Elmore Leonard Books

Six Chilling Nightmares The most evil book that is on the market is the shining. I have read this book several times and have bought and read most of Stephen King books. Insanity is lurking in everybody waiting to be released. I am delighted to have experienced a true feeling of hopelessness and was sad when the cook was axed. Hurry up and die, take a flight rent a snowcap, and be blind-sided by a lunatic. This book is about insanity and terror written to chill you to the bone. In the cold mountains of Colorado that will never be forgotten, a chilling story. The Shining is in a league of its own a step above and beyond any book of its kind. "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy." The last thing that Jack was is dull in the Shining; Jack was insane. An outstanding plot and a perfect ending for the Shining.

One fantastic book. Simply brilliant. This must be Stephen King's masterpiece. The story grips you from the beginning and doesn't let go. It just keeps building momentum until you notice that you haven't taken a breath for several pages. A truly scary story about a hotel and its past and dead guests and a family trying to escape their lure to join them. I couldn't stop reading.

This is the the only Stephen King that I really couldn't finish in one read. Even during the day this book was scary. I realize that the events are just too close to being real. Even when this book lay closed on my desk, I fought the urge to look over my shoulder. Need I say more? Without delving too much on the movie, this was a perfect fit for Kubrick and Nicholson.

The Shining was Stephen King's third published novel and tells the story of Jack Torrance and his family after Jack takes a job as winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel. We quickly learn that Jack has a history of losing his temper and getting into trouble and the caretaker's job is something of a last chance for him to rebuild his life. His wife, Wendy, and son, Danny, are the only other people in the hotel for the winter... the only other living people that is. Some unpleasant spirits also populates the Overlook and they've decided that they want the Torrance's to join their club. I don't want to give away any more of the plot for those few who have never seen the movie or read the book, but suffice to say that the family faces quite a struggle to survive their time at the hotel.

I often enjoy Stephen King's books but I also don't find many of them to be particularly scary. More often, they are compelling character studies with a bit of suspense. Not so, The Shining. This is a genuine horror story and provides plenty of white-knuckle moments as you read through it. The character development is still there, but the suspense is more intense and prolonged than we usually get from King.

While a good deal of the story centers on Jack, his son Danny is the counterbalance that makes the book work so well. He has a remarkable gift (called the shining) that allows him to see glimpses of the future as well as sense the thoughts of those around him. But at five years old, he is far too young to wield his power effectively against the hotel and he can't bear to accept what his visions show him about his father. As his father descends into madness and the ghosts get more aggressive, the odds grow increasingly long against Danny's survival.

The Shining is an easy book to recommend. It has remained one of Stephen King's most popular books ever since it was published 30 years ago for good reason. It's one of his best efforts and has a more timeless quality than most of his works. If you're looking for a good scare, give it a try.

After having read Stephen King's 'THE STAND' I could not wait to get my hands on some of his other classic works. Before reading 'THE STAND' I had never been a huge fan of King's, I'd read a few of his books here and there but never any of the ones considered to be classics. So after reading 'THE STAND' I naturally decided to pick up 'THE SHINING' next. Having seen the Stanley Kubrick movie many, many years ago I felt a sense of de ja vu when starting this book which, unfortunately caused me to get off to a very slow start but once I got through the first hundred and fifty or so pages I was hooked.

The story of the haunted Overlook Hotel is enough to scare any reader, especially if you read this book late at night, which I often did! But also the story of the Torrance family who the hotel's ghosts tore apart so handily is also heartbreaking and King deals with all of their thoughts and emotions very well here. While I do admit that there were parts of this book that dragged, overall it was a great reading experience, King can be a master story teller when he is on and he was definitely on when writing 'THE SHINING'. And if you are, like I was, worried that seeing the movie will ruin the book for you, I can assure you that the similarities are few and far between and the ending is completely different! So don't let that tiny detail deter you from reading this classic!

Elmore Leonard can write circles around most pulp fiction writers, but even the best writers struggle to fill novels successfully. You have to carry narratives for 300 pages, and even Leonard has produced his share of undernourished text. That is why his 2002 short story collection "When The Women Come Out To Dance" is so satisfying.

Calling them "short stories" is actually overselling them a bit; some are just sketches where very little of anything happens. A veteran rides into town and gets jawed at by some bigots. Two terminal cancer cases chat their way through what amounts to a first date. A woman answers questions about a house that she may or may not have burned down.

What makes these pieces readable and enjoyable is Leonard's way with dialogue, his ear for the clever quip disguised as an observation: "Girls named Kitty don't think much of becoming grandmothers."

Two stories stand out; the long ones "Fire In The Hole" and "Tenkiller." They aren't that long, about 60 well-spaced pages each, but they have the most involved plots and feature likeable characters who Leonard takes his time setting up. "Fire In The Hole" especially would make for a good movie, featuring the antics of a moronic gang of white supremacists who are being investigated by U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, one of several characters from earlier Leonard novels to appear here.

