The Hunted

Playtime in paradise is officially over 
 
Al Rosen was doing just fine, hiding out in Israel – until he decided to play Good Samaritan and rescue some elderly tourists from a hotel fire. Now his picture’s been published in the press, and the guys he’s been hiding from know exactly where he is. What’s more, they’re coming to find him – crooked lawyers, men with guns and money, and assorted members of the Detroit mob who are harbouring a serious grudge. Playtime in paradise is officially over; Rosen’s a million miles from home but with a bull’s-eye on his back. His only ally is a US marine who’s been looking for war … and has now found one.

Elmore Leonard (1925—2013) began his long and extraordinary career as a writer of Westerns, most famously a story which was made into the film 3:10 To Yuma. He then became known for his remarkable sequence of crime novels, generally set in Michigan or Florida. A master of funny and threatening dialogue, his influence has been incalculable. Leonard received the Lifetime Achievement Award from PEN US and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

Al Rosen was doing just fine, hiding out in Israel – until he decided to play Good Samaritan and rescue some elderly tourists from a hotel fire. Now his picture’s been published in the press, and the guys he’s been hiding from know exactly where he is. What’s more, they’re coming to find him – crooked lawyers, men with guns and money, and assorted members of the Detroit mob who are harbouring a serious grudge. Playtime in paradise is officially over; Rosen’s a million miles from home but with a bull’s-eye on his back. His only ally is a US marine who’s been looking for war… and has now found one.

Unknown Man No. 89

Tough guy Jack Ryan goes looking for a missing lowlife and finds himself in a whole lot of trouble… 
 
Motor city process server and ex-thug Jack Ryan is very good at finding people – especially people who don’t want to be found. now he’s being offered large bucks to locate a lost lowlife named Robert Leary, aka Bobby Lear. But this hunt is leading Ryan back into very bad company – and into beds where he doesn’t belong. Then suddenly he’s on someone’s hitlist for some undisclosed reason, with all the big money numbers adding up to double-cross. And if Jack doesn’t watch his back, he’s going to find himself missing… permanently.

Motor city process server and ex-thug Jack Ryan is very good at finding people – especially people who don’t want to be found. Now he’s being offered large bucks to locate a lost lowlife named Robert Leary, a.k.a. Bobby Lear. But this hunt is leading Ryan back into very bad company – and into beds where he doesn’t belong. Then suddenly he’s on someone’s hitlist for some undisclosed reason, with all the big money numbers adding up to double-cross. And if Jack doesn’t watch his back, he’s going to find himself missing… permanently.

Hombre & Three-Ten to Yuma

Elmore Leonard’s gritty western Hombre is accompanied here by his famous short story of rough justice and survival, Three-Ten to Yuma, both of which have been made into classic films 
 
John Russell, known simply as 'Hombre', is a mysterious loner raised by Apache Indians, on the last wagon out of Sweetmary, Arizona, along with a motley group of travellers including a doctor, a traumatised girl and a brutal stranger. But there are outlaws in the desert – and not everyone will finish the journey alive. 
 
This superb Western, published in 1961, was one of the novels that made Elmore Leonard's reputation as someone who had single-handedly revived the genre. It was made into a film starring Paul Newman. 
 
Also included here is Leonard's celebrated short story 'Three-Ten to Yuma'.

Leonard has penned some of the best Western fiction ever.

A remote stage-coach station is closing down and a small group of travellers are thrown together on the last wagon out: the mysterious Doctor Favor and his wife, a traumatised girl, a brutal stranger called Braden, the station manager, the sharp-eyed young narrator and John Russell, known simply as 'Hombre'. The reader can be quietly confident that some of these travellers will not be reaching their destination alive. 
 
This superb Western, published in 1961, was one of the novels that made Elmore Leonard's reputation as someone who had single-handedly revived the genre. It was made into a film starring Paul Newman. 
 
Also included is Leonard's celebrated short story 'Three-Ten to Yuma'.

Last Stand at Saber River

In the nail-biting western Last Stand at Sabre River, a Civil War veteran returns home to find a Yankee's private army living on his land, while another enemy waits to strike... 
 
