I’ve fallen further behind in my reviews than I ever have. So, I’ve decided to do what I did for The Dresden Files: combine my reviews into one giant post. Is that cheating? I feel like that’s cheating. The longer I drag this out, though, the more I’m likely to fall behind. The Stranger, by Albert Camus (5 stars) Firstly, I read this because it’s one of the most frequently cited great novels from French literature. In my quest to read more classic novels this […]
The Body Count is as High as Expected
Let’s get the rating part out of the way first. This was a 3.5 read for me that I am rounding up because the narrator is Brian d’Arcy James* and I love his voice, and what he is able to do with it while narrating the various characters, actions, and dialogue in Leonard’s version of the world. Second, while Raylan is listed as a novel, it barely qualifies. It has the length certainly (a little over six hours of audio) but the way the story […]
Raylan returns to Harlan and other stories.
I’m continuing down my Elmore Leonard path and was off in search of the next Raylan story. Fire in the Hole is the third story, and it’s contained within this collection. When the Women Come Out to Dance is a collection of Leonard’s short stories, and since Audible suggested it and I’ve loved listening to the other Raylan stories: Pronto and Riding the Rap. (This collection of Elmore Leonard’s short fiction’s title was changed to Fire in the Hole capitalize on its connection to FX’s […]
More Time With Raylan in South Florida.
Sometimes you just want to hang out with a U.S. Marshal, you know? Riding the Rap, the second Raylan book, finds our trusty Marshal a year later, still in South Florida and still in a relationship with Joyce. Harry has gotten himself into some trouble again. He’s officially retired this time, thanks to the U.S. government, and is looking to collect the last of the monies owed on his bookie business. This find him hiring Bobby Deo to go collect from Chip Ganz. Ganz unfortunately […]
One last Ride with Deputy US Marshall Raylan Givens
Elmore Leonard doesn’t write mysteries, not really. The reader knows what is going on ahead of all the characters. The fun is in watching the characters learn the truth, seeing how they work it out in their heads, and then what they do with that information. The criminals are mostly dipshits. Charismatic and colorful, but still largely dipshits. It’s been a year since the events of Pronto and this time Deputy US Marshall Raylan Givens is trying to locate the recently kidnapped Harry Arno. Raylan […]
Enter Raylan Givens
When trying to decide which book to read for the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge Task 2, a book written by someone over the age of 65, I discovered that Elmore Leonard hadn’t started his Raylan books until he was in his late 60s. Yes! I had been looking for an excuse to read some Leonard, and the Raylan books sounded particularly interesting to me because I have been on and off watching Justified on my Amazon Prime account. I knew I liked the character […]