Also appearing here is Karen Sisco, previously seen in the book and movie "Out Of Sight," and here as the possibly romantic partner of a bank robber in the funny, touching "Karen Makes Out." It's funny how other characters you come across in these stories are described as resembling movie actors like Linda Fiorentino and Harry Dean Stanton, but no one mentions Jennifer Lopez, who actually played Karen in "Out Of Sight."

The other stories work to varying degrees. The two westerns, "The Tonto Woman" and "Hurrah For Capt. Early," felt thin to me, as did "Chickasaw Charlie Hoke," which presents us with a baseball player trying to get a job as a greeter at a casino. But all have their moments, and the weaker ones are over so quickly you hardly mind the dead spots.

In short, there's really nothing lost in the transition from Leonard the long-form writer to this, except for sentiment, which has never been the man's forte anyway. And you get a couple of short but satisfying reads in "Fire In The Hole" and "Tenkiller" which are up there with the best crime fiction Leonard has written.

"He could tell a story," is the last line in the last story here. It fits its author like a glove.

I love Elmore Leonard and I loved these short stories. In fact, I wish more writers would put out short stories. Let's face it, some stories just don't need 300 pages.

Elmore Leonard remains the master of realistic dialogue and no-space-wasted writing. While he is now most renowned for his unique form of crime novels and the movies that have been made from them, he actually started out writing westerns. Some of the best westerns out there were written by him. I was happy to see a few included here.

This is probably best recommended for Elmore Leonard fans. If you have read him before and liked his work, this is a book for you.

Get it! I cannot tell you how many Elmore Leonard books I have read, but I can tell you this: there is no better master of written dialog on the planet. Crime is his typical subject genre, but I was happy to see a couple of "westerns" in this installation (harking back to his earlier career).

For Elmore Leonard, dialog is the vehicle that moves the action along. Character development will come through with dialog, and those character circumstances will begin to engross you. Before too long, you've formed ideas about all of the players, and then all too soon, you are into the thick of the story's situation. Like his novels, these characters are flawed, seedy, heroic and very very human. The stories are typically about situations that could prove to be bigger than the characters themselves. Some will achieve that right of passage, and some will not.

This was my first Elmore Leonard experience with short stories. I was very pleased... especially with the ending to the title story -- what a nasty little twist!

'When the Women Come Out to Dance' is an outstanding collection of short stories by Elmore Leonard. Most of the stories, not sure if it is all, feature characters from his novels. Law man Raylan Givens, from 'Pronto,' returns home to clean up some business. Federal Marshall, Karen Sisco, always gets her man, no matter what the ramifications, and she proves it in her short story. Carl Webster, from 'The Hot Kid,' has a grandson that finds himself flirting with the family's bad luck with women.

All of the stories in the book are enjoyable. Leonard does a great job of setting up each story so that the last line or two is almost the punchline, if that makes sense. I hope he plans on treating his fans to another book like this one. I definitely recommend it to all Leonard fans, and its a good starting place for those that are new to his work.

One of Leonard's best collections... a quick read and a variety of stories... great at the beach or the subway ride to work...

Elmore Leonard has defined his career writing books like "Swag," amoral tales of shady characters with some buried honor finding themselves up against people who are just bad, swathed in an atmosphere of casual danger and tough, smooth talk. But Leonard has had a great career, and "Swag" is a terrific early example of what he does best.

Frank and Ernest meet when Ernest tries to steal a car at the lot where Frank works. Impressed by his moxie, Frank helps the thief out of a bind and then hits him with a proposition: How about we go after some big bucks?

What Frank has in mind is a little strong-arm wealth appropriation, and for a while it works out pretty well. Cruising through the suburbs of Detroit, the pair hit bars, supermarkets, and liquor stores, flashing their pistols just enough to get what they want. The story is fast-paced, exciting, and fun, with lots of vignettes of assorted crimes. Though not likely to resonate with the reader after, it's an impressive example of Leonard's mastery of the form. He gets us to actually care about these lowlifes and wish them well, even as they rob innocent people of their hard-earned cash.

Leonard does this by focusing on one of the pair, Ernest "Stick" Stickley. He's not enjoying the stick-up work, and thinks about leaving it for a chance to spend more time with his estranged daughter. But Stick has some things worth sticking around for, like the "career ladies" who hang around the pool where he and Frank Ryan live. To what extent can Stick trust Frank not to mess things up? Is Frank playing Stick for a fool? And why is he hanging around so much with the owner of a seedy nightclub?

Some reviewers here suggest this is like a Quentin Tarantino version of "The Odd Couple," which works for me. Though both men are more Oscar than Felix, we do see them in a number of amusing domestic arguments. There's that line from the TV show that comes back to me in thinking about this novel, Oscar telling Felix "Be cool." That's a standard mantra in Leonard books, and you can hear Stick telling Frank this on almost every page as the action heats up in the second half.

Before throwing them to the sharks, Leonard has fun figuring out how crime might indeed pay, as long as Frank and Stick follow Frank's ten simple rules for committing crimes. They're good rules, too. The problem is human nature being what it is, it's hard to stick with the program even when it's working, especially when you add booze, broads, and bullets to the mix.

