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lauraborkpower's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a huge Elmore Leonard fan, but I usually gravitate toward his contemporary stories, side-stepping his westerns and Prohibition-era books. But Joe Hill recommended this audiobook (during his afterword in the NOS4A2 audiobook [which is terrific]) and I thought it would be the perfect listen while T. and I drove up to Door County and back.
Leonard capitalizes on a crime-rich period of American history and gives us U.S. Marshall Carl (Carlos) Webster and a host of good bad-guys and bad bad-guys. It's perfect Leonard: great dialogue, lots of bumbling criminals, strong women, and a hero in a hat. It helps that Webster reads a little like a 1920's Raylan Givens, that Arliss Howard has a low, melodic, softly twangy voice, and that Elmore Leonard always writes a fast, fun story. Success on all fronts.
Leonard capitalizes on a crime-rich period of American history and gives us U.S. Marshall Carl (Carlos) Webster and a host of good bad-guys and bad bad-guys. It's perfect Leonard: great dialogue, lots of bumbling criminals, strong women, and a hero in a hat. It helps that Webster reads a little like a 1920's Raylan Givens, that Arliss Howard has a low, melodic, softly twangy voice, and that Elmore Leonard always writes a fast, fun story. Success on all fronts.
katel1970's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this book in the car on a long drive. It was fun and engaging. The man who read the book had a great voice.
melodywan's review against another edition
4.0
Best audiobook I've "heard" thus far. Heard about this audiobook from Joe Hill on his author's note in the "NOS4A2" audiobook. What a great recommendation. It was just incredibly fun and outlandish, the narrator portrayal of the multitudes of characters was superb. I know I would not have enjoyed it as much if I read the book.
revengeofthepencil's review against another edition
2.0
This is the fourth novel I've read by Leonard and it's definitely the weakest. The characters and dialog are as sharp as ever, but the plot just doesn't have any momentum. This basically becomes a series of related episodes with the same characters rather than a complete narrative. He still gets big points for style, but new readers would be better served by "The Switch" or "Get Shorty."
christopherwilson13's review against another edition
3.0
Feels like blasphemy to say about a Leonard but maybe a bit too laid-back? Still features some fun characters and perfect dialogue.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 STARS
"Before Elmore Leonard abandoned westerns to blaze across the pantheon of bestsellerdom with his hip, stylish thrillers, punctuated with dead-pan humor and dialogue worthy of a David Mamet play, he might have written The Hot Kid; it has some of the same crisp pacing and well-defined, if not especially complex, characters that marked his earlier novels. A show-down between Tulsa oil wildcatter and millionaire Oris Belmont and his 18-year-old son, who's attempting to shake him down, says all there is to say about both men:
"I don't know what's wrong with you. You're a nice-looking boy, wear a clean shirt every day, keep your hair combed ... where'd you get your ugly disposition? Your mama blames me for not being around, so then I give you things .. you get in trouble, I get you out. Well, now you've moved on to extortion in your life of crime ... I pay you what you want or you're telling everybody I have a girlfriend?"
Jack Belmont's blackmail scheme doesn't work, but after destroying his father's property, forging checks in his name, kidnapping his mistress, and joining a gang of notorious bank robbers after his release from prison, he encounters another man trying to get out from under his father's large shadow and create his own, bigger one. Deputy U.S. Marshal Carl Webster, who at age 15 shot a man trying to steal his cows and six years later dispenses equal justice to Emmet Long, the leader of Belmont's gang, now has Jack Belmont in his sights. Webster's exploits have earned him even more celebrity than Jack, who dreams of rivaling Pretty Boy Floyd as public enemy number one." (From Amazon)
A fun adventure novel set in the Western era - feels like it was written in the 1950s.
"Before Elmore Leonard abandoned westerns to blaze across the pantheon of bestsellerdom with his hip, stylish thrillers, punctuated with dead-pan humor and dialogue worthy of a David Mamet play, he might have written The Hot Kid; it has some of the same crisp pacing and well-defined, if not especially complex, characters that marked his earlier novels. A show-down between Tulsa oil wildcatter and millionaire Oris Belmont and his 18-year-old son, who's attempting to shake him down, says all there is to say about both men:
"I don't know what's wrong with you. You're a nice-looking boy, wear a clean shirt every day, keep your hair combed ... where'd you get your ugly disposition? Your mama blames me for not being around, so then I give you things .. you get in trouble, I get you out. Well, now you've moved on to extortion in your life of crime ... I pay you what you want or you're telling everybody I have a girlfriend?"
Jack Belmont's blackmail scheme doesn't work, but after destroying his father's property, forging checks in his name, kidnapping his mistress, and joining a gang of notorious bank robbers after his release from prison, he encounters another man trying to get out from under his father's large shadow and create his own, bigger one. Deputy U.S. Marshal Carl Webster, who at age 15 shot a man trying to steal his cows and six years later dispenses equal justice to Emmet Long, the leader of Belmont's gang, now has Jack Belmont in his sights. Webster's exploits have earned him even more celebrity than Jack, who dreams of rivaling Pretty Boy Floyd as public enemy number one." (From Amazon)
A fun adventure novel set in the Western era - feels like it was written in the 1950s.
billmorrow's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tbjork's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jimmypat's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. Some interesting parts, but most of it felt a bit tired and predictable
peter_xxx's review against another edition
4.0
my wife and me were shopping for books on our trip to Edinburgh. I decided I had all the books I wanted to buy on this trip, and even some more and decided to take a seat and wait for her to finish. While sitting there, this book caught my eye, and having heard some good thinks about [a:Elmore Leonard|12940|Elmore Leonard|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1240015224p2/12940.jpg] I decided to add this book to my to buy pile. And it even became the first book from that bunch of books that I started reading.
This story happens in 30's in Oklahoma and is the story of a local lawmen's rise to fame. Because of this the book balances on the division line between western and crime noir. This has that country style dialogue and the typical crime noir trappings of lawmen, gangsters, prostitutes and drama between them.
It reads like a train, is very gripping, has superb dialogue that give you an immediate insight into the characters. This was my first Elmore Leonard book, but it won't be my last.
This story happens in 30's in Oklahoma and is the story of a local lawmen's rise to fame. Because of this the book balances on the division line between western and crime noir. This has that country style dialogue and the typical crime noir trappings of lawmen, gangsters, prostitutes and drama between them.
It reads like a train, is very gripping, has superb dialogue that give you an immediate insight into the characters. This was my first Elmore Leonard book, but it won't be my last.