Rating: 
Summary: Great book - dumb reviewer
Review: That dumb reviewer would be me. The last two books I have read have been Elmore Leonard novels: "Touch" and "Out of Sight". Though I am an avid film buff, and was vaguely aware of the movies of the same name, this college-educated would-be writer never put, literally, two and two together to link these books until I finished this one and read of few of the Amazon reviews. Two movies are going to be rented tomorrow, and I will look into ways to get my IQ increased. What makes me an even bigger [idiot] is that I read both of these books a few years ago, and was giving them a "refresher" reading before writing the reviews.So without seeing the movie, I will say that I liked the book very much. Just like "Touch", it's a short novel that almost makes me think I'm not reading a full book. But unlike "Touch", which I think could have gone on a lot longer, this one pretty much ends where it should. It tells the story of a bank robber who escapes jail. While doing so, a U.S. Marshall gets taken hostage, and the two wind up riding together in the trunk of a car as part of the getaway. I should mention that the Marshall is a very attractive young female wearing a designer outfit while stuffed in the car with the escapee. Now being a Leonard novel, you have to throw convention out the window. The "hero" is a career criminal, who would have to kill as part of his job if necessary. He has also just whacked a prison guard with a two-by-four after betraying the participants of another breakout to make his own getaway. So he's not really the kind of guy you bring home to dad if you are a woman. But wait, it's still a Leonard novel. The Marshall has ironically already been involved with a bank robber in her life, and is impressed how the robber acts like a gentleman during her ordeal. After she gets away, she finds herself strangely drawn to the man, a fact that is noticed by her father, himself a former lawman. So of course these two have to somehow get together again, or we wouldn't have a story. Since we know this will happen, there is no suspense there. But how both feel about it before this happens makes the novel special. As he is escaping a thirty year sentence, with more to follow if caught, and she is sworn to uphold the law, they can't possibly make it together. Or can they? See you at the video store.
Rating: 
Summary: Pales to the movie
Review: I gotta say that the book pales to the movie. If you've seen the movie, stop there. Read other Elmore Leonard novels like Rum Punch or Riding the Rap or KillShot. This one takes the same formula which is take 3 chapters, introduce the main sets of characters in the first two, and the conflict in the third, and let them wait it out with cultural references, odd dialogue, and comedic situations, and end it all in the end. The problem is the film makes the formula fresh by adding a great cast, nice camera work, nonlinear editing, a funky David Holmes score, and top-notch directing to tell the story. Here is it told from beginning to end and just seems rather bland and boring after seeing the film. And changing the races for alot of the characters (3 I'm thinking of right now) for the movie made it seem alot better. There is some latent racism in some Elmore Leonard books.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Buy!
Review: OUT OF SIGHT sounded like a great read, dramatic, fast-paced, and sensual. The synopsis, in fact, greatly understated the quality of this book. Popular author Elmore Leonard provides a sharp, intelligent, quick read in this novel. Bank robber Jack Foley and federal marshal Karen Sisco have an undeniable chemistry that Leonard explores fully in every witty, clever page of this exciting book. The humor is constantly sharp, the dialogue always plausible, and the plot intriguing and sexy. Fans of this novel should definitely see the film version, which is surprisingly true to the plot of the novel. I purchased this book through Amazon.com right after another great purchase, THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez, about an unlucky writer addicted to the personals. Both are fun, recommended books. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A good read that is still true to the Elmore style.
Review: I am an Elmore Leonard fan. I love is books.I read this book in a week or so. The characters are great and the dialogue is crisp and clear. The main focus of the book is jack/karen's love interest's in eachother. Elomore weaves this with the florida punch and the detroit cold as backrounds. The story maybe a little bit lacking sometimes it makes up for it with wit and charm. The sub characters are great like snoopy,her dad,buddy,glenn. I also did not like how the story turned out but other then that Elmore has made a great novel. It's also being made into a movie starring george clooney as jack and Jenifer lopez as Karen!!!!
Rating:
Summary: From Florida To Detroit, Does Love Win?