Leonard actually saves a lot of his twists for the ending, one of the best he's ever written. It's hard not to call this a classic, but there are more involving Leonard books out there, and more suspenseful ones. Still, you can't do much better for whipsmart dialogue. He has a way of getting you to pay attention with a few small words, like by having one heavy ask a simple question like: "Why would a man want to die at his age?"

A book you can read in a single day, "Swag" has a lot going for it, the best being there's a lot more where it came from.

Although it is hard to select Elmore's best work, for my money Swag is the one. Swag is funny, dramatic and tense at the same time. The humor is subtle, but is vintage Elmore. The tension carried thorughout the book is masterful. You really don't know until the final paragraph whether Ryan and Stick will get away or not. All in all, a tremendous book. I would recoomend Swag to any one who has not read any Elmore. Enjoy.

Two small-time crooks (a guy who sells used cars and a guy who steals them) band together in early 70's Detroit and, with nothing better to do, decide to start holding up liquor stores, Quik-E Marts, and supermarkets. They establish a set of foolproof rules and make out like the proverbial bandits, stashing their loot under the sink and spending it on hysterically rendered period clothes, cars and stereos. Things go great until, of course, they begin to violate their own guidelines.

Fast, funny, violent, gritty, sexy and chock full of Leonard's trademark dialogue and twisty turns, this book skims along like a Tarantino movie writ long before Tarantino came about.

I'm a huge Elmore Leonard fan and this is my favorite of his books. I can't believe it's not more popular, can't believe it's actually OUT OF PRINT. Track it down used if you can, it's a true unheralded modern classic.

After attempting PRONTO and GLITZ and not seeing what the Dutch Leonard hype was all about, I decided to give him one more chance with SWAG...and I was electrified to the point where it almost killed me. This book is incredible. Leonard creates such a glitzy, sleaze-filled atmosphere that you're there in Detroit, with Stick and Frank Ryan, feeling the rush and the tension of their risky escapades for that cold, green swag. The dialogue is right-on; the plot and characters are nothing less than brilliant. This is the book that turned me on to Leonard and his numerous crime-filled novels of shimmering heat and the excitement of being bad.

I read this many years ago in the Dutch Treat omnibus edition and re-read it recently. It tells the story of two small time Detroit criminals, Ernest Stickley and Frank Ryan, who embark on a spree of armed robberies. They make a partnership in which they agree to follow "Ryan's Rules" (which has been an alternate title for this novel). They soon break these rules and come to have several misadventures involving botched armed robberies (their own and others they are victims of) double-crosses and department store holdups gone wrong. The action follows non-stop much like a violent video game. There is Leonard's characteristic wry humour: An incompetent stick-up man is relieved of the proceeds of his robbery. He's locked in a storage room with his victims, who proceed to beat him unconscious. Stick and Frank walk away with the money and are in turn robbed in a parking lot. Stick and Frank rob a liquor store where the stubborn senior citizen behind the cash register is willing to die and allow his equally elderly wife to be raped and murdered rather than hand over the hidden money. All this and more while never going over the top and becoming unbelievable. It's possible to empathize with Stickley's predicament. He's basically a good man who does bad things. It is inexplicable to me that this book has not been made into a movie while many lesser Leonard novels have. The Stickley character reappears in the novel Stick, in which it is revealed that Ryan died in prison. That novel, Stick, was made into the 1985 Burt Reynolds movie.

Split Images was fun to read! Elmore Leonard's books are fast, chocked full of interesting characters and punchy dialogue. A Detroit policeman, Bryan Hurd, must prove that a local millionaire, Robbie Daniels, is a serial killer. The book moves from Detroit to Palm Beach, FL, following the charming Robbie as he plans his ultimate thrill kill. The characters are alive and the plot has a few excellent twists. Pick this book up and have a good read.

Reading Split Images was a good way to pass the day at my otherwise boring job. It reminded me of watching an old TV mystery of the week. Nice love story, interesting bad guys, and a bit of suspense here and there.

Detective Bryan Hurd finally finds his true love in Elmore Leonard's SPLIT IMAGES. He's a hard-working homicide detective on a vacation from all the various ways people can kill each other in Detroit City. And, believe or not, he falls in love at first sight with the beautiful and talented writer, Angela Nolan. Problem is, the detective can't escape his Detroit roots even while he's in Florida.

We can almost see a tragedy coming his way as he hunts down the two Detroit killers, one a dashing movie star type, the other a jaded, disillusioned cop from the Polish neighborhood of Hamtramck, smack dab in the middle of rust-belt Detroit. These boys play rough and murder has become their game.

These characters are all strongly back-storied, so we feel we know them well. And when the murders occur, we wouldn't blame Detective Hurd at all for taking his full revenge.

by Larry Rochelle, author of the Kansas City thrillers: BLUE ICE, CRACKED CRYSTALS and DEATH AND DEVOTION.

