiered on stateside video on October 2, 1991. Abel Ferrara directed the film. One of his lesser efforts, it was strictly a director-for-hire gig.

 Peter Weller played George Moran. Kelly McGillis played Mary DeBoya. Charles Durning played Jiggs Scully. Frederic Forrest played Nolen Tyner. Tomas Milian played Andres DeBoya. Juan Fernández played Rafi. Kelly Jo Minter played Loret. Maria M. Ruperto (a.k.a. Millie Ruperto) played Luci Palma. Phil Leeds played Jerry Shea. Tony Bolano played Corky.

Valdez Is Coming, by Elmore Leonard

(pb; 1970)

From the back cover:

“They laughed at Roberto Valdez and then ignored him. But when a dark-skinned man was holed up in a shack with a gun, they sent the part-time constable to deal with the problem – and made sure he had no choice but to gun the fugitive down. Trouble was, Valdez killed an innocent man. And when he asked for justice – and some money for the dead man’s woman – they beat Valdez and tied him to a cross. They were still laughing when Valdez came back. And then they began to die...”

Review:

Straightforward Western from Leonard, whose mix of action and dialogue reads in a choppy fashion; this is uncharacteristic of Leonard’s work, whose writing generally has a natural “flow.” That’s not to say that Valdez is mortally flawed – that choppiness actually works, when one considers that the story deals largely with Mexicans whose primary language is Spanish, not English.

Good book, this, possessing less brutality than one would expect (given the back cover blurb). This is not one of Leonard’s best works.

#

Valdez Is Coming was released stateside as a film on April 9, 1971.

Burt Lancaster played Valdez. Susan Clark played Gay Erin. Jon Cypher played Frank Tanner. Richard Jordan played R.L. Davis. Hector Elizondo had a bit part as a “Mexican rider.”

Edwin Sherin directed, from a script by Roland Kibbee and David Rayfiel.