Books by Elmore Leonard

Book Synopsis'Elmore Leonard is the crime-writer's crime-writer, king of all he surveys. For sharp plots and spot-on dialogue, he's in a different league' Ian RankinWhen Elmore Leonard died in 2013, he left behind a 60-year legacy of crime novels, many of which have become modern classics. He also left behind a treasure trove of unpublished early stories. Largely written during his years as a copywriter at a Detroit ad agency, these stories introduce us to unforgettable Leonard characters, some of whom star in his later works. Razor-sharp and effortlessly entertaining, this collection reveals a master who honed his craft from a young age, and reminds us why Leonard is so sorely missed.Trade Reviewwould make a very nice Father's Day present. Hint, hint... * THE HERALD *(the stories) have all the hallmarks of his later career: the laconic authorial voice, the shady characters, the seedy dives. * THE TIMES *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA classic tale of the American west from the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author.

Read more less

Book SynopsisElmore Leonard is 'the man other crime writers call the Boss' DAILY TELEGRAPH.Trade ReviewYou will look long and hard before you find anyone with a bad word to say about Leonard. About the worst thing I can think of to say about SWAG is that it might be said to make armed robbery look like a enticing career move... if you haven't read him before, you are in for a treat. -- Nicholas Lezard The Guardian

Read more less

Book SynopsisRobbie Daniels is a Palm Beach playboy. He''s the kind of guy who gets away with everything - even murder - until a vacationing Motown cop, Bryan Hurd, starts asking questions. When this millionaire reptile reveals the psychopath beneath his slippery skin, Hurd finds out this is one helluva way for an out-of-town lawman to spend his vacation.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOUT OF SIGHT was made into the highly-acclaimed movie starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez.Trade Reviewsits firmly in the upper echelons of Leonard's work * GOOD BOOK GUIDE *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis''As gritty and hard-driving a thriller as you''ll find . . . The action never stops, the language sings and stings'' Washington PostClement 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 lawyer - and this time 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 manoeuvre Mansell into a showdown that he won''t be walking away from.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisBrendan Early and Dana Moon have tracked renegade Apaches together and gunned down scalp hunters to become Arizona legends. But now they face each other from opposite sides of what newspapers are calling The Rincon Mountain War. Brendan and a gang of mining company gun thugs are dead set on running Dana and the People of the Mountain from their land. The characters are unforgettable, the plot packed with action and gunfights from beginning to end.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis“A Hollywood hit….Taut, inimitable prose and characters who could have only sprung from the mind of Elmore Leonard.” —Detroit NewsThe Chicago Tribune has dubbed Elmore Leonard, “the coolest, hottest writer in America.” In the same league as the legendary great ones—John D. MacDonald, Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain—the “King Daddy of crime writers” (Seattle Times) demonstrates his remarkable mastery with Get Shorty, one of the most adored of his forty-plus novels. The basis of the hit movie starring John Travolta and Danny DeVito, Get Shorty chronicles the over-the-top, sometimes violent Hollywood misadventures of a Florida mob loan shark who chases a deadbeat client all the way to Tinseltown and decides to stick around and make movies. Get Shorty’s shylock protagonist, Chili Palmer, is a truly inspired creation—as memorable as another unforgetta

Read more less

Book Synopsis“Almost unbearable suspense. Leonard has produced another winner.”—PeopleA wild ride with “the coolest, hottest writer in America” (Chicago Tribune), Bandits has everything Elmore Leonard fans love: non-stop thrills, unexpected twists and turns, unforgettable characters, and the most razor-sharp dialogue being rapidly exchanged anywhere in the crime fiction genre. Leonard stands tall among the all-time greats (John D. MacDonald, Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain) and towers far above most of the writers currently plying the noir fiction trade. The master who created U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, currently of the hit TV series Justified, is at the top of his game, ensnaring readers in an ingenious plot hatched by a former jewel thief and a radical ex-nun to scam millions from a sadistic Nicaraguan colonel. In fact, the Philadelphia Inquirer says Bandits “may well be his best.” Rea