Robbie Daniels, a wealthy businessman who has homes in Detroit and Palm Beach. He has an impressive gun collection that he enjoys using to eliminate bad guys. Walter Kouza is an experienced,quick acting detective from Detroit who has moved to Florida. Daniels hires him an a body guard and driver. He also has other services in mind. Bryan Hurd, is another key character. A fair,honest detective from Detroit. Angela Nolan is an attractive free lance journalist who is interviewing Mr. Daniels for an article about the rich and famous. Along the way she is attracted to and quickly falls for Hurd. Unfortunately, she is in the wrong place at the wrong time and is murdered. Hurd, as one might imagine, is the hero who solves the case. I found this book a reasonably good read along the way that picked up intensity at the end.

Snap! - the millionaire from Detroit who looks like a cheerleader rubs "his flat belly, tan and trim," while he tells the investigating cop Walter how he shot a Haitian who was supposedly coming at him with a machete in his Palm Beach back yard. Right away we are in the picture and we're hooked in order to see this narcissistic sociopath get what's coming to him. The smiling George Hamilton look-alike is dumb about details so he has to enlist Walter as chief dogsbody and cheering squad. Walter is a triggerhappy joy to behold, a Lawrence Welk fan who grew up in the Hamtramck area of Detroit -- his favorite pinup girl is Norma Zimmer, one of the Champagne girls on the Welk show. I wish I didn't remember that.

Bryan, who joins the case later and eventually makes the collar, is also from Detroit. Bryan is laconic (somewhat like Spencer, Robert Parker's sleuth) but isn't burned out or addicted to the job (like Rankin's John Rebus or Connelly's Harry Bosch). When he goes on vacation he sits on the beach and reads National Geographics and drinks Jack Daniels. He's a perfect match for the just-turned-thirty writer Angela who has been scoping out Mr. Sociopath for an article about rich people. All the good guys have a sense of humor and the dialogue is great fun - especially when the cops are tweaking the criminals who don't know they're being laughed at. Leonard is the Hemingway of crime fiction -- his dialogue captures complex motivation in crisp photoshots.

Nasty things happen, even to the wrong people, but Mr. Tan Belly does indeed get his comeuppance. A great read. I lived in South Florida during the eighties and Leonard brings it all back - the heat, the biting bugs in the scrub, the palmetto bugs...ahhhhhhh....

This is one of the first books I purchased for my Kindle and I really enjoyed Elmore Leonard's reliable tale-telling and character development. As usual, the romance was a bit predictable, but the caper took some interesting twists.

This may be the best book I have ever read. I'm a big fan of the movies, "Get Shorty" and "The Big Bounce" so I picked this up just because I liked the writer. I just ordered 2 more of his books, I highly recommend Unknown Man #89 though.

When you're in the mood for an Elmore Leonard book, I recommend reading this one. It definately satisfies, because, A: it's a page turner, and B: the characters are top-notch and the setting is Detroit (mostly). Why do we read Elmore
Leonard? Because he is a master of his craft. And nowhere is that more evident than in Unknown Man #89. It's not deep, or life-changing, or life-affirming, but it is a good read. Especially if you hanker to get lost in the world of a seedy 1970's Detroit.
I think this is my fourth E.L. book, and I haven't yet read anything he's written past 1979. There seem to be heavy similarities in his books from this era. You always know what you're going to get, kind of like when you buy a Slayer albumn. But, much like Slayer, Leonard rarely disappoints.

I have always enjoyed the Elmore Leonard movie adaptations, so I thought I'd give his work a try. I loved "Get Shorty", "Out of Sight", and enjoyed the others as well. I researched the best one to read and based on the reviews here, I chose this one. I'm sorry I can only give it 3 stars. Read on for the reasons!

*********SPOILER************

There was so much happening throughout the book that could have added some inetresting and exciting action, but instead it just ended terribly. All of the sudden Ryan is in love with Denise? What about his girlfriend he already had? He just up and goes to Florida and then we read where he is in her office telling her he loves Denise while trying to get her to type a fake court injunction for them. And virgil was supposed to be such a tough character and then to just dispose of him and Tunafish so easily along with Raymond. It was as if Leonard didn't know how to end it or what to do with everyone, so he just eliminated the "hardened criminal" types of the plot. So, the end is Ryan, Denise, and Perez just all get together and be friendly and settle the whole deal? Give me a break. Should have done that to begin with and 3 people wouldn't have had to die. And why title it Unknown Man #89? Bobby Leary was not unknown. They knew who he was from the beginning, the morgue tagged him unknown.

************SPOILER OVER*******************

The story had potential, but fizzled out the last half of the book. All those parts of the story that started the book were left unfinished and some, or most, were pointless to introduce in the first place. I only finished it because I kept hoping it would get better and, unfortunately, it didn't. Sorry, I just couldn't buy it.

Needless to say, I'm not going to be picking up anymore Elmore Leonard books. I'll stick to the movie adaptations.

I have always been an Elmore Leonard fan and have read everything he's published. I just can't get enough of him. His concise way of writing is superb. He doesn't overengage in descriptives, thank goodness - that gets boring - yet manages to convey exactly what he wants more succinctly than any author I've ever read. The characters never disappoint and the sense of humor displayed is simply unsurpassable. Another fantastic book by an author who is the best.

"Valdez is Coming" is the story of a quiet, seemingly humble Mexican constable pushed against his will (at first) into going against seemingly impossible odds: A ruthless, arrogant cattleman and his vicious henchmen....only Valdez himself (former Apache hunter and seasoned killer), knows what he is truly capable of.....

Leonard's best, most bare-bones work.

This was my first Elmore Leonard western. It was very enjoyable, and it kept me interested all the way. The dialogue was wonderful. I'm very close to giving it 5 stars, but will make it 4. I purchased Leonard's Hombre and will be reading it soon.

I read Leonard's "Gunsight's", & I didn't really care for it, but I tried this book anyway. It was better than "Gunsights", but I still believe that William W. Johnstone's books are a better read. My advice to any western novel fan is try it anyway, --don't miss out because of someone elses opinion.

Whenever I'm about ready to start reading an Elmore Leonard novel, I feel like a kid anticipating Christmas morning! Leonard's books are always page-turning thrillers that can make me gasp over a surprising character/plot twist that I wasn't expecting. His novels are always fast-paced, fun, entertaining reads.

"Valdez is Coming" is no differant. Although it is a western,it's a page-turner written in the great Elmore Leonard style. This novel was written years ago, before Elmore Leonard began writing crime thrillers, but it still holds up and entertains.

There's a hero you love to love(Valdez), and there's a villian you love to hate. There's a damsel in distress, and the typical Elmore Leonard twists and turns that keep you quickly flipping the pages because you want to know what happens next!

I often tell people to turn off the damn tv and pick up an Elmore Leonard novel. Try this one, or many of his crime thrillers. You won't be disappointed. In fact, you'll find yourself having a pretty good time!

I started reading Elmore Leonard's crime novels and found them to be easy reading, fast-paced entertainment. Then I discovered that Leonard used to write westerns. While I enjoy his crime novels, his Westerns are even better. "Valdez is Coming" is the best one I've read so far. The characters are well developed and the action keeps one interested. I had seen the movie (Burt Lancaster as Valdez) when I was a teenager and considered it one of my favorite western movies. I wish Mr. Leonard would write a few more westerns because he is a master in this genre as well.

Elmore Leonard's STICK embraces Miami Beach with a love touched with psychotic evil. The beauty of the beach scene glistens with a patina of drug addiction and sexual perversity---just the right combination for this taut, tempting thriller.

Our hero "Stick" has all the street smarts gleaned from his seven year prison sentence. Now at-large and looking for work, Stick infiltrates the Miami drug scene and 'sticks' himself to it like a barnacle. Working from the inside, he meets low-lifes, killers, drug lords and the attorneys and business agents that keep the whole illegal monstrosity afloat.

Not one to be easily intimidated, Stick probes for secrets he can use to make himself some money. Along the way he finds love and guilt-free sex. We readers are just along for the ride and we ensconce ourselves in the backseats of the expensive cars he chauffeurs, taking in the tension and off-beat humor on this fantastic trip through the Miami underworld.

by Larry Rochelle, author of BLUE ICE, GULF GHOST and HOME SCHOOLED

The book that was received from this seller was received in the condition that was promised. I am quite satisfied with this transaction.

this is one of the great elmore leonard books.
whilst they are all worth reading the period earlier than the 80s can now put up variable results, when compred to his classic string of consecutive winners.
this mid 70s book has not dated, and is still taut and terrific.
i re-read this every now and then, and will highly reccomend it for elmore fans and 1st time samplers alike.

Near the end of this 1983 novel, Ernest Stickley's prospective love interest tags him as "basically a straight-shooter, within your own frame of values," thus defining the protagonist of nearly every Leonard book I have read. There's a bit of the same-old formula here, which some may love more than me.

Of course, this isn't the first time Leonard has featured Stickley in a novel. He appeared a few years before in "Swag," as half of a robbery partnership. Now alone again, and out of prison, Stickley finds himself quickly on the wrong side of a Florida drug deal gone bad. Though wanted, Stickley wants something, too, the money he was promised for delivering the merchandise, and in a roundabout way that involves working as a chauffeur for a shady businessman, he sets about getting it.

"Swag" was a good book, with flashes of real brilliance. There you stayed for the ambiance and the dialogue but found yourself swept along by a plot that became more intricate and clever by the page. I think Leonard was after a similar effect here, only half succeeding. The central story involving the drug dealers grabs you, but then takes a back seat as Leonard puts Stickley and the reader inside a large estate along Biscayne Bay, where stock touting and mistress shuffling are S.O.P. under the shade of the acacia trees.

Leonard has a lot of fun introducing us to the goofy household where Stick lies low for a while. Colorful writing predominates as owner Barry Stam endlessly works the phones playing the market while trying to impress Stick with his street attitude, which Stick finds too forced by half. Stick finds Stam's wife and mistress more to his liking.

At one point, Stam introduces some of his druglord buddies to a movie producer who wants their financial backing for his latest picture. It's the book's funniest, most memorable moment, with the producer picking the wrong time for some ethnic humor as he flogs an unpromising film about a pair of undercover Miami cops doing battle with drug smugglers called "Shuck And Jive."

