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MR PARADISE
by Elmore Leonard
William Morrow, January 2004
291 pages
$25.95
ISBN: 0060083956


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

I asked a work colleague if he liked Elmore Leonard and he replied: "I've read ten of his, and they've sort of passed me by." After finishing MR PARADISE, I know just what he means.

It's like walking into a strange conversation at a party where half a dozen unrelated conversations are going on around you. Leonard's a master storyteller, mind. He has a relaxed, deadpan style with some wonderful throwaway one-liners. Many writers struggle with dialogue, but here the conversations between characters crackle authentically, even if you you're not always quite sure what's going on!

Overworked Detroit detective Frank Delsa is landed with a murder case when sleazy ex-lawyer Tony Paradiso, aka Mr Paradise, is murdered in his own home by two gunmen. The old chap's evenings comprise a football game on the TV and a couple of pretty young cheerleaders for company. This time, one of the young women is lying dead. But who is she? And what do Paradiso's dodgy sidekick Montez and his enigmatic butler Lloyd have to do with the proceedings?

Meanwhile, there's a snitch around and a couple of fairly inefficient blue-collar killers on the loose. Delsa is soon confronted with another young woman, a witness to the shootings, but is she who she says she is, and what the heck is he going to do about the attraction he's feeling towards her?

MR PARADISE is a slick, well-crafted book. But I didn't always feel engaged by or part of the book. It reminded me of one of those seaside flicker shows passing in front of my eyes. There's some cool dialogue and some equally cool characters. If you're already a Leonard fan, I think you'll lap this one. But if, like me, you were testing the water, you may feel it all does sort of pass you by.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, March 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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