Paul Cable has come home to Saber River, Arizona. But things have changed since he went away to fight for the Confederacy. A gang of Union men have taken over his house, and they’re refusing to give it back. It seems the war is not over yet for Cable. He is determined to fight for his family, and his land, no matter what it takes. But there are treacherous enemies everywhere – even where he least expects it.

In Last Stand at Sabre River, a Civil War veteran returns home to find a Yankee's private army living on his land, while another enemy waits to strike... 
 
Paul Cable has fought - and lost - for the Confederacy but when he returns home he finds that his own war is far from over. The Union Army and two brothers - and a beautiful woman - have taken over Cable's spread and are refusing to give it back. But Cable is determined that no one is going to take his future away - not with words, not with treachery, and not with guns.

Valdez Is Coming

Valdez is Coming is a stunning tale of morality and justice in which a simple, honest man is transformed into a killer - and begins a long journey of revenge against those who scarred his soul for ever 
 
Bob Valdez, hardworking constable and stage-line shotgun rider, is a good man. But when he tries to seek justice for the widow of a dead man, he’s run out of town, mocked and tortured and nearly killed. The same townsfolk who scarred him so badly will find themselves on the wrong side of a gun, however, when the lawman comes back to deliver his own brand of justice, in Leonard’s stark, stunning tale of morality and retribution. With all of his trademark sharp dialogue and set against a beautifully evoked landscape, this is a classic work that captures the wild and glorious spirit of the American West.

Valdez is Coming is a stunning tale of morality and justice in which a simple, honest man is transformed into a killer - and begins a long journey of revenge against those who scarred his soul for ever. 
 
Elmore Leonard's Western novels stand as some of the most vivid writing of his career. With all of his trademark sharp dialogue and set against a beautifully evoked landscape, this is a classic work that captures the wild and glorious spirit of the American West.

Cat Chaser

A lean and mean thriller about one man and the Mob from 'the crime laureate' INDEPENDENT 
 
The last time Florida motel owner George Moran was in the Dominican Republic he was in a uniform and people were shooting at him. Years later he's back looking for a girl he lost - and finding one he'd be better off without. Mary de Boya may be beautiful, but she's also the wife of a former death squad general in exile with mob connections. So much for the trip down memory lane - now Moran finds himself in a cat's cradle of drug deals, swindles, vengeance and murder.

The last time Florida motel owner George Moran was in the Dominican Republic he was in a uniform and people were shooting at him. Years later he's back looking for a girl he lost - and finding one he'd be better off without. Mary de Boya may be beautiful, but she's also the wife of a former death squad general in exile with mob connections. So much for the trip down memory lane - now Moran finds himself in a cat's cradle of drug deals, swindles, vengeance and murder.

52 Pickup

From the bestselling author of GET SHORTY and JACKIE BROWN a thriller spiced with blackmail and revenge 
 
 Detroit businessman Harry Mitchell is a self-made man, happily married for over twenty-two years and a pillar of the community. But then he slips - he meets a young 'model' and begins an affair. One night he arrives at his girlfriend's apartment and finds more than he bargained for. Two masked men have caught his misdemeanours on camera and now they want a cool hundred grand. But they've picked the wrong man, because Harry Mitchell doesn't get mad - he gets even.

Detroit businessman Harry Mitchell is a self-made man, happily married for over twenty-two years and a pillar of the community. But then he slips - he meets a young 'model' and begins an affair. One night he arrives at his girlfriend's apartment and finds more than he bargained for. Two masked men have caught his misdemeanours on camera and now they want a cool hundred grand. But they've picked the wrong man, because Harry Mitchell doesn't get mad - he gets even.

City Primeval

'As gritty and hard-driving a thriller as you'll find . . . The action never stops, the language sings and stings' Washington Post 
 
Clement Mansell knows how easy it is to get away with murder. The crazed killer is back on the Detroit streets - thanks to some nifty courtroom moves by his lawyer - and this time he's feeling invincible enough to execute a crooked Motown judge. Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz thinks the 'Oklahoma Wildman' crossed the line long before this latest outrage, and he's determined to see that the psycho does not slip through the legal system's loopholes a second time. But that means a good cop is going to have to play somewhat fast and loose with the rules - in order to manoeuvre Mansell into a showdown that he won't be walking away from.

