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jmmerril's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
patlo's review against another edition
2.0
I only know Elmore Leonard through the TV series Justified, which is extremely well written (or at least the dialogue is). I was disappointed by this - kind of two short stories put together into a novel. It wasn't particuarly bright or witty, though maybe that's because I heard the audiobook version. But Elmore Leonard's reputation for wit didn't seem to be fulfilled in this one, at least for me.
egrace13's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
loghugger's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
lostinthesound's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Racism
5hanit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
kikiduck's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
renatasnacks's review
2.0
This is the first Elmore Leonard book I've ever read? Adult mystery/Westerns or whatever this is aren't my normal jam, BUT I do love the show Justified so I thought I'd pick this up. I didn't realize that it was #3 in the Raylan series but I felt pretty up to speed from watching the show. Actually, more than up to speed, since elements of this book were turned into episodes of the show, which I'd already seen?
It's rare that I would say this, but I'd definitely recommend just watching the show and not reading the book. Everything comes across so much more clever in the show. The book has a lot more vague racism and sexism. (I'm SO mad about Rachel's sudden "The Help" backstory??? ughhh)
Also, I know this was Elmore Leonard's last book before he died, but it kind of felt like he wrote it all on his death bed and no one edited it. There are some BONKERS sentences in this. Like, for example, "Jackie Nevada had walked out of the police station knowing her best bet was to get out of town. Borrow a backpack and stuff it with T-shirts and shorts; sleep a few hours, put on jeans and hitch a ride to Shelbyville: start out playing Texas hold 'em at the Indian casino with farmers and truck drivers who'd been up all night to build up her stack." WHAT? I need an English teacher to diagram that, please.
Also, this felt more like 3 novellas (or, uh, rough drafts for TV episode scripts) than it did one cohesive novel.
Also did I already say that Raylan came across as way more of a perv in this than he does on the show??? Ughhh.
Honestly this would be a 1-star read for me but it gained an additional 1 star of enjoyment for all the straight-up weird sentences that I sent out to Caroline as I read. I probably emailed her 50 times as I read this. If you are tempted to read this book, let me know, and I will forward you all of those emails. This will be a huge time-saver.
It's rare that I would say this, but I'd definitely recommend just watching the show and not reading the book. Everything comes across so much more clever in the show. The book has a lot more vague racism and sexism. (I'm SO mad about Rachel's sudden "The Help" backstory??? ughhh)
Also, I know this was Elmore Leonard's last book before he died, but it kind of felt like he wrote it all on his death bed and no one edited it. There are some BONKERS sentences in this. Like, for example, "Jackie Nevada had walked out of the police station knowing her best bet was to get out of town. Borrow a backpack and stuff it with T-shirts and shorts; sleep a few hours, put on jeans and hitch a ride to Shelbyville: start out playing Texas hold 'em at the Indian casino with farmers and truck drivers who'd been up all night to build up her stack." WHAT? I need an English teacher to diagram that, please.
Also, this felt more like 3 novellas (or, uh, rough drafts for TV episode scripts) than it did one cohesive novel.
Also did I already say that Raylan came across as way more of a perv in this than he does on the show??? Ughhh.
Honestly this would be a 1-star read for me but it gained an additional 1 star of enjoyment for all the straight-up weird sentences that I sent out to Caroline as I read. I probably emailed her 50 times as I read this. If you are tempted to read this book, let me know, and I will forward you all of those emails. This will be a huge time-saver.