Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant . . . as usual
Review: Well, Mr. Leonard is at it again, and thank goodness. "Mr. Paradise is a wonder, full of his usual twists and turns, snappy dialogue, well-drawn characters, and great plot. While "Tishomingo Blues" is my all-time favorite, "Mr. Paradise" is close behind. Well done.Also recommended: Tishomingo Blues and Bark of the Dogwood by McCrae
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Novel
Review: What do these reviewers expect? This is the story. A high-end former Detroit call girl, asks her lingerie model roommate to help her entertain a wealthy octogenarian trial lawyer. By entertain, read she dons a cheerleader's skimpy skirt, but goes topless, while performing pom-pom routines beside a TV set while the lawyer watches videotaped University of Michigan football games. The plot, to say the least, is imaginative. The characters are unique and unforgettable. The dialogue is snappy and realistic. The story moves and is entertaining. What did these reviewers expect - a Detroit-based Hamlet? Elmore Leonard is a gifted novelist and Mr. Paradise will add to his reputation as a skilled character crafter.
Rating: 
Summary: A Rare Dissapointment from Elmore Leonard
Review: What's wrong this novel? Oh,jeez. I've read a few Leonard novels,
Out of Sight,Get Shorty,Rum Punch,and i'm reading Be Cool. Now,
this is the worst novel out of those three that I named. The characters are well written and the dialouge is great.Typical Leonard. It's the story that I have a problem with. It just seems to me that the novel. How should I say? I guess isn't finished. I still felt a sense of longing after I was done with the novel. The book is about Chloe Robinette,an ex-call girl who now works for an ex-lawyer Anthony Paradisio (AKA Mr.Paradise).
What does she do? Pretty much anything the man wants. She dresses up in a skimpy cheerleading outfits and cheers while Mr.Pardise watches Detroit football games. One night she convinces her roomate Kelly Barr to join her. Kelly resists at first, but eventually gives in. We then learn that, Mr.Paradise's
"house-ni**er" Montez finds out that he was cut from the will. To get back at Paradise he hires a couple of bumbling hit man to kill the old man. By the end of the night, Paradise and Chloe are dead and we meet Frank Delss. A detective who (gee) falls in love with Kelly Barr. But as a Leonard novel this strongly dissapoints.Had it not been a Leonard novel or if I wasn't familiar with Leonards work it would be better. C+
Rating:
Summary: Missing the Elmore Leonard twist
Review: When her friend Chloe Robinette suggests that Kelly Ann Barr join her in a topless cheerleading session for Chloe's aging Mr. Paradise, Kelly finally lets herself get talked into it. She likes Chloe, wants to help her, and a few hundred dollars never hurts. But nasty cheerleading turns into something far worse when gunmen break in and murder the old man. Now Kelly is caught in a trap. If she talks, she might be next. One thing she knows, Mr. Paradise was rich--and there's money in this somewhere. Detroit homicide detective Frank Delsa doesn't think it's shock. The beautiful blonde knows more than she's telling. But is she in with the killers, or is she playing some other game. One thing Delsa has learned in his years as a cop--the criminals are always stupid and always make mistakes. Of course cops can make mistakes now and it doesn't take a genius to realize that the instant attraction he feels toward Kelly is dangerous. What, exactly, is her relationship to the primary witness, African-American Montez Taylor? And what motive for murder do either of them have? Author Elmore Leonard always writes a fast-paced and interesting book and MR. PARADISE certainly fits the pattern. It's a hard book to put down as Leonard makes you feel like there's another twist coming. For me, though, this was the problem with the book. Unlike many of Leonard's stories, MR. PARADISE lacked the clever twists, the too-smart plans, and the street-smart cleverness of many of Leonard's works. I kept waiting for Kelly's hidden plan to reveal itself--waiting and waiting. I kept waiting for the hidden subtext of the too-spontaneous relationship between Delsa and Kelly. She's a Victoria's Secrets model, after all. What would she see in a bitter and much older cop? I'm still waiting. I don't think Elmore Leonard can write a bad book and MR. PARADISE isn't bad. For me, though, it has too many hints of where it could have been a great book--without really delivering. This isn't one of Leonard's masterpieces and that's too bad. But any Leonard novel is worth the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Still takes you where you want to go . . .no further
Review: When you listen to Mr. Leonard's dialogue, you smell cigarette smoke, hear rap music from young 'gangstas' as they drive by, see slippery lawyers with too much old fashioned Brilliantine on their receding scalps, hear the double entendres and lies people tell eachother, and also, in sparing doses, hope, innocence and dreams. Sometimes he is criticized for the plot, as in 'not much of a plot.' This seems to be a missed point; I don't read for the plot. I think that Elmore Leonard is a master of how people speak. The real people. Not television people. People like you and me. Or at least the people like you and I hear speaking. Interestingly enough, Mr. Paradise does have an interesting plot with two young women who find themselves in a gig with an old lawyer (read mob figure), Tony Paradiso ("Mr. Paradise.") Tony is offed and one of the girls with him. The other faces a substantial fortune . . . if she can assume her dead friend's identity. But then the Detective in charge, the handsome and widowed Frank Delsa, falls in love with her and she, perhaps . . . seems to . . . maybe . . . falls in love with him. Great action, kind of sexy, and excellent dialogue. And it's Detroit, too, my city. 5 stars. Larry Scantlebury
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: With precision writing on the same level as McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD and a story equal to Leonard's TISHOMINGO BLUES, MR. PARADISE is one great read. Witty and fast-paced, this wonderful romp is set in gritty Detroit. Reminiscent of GET SHORTY (at least for this reader) but with more humor and feeling, this makes for a very enjoyable read.
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