Clement Mansell knows how easy it is to get away with murder. The crazed killer is back on the Detroit streets - thanks to some nifty courtroom moves by his lawyer - and this time he's feeling invincible enough to execute a crooked Motown judge. Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz thinks the 'Oklahoma Wildman' crossed the line long before this latest outrage, and he's determined to see that the psycho does not slip through the legal system's loopholes a second time. But that means a good cop is going to have to play somewhat fast and loose with the rules - in order to manoeuvre Mansell into a showdown that he won't be walking away from.

Picket Line and Other Stories

Three stories - the never-before-published 'Picket Line', along with 'Chick Killer' and 'Ice Man' - showing Elmore Leonard at his most terse and thrilling 
 
'Like all of Leonard’s books, Picket Line is a taut and engaging tale. Crime dramas made Leonard famous, but this is a social-justice story. . . . Leonard renders their adventures and their thoughts in spare, elegant, Hemingway-inspired prose. . . . Picket Line builds a convincing portrait of the spirit of a lost, idealistic age. . . . It has the cinematic mastery of scene and dialogue that characterized Leonard’s later works' - Héctor Tobar, The New York Times 
 
There are some lines you should never cross... 
 
Trouble is in the air at Stanzik Farms, Texas. The workers have gone on strike and tensions are threatening to boil over. As secrets come to a head and migrant workers, cops, foremen, agitators and union bosses collide at the picket line, things start to get very rough indeed. Elmore Leonard’s brilliantly orchestrated, never-before-published story Picket Line is accompanied here by two more terse tales of ruthless enforcers and tense stand-offs, riffing on the thing that made him great: his extraordinary ear for dialogue, and for creating situations where the stakes could not be higher for the loser.

Like all of Leonard’s books, Picket Line is a taut and engaging tale. Crime dramas made Leonard famous, but this is a social-justice story. . . . Leonard renders their adventures and their thoughts in spare, elegant, Hemingway-inspired prose. . . . Picket Line builds a convincing portrait of the spirit of a lost, idealistic age. . . . It has the cinematic mastery of scene and dialogue that characterized Leonard’s later works

These three stories--'Picket Line', 'Chick Killer' and 'Ice Man'--show Elmore Leonard at his most terse and harsh, able to conjure up a sense of profound unease and injustice in just a few words. 
 
The main story 'Picket Line' describes a tense stand-off between migrant workers in Texas, police and labour organisers in a brilliantly orchestrated series of arguments and negotiations, with the potential for terrible violence lurking in every exchange. 'Chick Killer' and 'Ice Man', set in Florida and California are two riffs on the thing that made Leonard great: his extraordinary ear for creating dialogues of negotiation, where the stakes could not be higher for the loser.

Rum Punch

From America's top writer of hardboiled crime, the novel that became Tarantino's hit film JACKIE BROWN 
 
Jackie, a flight attendant with a serious side hustle, is about to get grounded... 
 
She’s just got busted smuggling large amounts of hot money on the Caribbean-Florida run, and now the Feds are pressuring her to turn informant – but Ordell Robbie, the highly dysfunctional arms-dealer she works for, is not getting any more functional. With the help of disillusioned bail bondsman Max Cherry, could she outsmart her pursuers and walk away from the whole wreckage, happy and rich in the process? In a high-stakes game of risk, whose rum has the hardest punch?

A trio of Elmore Leonard crime novels show that, for all his concision and aptitude for depicting violence, the magic of his prose lies in wit and charm

The crime writer’s crime writer, King of all he surveys

Cool talk, hot action… it’s impossible not to love Elmore Leonard

The greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever

Elmore Leonard can write circles around almost anybody active in the crime novel today

Leonard provides the fizziest and cleverest dialogue in crime fiction. A total delight

He’s set the standard against which all other crime novels are measured

The man other crime writers call the Boss

Not just a good storyteller, but also an important novelist

An air hostess doing the Caribbean-Florida run, Jackie also uses her job to shift large amounts of hot money. The Feds are closing in on her and the highly dysfunctional arms-dealers she works for are not getting any more functional. It would involve huge risks, but could she perhaps walk away from the whole wreckage, happy and rich?

