Rating: 
Summary: The master keeps going
Review: Elmore leonard is truly one of the masters of American literature. He ha not slowed down as the years have passed.Mr. paradise is another truley magnetic group of unusual characters whose dialog sounds as if it came from off the streets of Detroit. The homicde cops seem real not cut out of cardboard and glamorized. I highly recommend this book and anything else written by the master.
Rating: 
Summary: Cool book by one cool author
Review: Elmore Leonard is, without a doubt, the coolest author around. I love to read his books simply because his writing style is so unique; he isn't one of these robotic authors who follows given guidelines for writing or plotting. His style is crisp and edgy, simply cool. "Mr. Paradise" offers the usual band of offbeat characters and great dialogue; however, I found the characters' personas somewhat lacking. No real depth, none showing any real emotion. Kelly is too detached -she doesn't even seem to mourn the death of her roommate, I never could get a feel for Delsa, and Montez is conflictual; however, Lloyd was a great character. Still... I love Leonard and will continue to read him. Not one of his best, but still a book I enjoyed.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT PARADISE BUT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ELMORE LEONARD FANS
Review: Elmore Leonard returns to Detroit for the setting of MR PARADISE after a number of books set in Florida. I don't know about you but I like Florida for the setting of crime novels. Something about the tropical decadence of Florida: Miami, the Everglades, bikini-clad girls on white beaches, neon, plastic pink flamingos, palm trees, colorful shirts and sunglasses. But in MR PARADISE we are not back in paradise but in Michigan where an old rich geezer named Mr Padadise changes his mind about giving his house upon his death to a servant of many years. Which is a mistake because the servant gets pissed off and takes matters into his own hands. Other characters include two beautiful girls, roommates, one a call girl and the other a model, a savvy detective who finds himself involved with a female witness, two less than brilliant hit men and a corrupt lawyer. The writing is vintage Leonard who, along with hip, snappy prose, has an unerring ear for street dialogue. However, the plot and characterizations of MR PARADISE seem a little thin; I am left not caring too much about what happens to anyone in the novel. Still, the arrival of a new Elmore Leonard crime novel is usually a cause for celebration for his dedicated fans and this is no exception. Count me among his fans.
Rating:
Summary: Just plain fun
Review: Elmore Leonard seems to run hot and cold in my eyes. But with "Mr. Paradise," he is definitely hot. Frank Delsa, acting lieutenant of Squad Seven, Homicide Section, Detroit Police Department has a couple of new murders to handle. An old rich guy with a penchant for young female playmates - and one of those very playmates who had the misfortune to be right there when Mr. Paradise was on the receiving end of a bullet. She gets one too for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Whodunnit? Well, Delsa first has to figure out who got it. The young hired girlfriend? Or her lookalike friend who came to the house that night and just happened to be upstairs at the time of Mr. Paradise's accelerated exit from this world.
It's a good police story. Characters drift in and out, each adding a little bit of necessary information to the story. None of them will ever win a Nobel Prize, but they kind of remind me of Daman Runyon's people; the dumb folks who think they are smart and wind up wearing orange jumpsuits or buying the Brooklyn Bridge.
The story moves nicely; the few loose ends don't rattle too much and there's a pleasant ending, at least for Frank Delsa.
It's a fun read, a good story. Jerry
Rating:
Summary: Wait for the paperback
Review: Elmore Leonard's characters and plot lines are often a bit wierd and in this latest effort, wierdness rules. A contract murder by a couple of bungling hit men sets in motion a whole scenario of sub plots which are mildly entertaining, but never compelling.If you are an EL fan, wait for the summer and buy it in paperback for a beach read.
