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Title: 52 Pickup by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0-06-008399-9 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 30 July, 2002 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.29 (7 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Fun novel that falls apart at the end
Comment: How does one go about judging a suspense novel? The easiest criteria is probably the level of difficulty you have in putting the book down because of how heavily you get hooked into the plot. By this standard, Elmore Leonard's '52 Pickup' was a great novel. I read the entire 300+ pages in two sittings, which could have easily been condensed into one had I not forced myself to put it down the first time knowing I needed something to read on a 4-hour flight the next day. Leonard writes great characters, even better dialogue, and creates a thrilling cat-and-mouse game where the hero and villains are constantly gaining and losing the upper hand against each other. Watching the hero of this novel, Harry Mitchell, struggle to balance running his successful business amidst the threat of a union slowdown, reconciling his marriage after confessing to his ill-advised affair, and dealing with three thugs who are trying to extort large sums of money from him, made for some very entertaining reading.
There is another standard for judging a suspense novel that I found '52 Pickup' wasn't as successful at, which is the level of believability. The problem I had with this novel was that for the ending to work required that the respective IQ's of the three main villains had to abruptly drop about 100 points each. I just found it odd that three guys who so expertly planned their crimes in the early portion of the novel would suddenly become so gullible later in the same book. I'm not saying that Mitchell's method of dealing with his extortionists was completely unrealistic, just that I thought everything sort of fell into place too easily. In particular, I found it hard to believe that a criminal as intelligent as Alan Raimy would have been so careless in the final scene of the book. Also, while Leonard wisely made Mitchell a former war hero to make his grace under pressure a bit more realistic, I did find it to be a bit much how he seemingly never felt fear, no matter how grave his situation became.
Rating: 5
Summary: compact, intense crime drama ... and believable too
Comment: '52 Pickup' is my first book by Elmore Leonard and, upon finishing it, I can say it won't be my last. Despite being written about 30 years ago the book is startlingly fresh. While I think there has been some forgotten film adaptation made of this novel I should think film producers would be smart to take a re-look at this gem.
The plot? The main story is about a bunch of Detroit gangsters looking to extort money from a independent businessman. It seems they have some incrimminating photos of him caught "in the act" with his mistress. But the plan goes horribly wrong thanks to the ingenuity of our victim-turned-hero. Sounds contrived? It isn't at all. The author does a great job in creating very believable characters and capturing all the emotion and angst. Formulatic in overall concept (criminal intent foiled by the victim) but remarkably original in its execution.
Bottom line: a terrific read.
Rating: 5
Summary: An Early Leonard Gem
Comment: I am a fan of Elmore Leonard's and have been looking for this book for a long time. I was very glad to see it finally back in print. The book was written in the early 70's before Leonard became the star that he is today. Despite that it has the same Elmore Leonard feeling of recent hits. There are shady characters intertwined with flawed good people in a plot that is always exciting while remaining plausible. In this case the protagonist Mitch is a modestly successful Detroit businessman who has an affair with a stripper. The stripper has some lowlife friends who blackmail Mitchell, threatening to reveal the affair to his wife. When Mitchell refuses to pay, the blackmailers up the ante by killing the girl and convincing him that he could be framed for the murder. Mitchell is a combat veteran; he takes matters into his own hands and the bad guys get their comeuppance. The Ann Margaret/Roy Scheider movie was quite faithful to the novel with the exception of changing the setting to Los Angeles. Ann Margaret especially captures the aging but still very attractive and sexy wife character. I have read that Leonard writes his books with suitability for movie adaptation in mind including having certain actors in mind for the main characters. Many of the movies have screenplays that are taken word-for-word from the novel.
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Title: Unknown Man #89 by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0060082216 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Bounty Hunters by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0380822253 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Valdez Is Coming by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0380822237 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 05 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Big Bounce by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0060084022 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 28 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Hunted by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0060084065 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 28 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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