Read more less

Book Synopsis“Speedy, exhilarating, and smooth. Nobody does it better.” —Washington Post“The man knows how to grab you—and Pronto is one of the best grabbers in years.” —Entertainment WeeklyFans of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens of the hit TV series Justified are in for a major treat. The unstoppable manhunter with the very itchy trigger finger stars in Pronto, a crime fiction gem from the one and only Elmore Leonard, “the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever” (New York Times Book Review). The Grand Master justifies the overwhelming acclaim he has received over the course of his remarkable career with an electrifying thriller that sends the indomitable Raylan racing to Italy on the trail of a fugitive bookie who’s hiding from the vengeful Miami mob. The legendary Leonard, whom the Seattle Times lauds as the “King Daddy of crime writers,” pro

Read more less

Book Synopsis“Wicked and irresistible….Elmore Leonard is a literary genius.” —New York Times Book ReviewBefore U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens began electrifying TV viewers across America (in the hit series Justified), he “starred” in Elmore Leonard’s Riding the Rap—an explosive, twisty tale of a brazen Florida kidnap caper gone outrageously wrong. Chock full of wildly eccentric and deliciously criminal characters—including a psycho enforcer with a green thumb, a Bahamian bad man, and the beautiful, unabashedly greedy psychic Reverend Dawn—Riding the Rap dazzles with Leonard’s trademark ingenious plot turns and razor-keen dialogue. Gripping, surprising, and unforgettable, it is a crime fiction gem that any thriller writer—from past masters John D. MacDonald, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain to the bestselling mystery auteurs of today—would be thrilled to call his own.<

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis“A little beauty of a story….A hot, fast read with pungent characters.” —Los Angeles Times“A slam-bang, no-bull action thriller…and nobody but nobody writes better dialogue.” —New York Daily NewsIt’s an established fact: Elmore Leonard is “the uncontested master of the crime thriller” (Washington Post ) who “does crime fiction better than anyone” (Cleveland Plain Dealer), and nowhere is this more obvious than in the pages of Stick. One of his most acclaimed noir masterworks, it is the story of ex-con Ernest “Stick” Stickley who’s nudged from the straight-and-narrow path when a big time drug dealer randomly selects him to die and a perfect revenge/payday opportunity presents itself. The author of Raylan, featuring  U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, the sometimes trigger-happy protagonist of TV’s Justif

Read more less

Book Synopsis“Cat Chaser is just what one would expect from Elmore Leonard—quirky, peopled with oddball characters…and more twists and turns than a roller coaster.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer“A superior example of gritty writing and violent action.” —New York Times There are numerous reasons why Grand Master Elmore Leonard is considered “the coolest, hottest thriller writer in America” (Chicago Tribune) and “the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever” (New York Times Book Review). Cat Chaser is one of them. A gripping, lightning-paced tale of an ex-soldier-turned Florida motel owner whose dangerous affair with the mistress of a Dominican general in exile—a former death squad leader—threatens to have lethal consequences…especially when drugs, double-cross, and murderous mob thugs are added into the mix. A classic thriller fr

Read more less

Book Synopsis“My favorite Leonard book….He writes the way Hammett and Chandler might write today, if they sharpened their senses of ironic humor and grew better ears for dialogue.” —Dallas Morning News“The best writer of crime fiction alive.” —NewsweekDangerously eccentric characters, razor-sharp black humor, brilliant dialog, and suspense all rolled into one tight package—that’s The Switch, Elmore Leonard’s classic tale of a kidnapping gone wrong…or terribly right, depending on how you look at it. The Grand Master whom the New York Times Book Review calls, “the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever,” has written a wry and twisting tale that any of the other all-time greats—Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, John D. MacDonald, James M. Cain, Robert Parker…every noir author who ever walked a detective, cop, or criminal into a shadowy al

