Showing posts with label Elmore Leonard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elmore Leonard. Show all posts

Sunday, November 11, 2018

The Big Bounce – Elmore Leonard, 1969 ★★½

Kicking Off a 40-Year Crime Spree

Late in The Big Bounce, our protagonist watches a pitcher on television and thinks to himself: “The son of a bitch was good, but he sure could get into trouble.”

It’s funny because the pitcher on the TV is Denny McLain, who kept finding trouble after his playing days ended, and because the sentiment also applies to our protagonist, Jack Ryan. Jack’s a small-time burglar who meets his match when he hooks up with beautiful young Nancy Hayes, who likes to smash things. Jack and Nancy have fun, but as the craziness mounts, he begins to wonder what he got himself into.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Rum Punch – Elmore Leonard, 1992 ★★★★

The Ups and Downs of Playing to Type

There is a pernicious notion I want to stomp out every time I scan Elmore Leonard novel reviews on Amazon.com: that each book of his is like every other, an interchangeable collection of hard guys and clever women who say funny things while circling each other like sharks looking for an opening to a big score.