Rating:
Summary: The Master of Cool
Review: Elmore Leonard's latest, Mr. Paradise, is a fine return to crime-writing form. Like others, I was not crazy about Pagan Babies, nor did I like Cuba Libre. Pagan Babies aimed for something beyond the crime-writing genre (Rwanda), while at the same time using crime-writing as the vehicle. A strange failure. Cuba Libre had some good scenes in it, but it felt like an attempt to revisit the great Leonard Westerns from years back, while lacking those novel's hard hitting economy. But Tishomengo Blues got my attention back however. Hip, cool, utterly American in its cast of bad guys, good guys, and yes, girls. The setting (Miss.), and the event, a Civil War re-enactment, and a hero who is a professional diver. Great stuff.
Now comes Mr. Paradise. Mr. Paradise, with its Detroit setting, its cast of crazies and cops and as usual, super dialogue, is as good as, say, City Primeval. The only difference is that Leonard is now pushing 80. It's simply amazing that someone that old can have such a fine ear for the culture. Music, slang, the Street and what's happening out there. For example, in one scene, Kelly Barr meets bad guy Montez Taylor to discuss a possible deal. It unrolls like one cool clip from a film, Kelly/Leonard, zapping Taylor with extensive knowledge of current hip-hop music scene. Incredible. Try an envision an 80 year old man bopping to Iggy Pop (he's in here as well). The plot? Well, there's a lot of murders and hit men, dirty lawyers, the possibility of a big payday, a good looking woman and a lonely cop. Just take it from there. The Master.
Rating: 
Summary: Paradise Lost
Review: Elmore Leonard's usual deft touch is missing from "Mr. Paradise". While the characters are familiar and the dialog reminiscent of his other work, the novel feels more like a collection of scenes than a cohesive work. The story meanders along, then seems to lose its way and eventually comes to a flat conclusion. As is customary in Leonard's work, "Mr. Paradise" entwines the lives of various mismatched characters, adds some hidden agendas, some dumb moves and lets the plot unfold. In this case, the formula produces something more like an episode of "Cops" with unrelated events, people who come-and-go and a wish for more answers. More than once I could not suspend my disbelief, asking myself "why doesn't he (or she) just...?". The purpose and relationship of several characters eluded me often. And I still don't know what the "chainsaw" subplot was for. Mr. Leonard has written many superior crime and caper novels. This time he lost his touch.
Rating:
Summary: Paradise Lost
Review: Elmore Leonard's usual deft touch is missing from "Mr. Paradise". While the characters are familiar and the dialog reminiscent of his other work, the novel feels more like a collection of scenes than a cohesive work. The story meanders along, then seems to lose its way and eventually comes to a flat conclusion. As is customary in Leonard's work, "Mr. Paradise" entwines the lives of various mismatched characters, adds some hidden agendas, some dumb moves and lets the plot unfold. In this case, the formula produces something more like an episode of "Cops" with unrelated events, people who come-and-go and a wish for more answers. More than once I could not suspend my disbelief, asking myself "why doesn't he (or she) just...?". The purpose and relationship of several characters eluded me often. And I still don't know what the "chainsaw" subplot was for. Mr. Leonard has written many superior crime and caper novels. This time he lost his touch.
Rating:
Summary: Whadda book!
Review: Has Mr. Leonard written anything that wasn't good? I don't think so. This is his most interesting effort to date. Well-written and full of humor and oblique decadence, this is his best yet. Michican football on the TV, cheerleader Chloe with her pompoms, and Montez Taylor are just some of Leonard's little surprises. As with all his books, he builds things up gradually and toward a satisfying conclusion. Thank you once again, Mr. Leonard! Keep at it! Also recommended: Another Roadside Attraction and Bark of the Dogwood
Rating: 
Summary: Too choppy. Too dadgum choppy.
Review: Having heard instructors rave over Leonard's writing style at two writers' conferences, I decided that I'd better read a book by this "master of dialogue" for my edification. By chance, this one was just being published. I immediately noticed his choppy writing style. By the time I had slogged through 15 pages my head ached. I was so distracted by the choppy sentences and sentence fragments that I couldn't follow the story. Maybe other readers will eat it up, but this kind of writing turned me off. Why he has such a great reputation I'll never know. Sorry, Elmore, you're not my cup of tea. Give me Dan Brown any time.
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