Read more less

Book Synopsis“Elmore Leonard can write circles around almost anybody active in the crime novel today.”—New York Times Book ReviewWith more than forty novels to his credit and still going strong, the legendary Elmore Leonard has well earned the title, “America’s greatest crime writer” (Newsweek). And U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole) is one of Leonard’s most popular creations, thanks in part to the phenomenal success of the hit TV series “Justified.” Leonard’s Raylan shines a spotlight once again on the dedicated, if somewhat trigger-happy lawman, this time in his familiar but not particularly cozy milieu of Harlan County, Kentucky, where the drug dealing Crowe brothers are branching out into the human body parts business. Suspenseful, darkly wry and riveting, and crackling with Leonard’s trademark electric dialogue, Raylan

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTouching on the themes of the popular FX series Justified featuring U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens, Valdez Is Coming is New York Times bestselling author Elmore Leonard's classic western tale of corruption, justice, and vengeance.Forced to gun down an innocent man, part-time sheriff Roberto Valdez is nearly killed and run out of town when he seeks justice for the dead man’s family. But the same townsfolk who laughed at Valdez’s dark skin, mocked his decency, and tied him to a cross will find themselves on the wrong side of a gun when the lawman comes back to deliver his own brand of justice.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA lean and mean thriller about one man and the Mob from 'the crime laureate' INDEPENDENTThe last time Florida motel owner George Moran was in the Dominican Republic he was in a uniform and people were shooting at him. Years later he's back looking for a girl he lost - and finding one he'd be better off without. Mary de Boya may be beautiful, but she's also the wife of a former death squad general in exile with mob connections. So much for the trip down memory lane - now Moran finds himself in a cat's cradle of drug deals, swindles, vengeance and murder.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of GET SHORTY and JACKIE BROWN a thriller spiced with blackmail and revenge Detroit businessman Harry Mitchell is a self-made man, happily married for over twenty-two years and a pillar of the community. But then he slips - he meets a young 'model' and begins an affair. One night he arrives at his girlfriend's apartment and finds more than he bargained for. Two masked men have caught his misdemeanours on camera and now they want a cool hundred grand. But they've picked the wrong man, because Harry Mitchell doesn't get mad - he gets even.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'As gritty and hard-driving a thriller as you'll find . . . The action never stops, the language sings and stings' Washington Post 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 lawyer - and this time 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 manoeuvre Mansell into a showdown that he won't be walking away from.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom America''s top writer of hardboiled crime, the novel that became Tarantino''s hit film JACKIE BROWNJackie, a flight attendant with a serious side hustle, is about to get grounded...She's just got busted smuggling large amounts of hot money on the Caribbean-Florida run, and now the Feds are pressuring her to turn informant but Ordell Robbie, the highly dysfunctional arms-dealer she works for, is not getting any more functional. With the help of disillusioned bail bondsman Max Cherry, could she outsmart her pursuers and walk away from the whole wreckage, happy and rich in the process? In a high-stakes game of risk, whose rum has the hardest punch?

Read more less

Book SynopsisA rollicking tale of the 1970s Detroit criminal underworld from legendary crime writer Elmore LeonardTo get ahead in armed robbery, you just need to find the perfect business partner...When auto thief Stick steals a maroon '73 Camaro from Frank's used car lot, Frank spies an unexpected opportunity. He suggests' they combine forces, and soon they're embarking on a crime spree across Detroit, holding up liquor stores and supermarkets and causing mayhem wherever they go. As long as they keep sticking to their Ten Golden Rules for Successful Armed Robbery, the cash keeps rolling in. But what happens when you start bending your own rules?

