HarperCollins
2004
Elmore Leonard's Mr. Paradise will be no disappointment to anyone who likes Elmore Leonard's previous work, and is a great place to start for anyone who has been thinking about checking him out.
Leonard's shoot-from-the-hip, no bullshit way of telling a great story is well-suited to the kind of man's man world he invariably writes about. Gangsters and cops, gangsters and cops. I can't help it - I love this guy! I went through a phase when I was about twelve where I read every James Bond novel Ian Fleming ever wrote, and Elmore Leonard has held the same sort of sway over me in my mid-thirties. I love the way he scripts the choppy dialogue of his shamelessly shameful heroes, heroines and villains. Streetwise, good-hearted cops compete for the love of women who are just a little too wicked, rich and beautiful for a flatfoot's good, and they usually get her. His happily ever after endings spare us the details of the almost certain divorces coming down the pike for these poor bastards…but hey, I'm not writing the books, right?
2004
Elmore Leonard's Mr. Paradise will be no disappointment to anyone who likes Elmore Leonard's previous work, and is a great place to start for anyone who has been thinking about checking him out.
Leonard's shoot-from-the-hip, no bullshit way of telling a great story is well-suited to the kind of man's man world he invariably writes about. Gangsters and cops, gangsters and cops. I can't help it - I love this guy! I went through a phase when I was about twelve where I read every James Bond novel Ian Fleming ever wrote, and Elmore Leonard has held the same sort of sway over me in my mid-thirties. I love the way he scripts the choppy dialogue of his shamelessly shameful heroes, heroines and villains. Streetwise, good-hearted cops compete for the love of women who are just a little too wicked, rich and beautiful for a flatfoot's good, and they usually get her. His happily ever after endings spare us the details of the almost certain divorces coming down the pike for these poor bastards…but hey, I'm not writing the books, right?
Anyway, back to the review. I couldn't put Mr. Paradise down. It goes like this: A rich old lawyer gets popped by someone (I won't tell you who, but Elmore will, and right off the bat, too), and lots of people start scrambling around to try and get some of his riches without getting themselves killed by all the other interested parties. This tale is full of hit men, ghetto stars, cops, lawyers and even a Victoria's Secret model. Oh yeah, and a bunch of dead guys too, including a hooker and some drug dealers.
We get clued into what is going on way before the protagonist does, and part of the fun is watching him figure it all out and then what to do about it. Does he do things the way you would? Is he really a good guy or not? Whose team is the woman really on? How in the world are any of them going to make it out of this book alive?
Buy the book and see. What's the worst thing that could happen? If you don't like it, you can sell it on eBay. But that's not gonna happen, because if this review sounds even a little bit interesting to you, then you are gonna love this book!
We get clued into what is going on way before the protagonist does, and part of the fun is watching him figure it all out and then what to do about it. Does he do things the way you would? Is he really a good guy or not? Whose team is the woman really on? How in the world are any of them going to make it out of this book alive?
Buy the book and see. What's the worst thing that could happen? If you don't like it, you can sell it on eBay. But that's not gonna happen, because if this review sounds even a little bit interesting to you, then you are gonna love this book!
