Just finished reading Elmore Leonard's Road Dogs (a sequel to the previous Out of Sight, which itself was made into a smart little movie starring George Clooney & Jennifer Lopez. As amazing as it sounds La Lopez is pretty decent in it and there is a real chemistry be tween her and Clooney).
Been years since I've picked up a Leonard novel and had almost forgotten quite how good they could be and what a thrilling writer he is. The novel's protagonist, Jack Foley, is released from a 30 year jail sentence thanks to some smart maneuvering by his new lawyer, whose services are paid for by his jail buddy (or Road Dog), Cundo Rey. Once out he has to choose between a return to his previous life (bank robbery) or a relatively straight life as he seeks to put together the stake money that will allow him to start again in Costa Rico. Whilst he makes this decision he has to contend with his cell mate's treacherous wife, Dawn (who runs a nice sideline as a psychic specialising in fleecing rich widows), Cundo's white supremacist body guard, a revenge fuelled FBI agent and the collection of youthful gangsters he hires to shadow Foley. It's breathless stuff and the plotting razor sharp whilst the dialogue is juicy and satisfying as a good steak.
A critic once wrote that the work's of another crime writer, Carl Hiaason, were 'better than literature.' Personally, I'd include Elmore Leonard within that description, too.
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