Swag

A rollicking tale of the 1970s Detroit criminal underworld from legendary crime writer Elmore Leonard 
 
To get ahead in armed robbery, you just need to find the perfect business partner... 
 
When auto thief Stick steals a maroon ’73 Camaro from Frank’s used car lot, Frank spies an unexpected opportunity. He ‘suggests’ they combine forces, and soon they’re embarking on a crime spree across Detroit, holding up liquor stores and supermarkets and causing mayhem wherever they go. As long as they keep sticking to their Ten Golden Rules for Successful Armed Robbery, the cash keeps rolling in. But what happens when you start bending your own rules?

Cool talk, hot action … it’s impossible not to love Elmore Leonard

‘The Ten Golden Rules for Successful Armed Robbery’ if rigidly adhered to will catapult two trainee robbers—Frank and Stick—into Detroit’s criminal elite. But for how long can they maintain the Rules’ austere discipline as the lurid, fun temptations pile up?

The Switch

A rip-roaring caper novel by bestselling crime author Elmore Leonard 
 
'This chaotic, blackly comic story is carried aloft on Leonard’s cool, easy prose' - The Observer 
 
Ordell and Louis have picked the wrong woman to kidnap… 
 
They thought it would be easy money. Snatch the wife of a rich Detroit businessman and demand a nice big ransom. What they didn’t reckon on was the fact that her husband has a secret mistress and doesn’t want his wife back at all. Or that their victim, Margaret ‘Mickey’ Dawson, is more than a little tired of playing the perfect housewife. So tired, in fact, that she’s out for revenge, and willing to turn the tables on everyone to get it.

The chaotic, blackly comic story is carried aloft on Leonard’s cool, easy prose... Elmore Leonard’s centenary year is the ideal time to discover, or rediscover, the prolific American western and crime writer whose work – fuelled by wit, charm, action and dialogue – dominated cinema screens in the 1990s

The Observer's 20 Books to Read this Summer

Mickey is bored and angry with her life as a housewife in suburban Detroit, trapped with her dreary, golf-obsessed husband. Then she is kidnapped by a deeply unimpressive criminal gang who want to trade her for a huge ransom from her—as it turns out—crooked husband. But what if she doesn’t really mind being kidnapped?

Mr Paradise

The exciting new thriller from Elmore Leonard.

Elmore Leonard was born in New Orleans in 1925. He has written thirty-eight novels, most recently Tishomingo Blues. Many of his books have been filmed, including notably Get Shorty, Rum Punch (as Jackie Brown) and Out of Sight. He lives with his wife Christine in Detroit, Michigan.

Mr Paradise pays Chloe and Kelly to play cheerleaders. To dance while he watches reruns of Michigan's finest football games. 
 
At least that's the story that hired-help Montez Taylor tells cop Frank Delsa. Delsa's called in to investigate a double homicide: old man Paradise and a girl dressed as a cheerleader. He's got a witness - a second cheerleader - but she can't decide whether her name's Chloe or Kelly. Nobody it seems is playing it straight - least of all the two trigger-happy hit men cruising Detroit's mean streets. But with a beautiful witness who might or might not want his protection, Delsa's ready to play for time ... 
 
Elmore Leonard is in top form with Mr Paradise which is set right back in his home town of Detroit, Motor City, scene of many of his greatest books.

La Brava

Split Images

Elmore Leonard

After being shot by a mugger, Lt Vincent Mora is convalescing in Puerto Rico. There he meets Iris, a beautiful young woman who is bored and frustrated, looking for excitement and a new life. Then she is offered a job as a ‘hostess’ at a casino in Atlantic city by Tommy Donovan. But Vincent figures out there is more to this job than Iris realizes and he decides to pay Donovan a visit. To complicate matters, Iris isn’t the only one interested in Vincent – he is being stalked by a man he sent down seven and a half years before, a man out to get his revenge.<ul></ul>

Elmore Leonard

Books by Elmore Leonard

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter