Be Cool - Elmore Leonard

Jackie Brown: Rum Punch - Leonard Elmore

Elmore Leonard weaves another tight, fast-paced story of criminality in his familiar Florida setting. Jackie (who became Jackie Brown in the film of that name) is an air stewardess, smart and attractive but starting to tire of her job. She is smuggling cash for a gun-dealer, Ordell, who is planning a big score with the help of his old convict ...

Pronto - Elmore Leonard

of the American crime story produces another compelling story. The story opens in the familiar setting of the Miami underworld - at least, it is becoming familiar to me through Elmore Leonard's novels. Harry Arno, running betting scams for the Mob, decides to put his retirement plan into action after being warned of a threat to his business. The themes of the novel head into Godfather territory, and both Leonard and the characters themselves are aware of this. All the Mob archetypes appear, from the ageing Jimmy Capotorto to a hardened Italian killer, and the young heavy. Against them is another of Leonard's recurring heroes, the western-style deputy Marshall ...

The Big Bounce - Elmore Leonard

Leonard's "new" book was actually written in the mid-1960s, I suspect. Whether it's a novel long out of print or simply an unpublished work, "The Big Bounce" is more for Leonard completists than newcomers. Hard-luck protagonist Jack Ryan loses his job at a migrant camp in Michigan after assaulting his crew leader. Resort owner Walter Majestyk hires Jack, despite the fact that his old boss, Bob Jr., told him to leave town. Bob Jr. and migrant camp owner Ray Ritchie are seeing Nancy on the side, unbeknownst to each other. Once Nancy learns that Jack's past consists of a life of crime, she seduces him into a plot to steal $50,000 from Ray. ...