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A review by misterjay
Riding the Rap by Elmore Leonard
4.0
As with Pronto, the first novel to feature U.S. Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens, it was the current television show based on the same Deputy Marshal (Justified) that prompted a re-read of this novel. And, as with Pronto, it's edifying to see how well Leonard can create a character in just a few words.
Leonard's style is spare at best, at times bordering on absurdly terse. The novelist is the epitome of the "show don't tell" rule and yet, even then, his descriptions often focus in on a single, key detail, such as how a character moves his or her head as they speak, or whether they look at a person's eyes or hands when they address them. The dialog, too, is spare, often lacking connecting words and phrases, and parsed from back to front.
Yet, the characters he creates are vivid and distinct from one another. They speak their motivations and their thoughts and their plans, and between these brief descriptions and odd dialogs, the story is born.
Here, Raylan is still in South Florida, and still helping out retired bookie and hustler Harry Arno, although it's not really what he wants to be doing. However, Harry is a friend of sorts, and Joyce is after Raylan to keep an eye on him. After all, Harry's been drinking again and needs a minder on occasion. So, when Harry disappears after meeting a psychic for a reading, Raylan takes up the case, sans official sanction and sans any official complaint. In other words, he's on the case, even when there is no case.
What follows is vintage Leonard: confrontations, plain spoken truth, guns, money, greed, and murder. Good reading for fans of crime fiction.
Leonard's style is spare at best, at times bordering on absurdly terse. The novelist is the epitome of the "show don't tell" rule and yet, even then, his descriptions often focus in on a single, key detail, such as how a character moves his or her head as they speak, or whether they look at a person's eyes or hands when they address them. The dialog, too, is spare, often lacking connecting words and phrases, and parsed from back to front.
Yet, the characters he creates are vivid and distinct from one another. They speak their motivations and their thoughts and their plans, and between these brief descriptions and odd dialogs, the story is born.
Here, Raylan is still in South Florida, and still helping out retired bookie and hustler Harry Arno, although it's not really what he wants to be doing. However, Harry is a friend of sorts, and Joyce is after Raylan to keep an eye on him. After all, Harry's been drinking again and needs a minder on occasion. So, when Harry disappears after meeting a psychic for a reading, Raylan takes up the case, sans official sanction and sans any official complaint. In other words, he's on the case, even when there is no case.
What follows is vintage Leonard: confrontations, plain spoken truth, guns, money, greed, and murder. Good reading for fans of crime fiction.