Read more less

Book SynopsisA rip-roaring caper novel by bestselling crime author Elmore Leonard'This chaotic, blackly comic story is carried aloft on Leonard's cool, easy prose' - The ObserverOrdell and Louis have picked the wrong woman to kidnapThey thought it would be easy money. Snatch the wife of a rich Detroit businessman and demand a nice big ransom. What they didn't reckon on was the fact that her husband has a secret mistress and doesn't want his wife back at all. Or that their victim, Margaret Mickey' Dawson, is more than a little tired of playing the perfect housewife. So tired, in fact, that she's out for revenge, and willing to turn the tables on everyone to get it.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe old Apache renegade Soldado Viejo is hiding out in Mexico, and the Arizona Department Adjutant has selected two men to hunt him down. One -- Dave Flynn -- knows war, the land, and the nature of his prey. The other is a kid lieutenant named Bowers. But there''s a different kind of war happening in Soyopa. And if Flynn and his young associate choose the wrong allies -- and the wrong enemy -- they won''t be getting out alive.

Read more less

Book SynopsisGun molls, speakeasies, bank robbers and murder ... Another fantastic thriller from the grandmaster of US crime fiction.Trade Review"the author finds plenty of time to colour in a vividly Runyonesque canvas of gangsters' molls, dust-bowl desperadoes and dime-novel hacks. Even at 80, Leonard is bulletproof: still the last man standing." SUNDAY TIMES "I am taking three books with me to the (I'm afraid at this point merely metaphorical) beach... Another is Elmore Leonard's The Hot Kid, because it's by Elmore Leonard. (Despite its title, it's not my biography.) " -- Daniel Menaker, (Exec Ed in Chief of Random House) SLATE "This tale of ur-tabloid culture in a savage country is utterly convincing, and Leonard's refreshingly terse, sharp prose makes for an exhilarating read." -- LAURA WILSON THE GUARDIAN "As far as I'm concerned there is only one true king of modern American crime fiction and that is Elmore Leonard... with The Hot Kid he's back on cracking form... what more could you want in a novel?" MAIL ON SUNDAY "Quick-talking, sharp-shooting story of gangsters, molls and jazz" -- MARK SANDERSON EVENING STANDARD "Leonard is the favourite American crime writer of so many crime writers, that his reputation is assured. Apart from the plotting, it is of course, his wonderfully sardonic dialogue and characters that mark Leonard out as the best in the business and all those characteristics are fully in place here... Along with all usual Leonard pleasures, this one folds in a brilliantly observed jazz age setting." CRIME TIME "his wonderfully sardonic dialogue and characters that mark out Leonard as the best in the business" GOOD BOOK GUIDE

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Wild West comes alive in the hands of Elmore Leonard, America's greatest storyteller.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of GET SHORTY and JACKIE BROWN a thriller spiced with blackmail and revenge.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOrdell Robbie and Louis Gara have lots in common - time in the same gaol, convictions for auto theft, and a grand plan. They''re going to snatch the wife of a Detroit developer and collect some easy ransom money. At least that''s what they think...What they haven''t figured on is the fact that the husband has a secret mistress and has absolutely no desire to get his wife back. So now it''s time for Plan B. With the help of one seriously ticked-off housewife they are going to take the scumbag for everything he''s got...THE SWITCH has been adapted for the big screen as LIFE OF CRIME, starring Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins and Isla Fisher.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTough guy Jack Ryan goes looking for a missing lowlife and finds himself in a whole lot of trouble...

Read more less

Book SynopsisA lean and mean thriller about one man and the Mob from ''the crime laureate'' INDEPENDENT.The last time Florida motel owner George Moran was in the Dominican Republic he was in a uniform and people were shooting at him. Years later he''s back looking for a girl he lost - and finding one he''d be better off without. Mary de Boya may be beautiful, but she''s also the wife of a former death squad general in exile with mob connections. So much for the trip down memory lane - now Moran finds himself in a cat''s cradle of drug deals, swindles, vengeance and murder.''Dialogue like broken glass, sharp and glittering, and a raft of low-lifes individualised in primary colours like hard-edged pop art'' Independent

Read more less