Leonard clearly sends up some choice moments he had dealing with obtuse Hollywood money men over the years. It's interesting also to note that the idea, however half-baked, does sound a lot like the TV series "Miami Vice," launched just a year after this book was published to great fanfare that seemed to spill over to Leonard's novels, starting with his 1985 breakout classic "Glitz."

But "Stick" never works as well in the crime fiction department. It's not bad, just weird in the wrong places. The villains don't seem to know why they want Stick dead, while Stick isn't looking for money or revenge as much as some ill-defined sense of honor, which is expressed in the various ways he takes to crushing one of the villain's cowboy hats. The result is a book cruising on attitude in lieu of a plot. I still don't get how Stick thought he was going to get away with his plan, which seems to fall together rather haphazardly.

"Stick" was later made into a Burt Reynolds movie, memorable only for one famous stunt which shows up here in far less spectacular form. It's par for the course with a book that promises more than it delivers.

Some might say that if you've read one Elmore Leonard crime yarn, you've read them all. Maybe there is an element of truth to this- slightly addled but well-meaning guy with a checkered past meets smart, sexy dame and pull a convulted scam on rich ne'er-do-wells. That's the essential plot to a dozen Leonard tomes, right? Well, the pleasure of Leonard's work is in the telling, and in watching the chinese puzzles his characters concoct unfold. Stick is no different than Rum Punch or Tishimongo Blues or Pagan Babies or Get Shorty in this regard. But his prose is so crisp, his plots so breathless and his characters so charming that you are so entertained along the way, the template becomes invisible. In fact, since Leonard fans know where he is going to take us, the template allows us to bask in his endlessly clever inventions and his inimitable tone. No one straddles whimsy and menace like Leonard, and only Hiassen and McBain do Florida sleaze as well.

George Moran is an ex-Marine who is bored with his life as a motel owner in Pompano...He heads to Dominica (where he led a Marine fire-team to war in 1965) for a trip down memory lane, and will soon get all the excitement he can handle, in the form of a (war criminal and torturer) former acqaintance, his wife and the assorted seedy and dangerous figures surrounding them.

By the way, THE "Product Review" guy didn't read the book...Fire him.

Pageturning at it's most compulsive. Elmore Leonard returns to South Florida for another twisted tale of greed, death and love set in a world of ex-marines, ex-Generals, gangsters and a variety of lowlifes.

Yet again, Mr. Leonard's plot and dialogue are scarily believable; I fear he knows more than he lets on!

As good as most of his books. One of the best modern classics around.

George Moran is a man who married into money and divorced out of most of it. Earlier in life, he served in the military and saw some brief action in the Dominican Republic. Now running a small motel, he returns to the Dominican Republic to see the places where he fought without the stress of combat and also to search for a girl who was his enemy at the time but who also intrigued him. While there, he meets up with the wife of a former Dominican general who was also known to him when he was married. The two had always had a connection of sorts and they end up in a passionate affair. I won't give away any more specific plot details but there is a fair amount of intrigue as well as the near-constant threat of violence and murder.

Elmore Leonard is well known as a master of prose and the narrative here is certainly clear and crisp. Most of the characters were interesting, even some of the minor ones that are barely part of the story. While the author is sometimes classified as a mystery writer, this is neither a mystery nor a detective story. It's crime fiction featuring a more or less ordinary guy getting caught up in a mess and trying to work his way through it.

The plot was the weak spot for me. The Dominican angle wasn't that interesting to me to begin with and the whole angle with the girl there never really went anywhere. I also found it difficult to empathize with George's lover who carries on an affair and wants to leave her husband but keeps waiting around because she hasn't had time to write out the perfect goodbye speech yet. She knows that he's had many people killed and that he knows about her affair but won't leave for far too long.

The story takes several turns but most felt muddled, instead of being suspenseful twists. I don't want to overstate the case, this is not a bad book. But it was a disappointment because I had heard a lot of good things about Elmore Leonard and I can't say that I was enthralled with my first experience reading him. Established fans may enjoy it, but if you're looking to try the author for the first time, I'd recommend looking at one of his other works.

I think Leonard is still cranking out good stuff, but if you want to catch Leonard before the serious buzz started to attach to him, Cat Chaser is a great place to start. George Moran, ex-Marine, ex-Detroit native, and owner of the Coconut Palms Resort Apartments, is like so many heroes in Leonard's world, a guy looking at middle-age who, nevertheless, holds to a personal code, even as he stands at crossroad that has him looking back and looking forward, while sharks snap all around. With his moral compass intact, he always seems to know what to do in any situation, even if he makes it up as he goes along. Enter another ex-grunt and ex-actor Nolan Tyner (who is a dead ringer for Owen Wilson - 15 years before Wilson even appeared in a movie!), who is now an alcoholic private investigator staked out at pool side, and things start to happen.

Oh, there's a lady that needs saving, Mary de Boya. Like Moran, she's an ex-Detroit native and, complicating things, wife to a former torturer from a south American country and now Florida real estate magnate, Andres de Boya. There's another bad guy named Jiggs Scully, who is lethally memorable - even by Leonard's villain-meter. And, of course, a lot of money under the torturer's bed , and page after page of great dialogue. (As a subplot, it's very interesting to see who is the most dangerous bad guy - de Boya or Scully, their conversations together were for me the high points of the novel. Two killers playing chess.) To tell you more would be to cheat you a bit.

