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This book was as much fun as the last crime novel by Elmore Leonard that I read and is every bit as good as the next crime novel by Elmore Leonard that I intend to read.
This was the third time I've read this novel.
The 1st time I read this was back when the book was 1st published in 1987.
I read it again in the mid 1990's.
Odd thing about reading it a third time: it came to me as fresh as the first time.
I found that I'd forgotten key plot details.
My question: does plot even matter when it comes to an Elmore Leonard novel?
Reason I read Elmore Leonard novels is not because I'm all into the heist or the scam the main characters are planning. I don't read them because I want to find out how aggrieved parties exact revenge from an offending villain.
I read and re-read Elmore Leonard's novels because I love his characters.
I love the way he creates distinctive voices for the various characters in his novels.
I love the dialogue.
Amazon's plot description reads:
Reformed jewel thief Jack Delaney was going straight - until he met sexy ex nun Lucy Nichols. Jack's in the funeral business and when he's sent to collect a body from a leper hospital, he finds it in Sister Lucy's care - and very much alive. Lucy's on a goodwill mission, hoping to smuggle the 'deceased' away from her dangerous ex, a Nicaraguan colonel with guns and goons aplenty. And it just so happens the colonel's also got several million dollars that could aid Lucy's quest to help mankind. With a crazy plan in hand and ex cop Roy Hicks on board, they plot to rob the colonel's coffers, and they're sure to make out like bandits - if they live that long...
Well sure, that's the basic plot ...although that synopsis fails to mention one of Elmore Leonard's most unforgettable characters: Franklin De Dios –an especially intriguing -and violent- man of honor.
Great fun.
It's not noir.
It's not really a crime novel.
It's not even a caper novel in the Donald Westlake tradition.
It's out there in a field uniquely "Dutch".
This was the third time I've read this novel.
The 1st time I read this was back when the book was 1st published in 1987.
I read it again in the mid 1990's.
Odd thing about reading it a third time: it came to me as fresh as the first time.
I found that I'd forgotten key plot details.
My question: does plot even matter when it comes to an Elmore Leonard novel?
Reason I read Elmore Leonard novels is not because I'm all into the heist or the scam the main characters are planning. I don't read them because I want to find out how aggrieved parties exact revenge from an offending villain.
I read and re-read Elmore Leonard's novels because I love his characters.
I love the way he creates distinctive voices for the various characters in his novels.
I love the dialogue.
Amazon's plot description reads:
Reformed jewel thief Jack Delaney was going straight - until he met sexy ex nun Lucy Nichols. Jack's in the funeral business and when he's sent to collect a body from a leper hospital, he finds it in Sister Lucy's care - and very much alive. Lucy's on a goodwill mission, hoping to smuggle the 'deceased' away from her dangerous ex, a Nicaraguan colonel with guns and goons aplenty. And it just so happens the colonel's also got several million dollars that could aid Lucy's quest to help mankind. With a crazy plan in hand and ex cop Roy Hicks on board, they plot to rob the colonel's coffers, and they're sure to make out like bandits - if they live that long...
Well sure, that's the basic plot ...although that synopsis fails to mention one of Elmore Leonard's most unforgettable characters: Franklin De Dios –an especially intriguing -and violent- man of honor.
Great fun.
It's not noir.
It's not really a crime novel.
It's not even a caper novel in the Donald Westlake tradition.
It's out there in a field uniquely "Dutch".