Maybe I'm biased because I'm from Kentucky and my mother's side of the family ran a still during prohibition. Nonetheless, this book dazzled me. The story and characters are of course fantastic, even gauged against Leonard's many other fine novels. But, the language and dialogue make Moonshine War a really phenomenal experience. As you read it, you can feel Kentucky staring back at you from the pages.

If you've paged down this far, then you've already heard about the unique ending. Albeit abrupt, the ending still justifies the rest of the story. Pick up this hot little story in paperback and enjoy.

Son Martin has 150 barrels of mooonshine that have been ageing for eight years. It is time to go to market and then Frank Long shows up. He is an old Army buddy plus a Prohibition Agent. Does not take long for Frank to realize he needs to be a partner with Son and get his share of the whiskey money and forget about being an Agent. He calls Dr. Emmett Taulbee, a former dentist and now a mooonshiner his self, to help. Befor long Taulbee, Dual Meaders, his hired killer, an others take over. There is lot of breaking up stills and shooting before it all ends. Son is tough and smart, will he win out? A lot of action, a quick read and you won't want to put it down. I was thinking five stars until the last few pages. It seems like the book just quit. There was no real ending. There are a least four people, that you care about, that you don't know what happened to them. I won't name them so it won't ruin the book for you. I guess it is a five if you write your own ending.

"The Moonshine War," is Grade-A Leonard. Written in 1969, one could say it was written at a time when Leonard was still a wonderful secret, and not yet a trendy discovery for People Magazine. What makes "The Moonshine War" a bit different than some of Leonard's crime novels, is that it is set in the not too distant past - 1931. So to some extent it is a historical novel. The setting is Eastern Kentucky. True, Leonard skates pretty lightly over the regional specifics (dialect, land descriptions, etc.) - the kind of things that make Faulkner or Cormac McCarthy so authentic in a literary sense. But Leonard does throw enough in to make it thriller believable. Authentic details regarding the making of moonshine, historical nods, such as the Spanish flu, WW 1, and the kind of overalls men wore, for the most part root the reader well enough. The characters are as solid as any Leonard has created. Son Martin, the novel's hero, is your typical Leonard tough-guy. Quiet, operating on the edge of things, something of an outlaw himself. The bad guys are what you would expect. Vicious, erratic, and often kind of stupid. Of particular note, however, is Dr. Taulbee, a murderous bootlegger, who is smarter than your average Leonard criminal, and a difficult opponent for Son Martin. But he has a weak spot - Miley, a beautiful (and amoral) prostitute, who's along for the ride, though she's always looking for a reliable man. Son, with his internal code of honor, is closer to fitting that description than the good doctor, and Miley, who recognized this, is in her own way a more admirable character than Mrs. Lyons, Son's long-running love interest from town.

The plot in "The Moonshine War," is pretty simple: bootleggers trying to steal Son's hidden whiskey, and Son's reluctance to let that happen. There are echoes of "High Noon," as Son's friends and neighbors abandon him to the bootleggers. One questions whether mountain folks would abandon one of their own to an assault from outsiders, but Leonard seems to anticipate this, when he has a neighbor of Son's tell him that the difference in their predicament is that Son has no family being threatened. In essence, to what extent Son cares for his neighbors is thus returned, in kind, which makes the ending appropriate, and well done. Leonard's endings can sometimes be disappointing. I have remarked on this myself ("52 Pickup"). But my complaint had more to do with the fireworks leading up to the end of that novel. If you look at the range of Leonard's work, you see an author who likes the open ended ending. It is a deliberate artistic choice by Leonard. At his best (for example, "Valdez is Coming," "City Primeval") he leaves the reader with a vivid, even mythic, tableau that invites the reader in. Leonard loves his High Noon moments, and will often freeze it, in novel after novel, like a photograph of opponents squared away on Main Street, guns drawn, with the sun beating down. "The Moonshine War," to my mind sits up there with the best of Leonard.

I picked up this older Elmore Leonard at a used book sale -- very glad I did. It is one of the best Leonard books I've read. The main (male) character is a strong, silent type -- even more inscrutable than many of Leonard's other leading men. And there's a nice mixed bag of bad guys. The plot has very good momentum, and though it may seem to end somewhat "abruptly" I liked the ending because it wasn't pat.

I loved this book! It was so good, I couldn't put it down and finished it within 24 hours. The ending surprised me....I had another ending in mind. Don't get me wrong ...it was a good ending...it just surprised me. Happy Reading!

A sensational collection of short stories with great female characters by leading authors including Connelly, Deaver, McBain, Lippmann, Leonard, Perry. Like all compilation collections by different authors you have superb masterpieces along with stories which aren't that great. There are enough masterpieces within though to make Dangerous Women a must read!

The first story Improvisation by Ed McBain starts of with the response by a beautiful blonde (Jessica) to a guy's (Will) bar pickup line of "What do we do for a little excitement tonight?" "Why don't we kill somebody?" Will thinks she's flirting and as she pints out an unattractive loner woman to be the victim he suggests ways how they do this then still thinking its all a game asks the victim to join them.

Improvisation is not the only masterpiece within. Laura Lippman's Dear Penthouse Forum (A First Draft) has a stranded passenger who needs to sleep overnight in the terminal being offered money for a hotel by an older good samaritan lady which his conscience just won't let him take. She then offers him to stay in her guestroom at her nearby house he decides he can do this since he'll give the lonely woman certain favours in return.

Rendevous by Nelson De Mille has a Vietnam veteran recounts the tale of a beautiful sniper who targets the squad he led on patrol as lieutenant and they feared more than any male counterpart.

Ian Rainkin's Soft Spot has a pathetic prison censor named Denis who reads all incoming and outgoing mail. Like all the guards he would like a piece of the beautiful Selina who is the wife or jailed mobster Blaine. Becoming obsessed with her he learns she is having an affair and is selling Blaine's house obviously about to do a runner. He may well be able to blackmail her for his pleasure to keep certain things from her husband.

Born Bad by Jeffry Deaver has a daughter who never got along with her parents who chose never to raise a hand to discipline her. As she got older they became more and more disappointed in her rebellious lifestyle. Now she is grown up, the mother is a widow and has tracked down her daughter. The daughter has accepted to see her but the mother does not know if she has accepted because she has turned her life around or if the rage has developed further and she will want to kill her.

If you enjoyed this collection and are looking for more sensational books with great female characters also check out either the Jessica Jones or Anna Fehrbach series by Christopher Nicole. Gerald Hammond has also written his fair share of great female leads. Kate White's Bailey Wiggins character is another series worth checking out as well.

With a few exceptions, I am disappointed in this collection of shorts. Great concept but what a bunch of lousy submissions apart from Jeffery Deaver's 'Born Bad'. The book is worth it just for this story.

Did these, for the most part well known and highly regarded writers, do a quickie favor for the editor? It would appear so. The average reader will be able to guess at the ending about a paragraph into the story. Second, the "dangerous women" seem to be stuck on sadism against men originating in lack of or too much of - you got it, sex. And finally, apart from one or two selections, the shorts derive their plot line from mainly noirish elements...cops, tough guys...bleak urban landscapes, and yes...dangerous femmes fatales...give me a break.

You want dangerous women? See Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity or read the novel by James Cain.

Otto Penzler has knows how to build to a climax, that's for sure, and of all the hot noir anthologies he's put together, this could be the best. Kudos for stating the obvious (aren't all women dangerous?).

Two of the stories in this anthology (BORN BAD & HIS LORD AND MASTER) are up for Edgar Awards in 2006, and that's just the tip of the...iceberg, so to speak. Laura Lippman's story might be my personal fave, but then again I AM a girl and many men would not be up to this one - be forewarned, boys. Nelson DeMille's story is fabulous. So is Elmore Leonard's. Come to think of it, I didn't meet a story in this book that I did not like.

The writing is fabulous and groundbreaking from start to finish. The entire book is brimming with great writing and sometimes disturbingly surprising sensual undertones.

Incredible here-and-now entertainment of the though-provoking kind. Highly recommended.

Dangerous Women is an audiobook anthology of original short stories featuring femme fatales and deadly anti-heroines. Some written in the spirit of ancient legends, others very much owing their heritage to modern popular culture, these women range from seductive to murderous to superbly manipulative. Featuring stories by Ed McBain, Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Connelly, and many more, these suspenseful tails are sure to keep the listener guessing about what's in store - whether for the predatory female or the males who come too close. 10 CDs, approximately 11.5 hours, unabridged.

Having learned to trust editor Penzler's tastes over the years through reading installments of The Best American Mystery Stories and The Best American Crime Writing, and such memorable anthologies as Murder For Revenge and Murder and Obsession, I eagerly anticipated reading his latest offering, Dangerous Women. After reading the first few tales, I knew the master hadn't lost his touch. Of course, when you're dealing with the work of writers of the stature of Ed McBain ("Improvisation"), Joyce Carol Oates ("Give Me Your Heart"), Elmore Leonard ("Loudly and Pretty Boy"), and Nelson DeMille ("Rendezvous"), it's hard to go wrong.

Although the "old dependables" above deliver some truly memorable tales (DeMille's entry, about a female Vietcong sniper, is especially gripping), they by no means outshine any of the other thirteen stories, including Michael Connelly's "Cielo Azul," featuring his popular characters Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb, Jeffrey Deaver's surprising "Born Bad," Anne Perry's oddly touching "Sneaker Wave," and John Connelly's macabre "Mr. Gray's Folly." Penzler delivers plenty of variety, enough to satisfy almost any taste.

In his introduction, reflecting on Sherlock Holmes' and Nero Wolfe's views on women, the editor notes:

"...neither Holmes nor Wolfe ever met the dangerous women on these pages. They would have been shocked and appalled. But, as I predict you, too, will be, they would have been fascinated."

Penzler's prediction is entirely accurate. Acknowledging that it's still very early in the year, I'd have to say that he's compiled a certain contender for Best Anthology of 2005.