Review: Starting in a Florida prison, the opening few chapters of OUT OF SIGHT are set as a frenetic pace as bank robber extraordinaire, Jack Foley plans and executes a daring escape. Helping him in his bid for freedom is his former partner in crime, Buddy who is waiting with a car in the prison car park. Also waiting in the car park happens to be US Marshall Karen Sisco who is sitting in her car, preparing to enter the facility when Foley makes his unexpected appearance. Quickly overpowering her, they stuff her in the trunk of her car with Foley climbing in behind her and Buddy slipping behind the wheel to affect the getaway. Unbelievably cool in the crisis involved in the jail break, Foley attempts to engage Karen in conversation, even wondering aloud whether it might be possible, if circumstances were different, for the two of them to become attracted to one another. Karen of course is incredulous and wants nothing to do with the escaped prisoner, apart from capturing him and delivering him back to prison. Thinking on the events later, after escaping from Buddy and Foley, she does find herself impressed with Foley's cool head under pressure. There is a brief lull in the action as we recover from the excitement of the opening scenes and the thought of the next score is placed in Foley's head. This takes the form of a robbery target in Detroit, supposedly a low-risk venture made easier by some local help. After narrowly escaping capture from the US Marshalls that includes another run-in with Karen Sisco, he decides that it's time for a change of scenery and he and Buddy heads north. By this time, it becomes obvious that there's some sort of weird fascination between Jack Foley and Karen Sisco taking place. They're somehow drawn to one another, even though they are on directly opposite sides of the law. In Detroit, Foley and Buddy are out of their comfort zones. They don't know the city, they don't know the people and it's just started to snow. They hook up with a truly dangerous fellow ex-con named Maurice. He is their aforementioned local help, but they realise that the low-risk operation is shaping up as anything but. With nothing better on offer and against their better judgement, they go ahead with the plan but are extremely wary. Meanwhile Karen Sisco has tracked Foley to Detroit after some very slick detective work, and after talking her way onto the Foley case. The inevitability of their meeting is obvious. What remains up in the air is what will happen after they meet and when it comes to plots created by Elmore Leonard, this means that the story could lead anywhere from here. On the surface this is told in a light, breezy tone thanks mainly to the cool behaviour of Foley in times of crisis backed up by Buddy's comical acceptance of Foley's decisions, no matter how unusual they seemed. When the setting changed to the colder wintry city of Detroit, the tone darkened considerably to reflect the dangerous Maurice, with whom they have to deal. You get a definite sense that the significant scenes are going to take place in Detroit thanks to these strong mood changes. Elmore Leonard mixes an easy conversational tone with tight, tough dialogue. He manages to give each of his characters their own distinctive voice thanks to his clever use of phraseology. Even though Foley and Buddy are ex-cons, in this book they can be considered the good guys and their language reflects this through a minimum of swearing and slang. In glaring comparison, we find that the Detroit "bad guys" such as Maurice, although also ex-cons, litter their dialogue with constant and extreme profanities. It's a simple but effective way to differentiate the difference between bad and downright evil. Ultimately, OUT OF SIGHT is a love story. Sure it's an unusual love story in the extreme, but a love story just the same. With plenty of action taking place on the periphery of the Foley and Sisco mating dance, it's an absorbing book that provided me with an unexpected ending.
Rating:
Summary: Just as good as the movie!
Review: My sister and I left for vacation a couple of weeks ago to go to Myrtle Beach. I decided I'd need a good book to sit by the pool and 'soak up the sun' so to speak. I went to Borders looking for this book in particular because I loved the movie. I grabbed the book and my sister and left for the beach. I thought would read a chapter or two in the car while she drove...except I didn't read a chapter or two; I read the WHOLE book in eight hours! It's impossible to put down and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the movie as much as I did!
Rating:
Summary: END OF THE ROAD
Review: In OUT OF SIGHT, Elmore Leonard again investigates the psyches of quirky criminals, trying to share with us the reasons for their lives of shameless pillage. Jack Foley's bank robbing days seem almost like fun. As a criminal, Jack is thoughtful, non-aggressive, persuasive and cool. His friend, Buddy, this is a buddy story, is also quite nice, faithful, humorous and fey. But the nasty, drug-crazed characters like Maurice cannot be understood. Jive-talkin', ready to kill instantly, these men are ultra-violent, ready to pop the unsuspecting citizen on a whim. But the most interesting psyche in OUT OF SIGHT is Karen Sisco, Jack's pleasant, hard-nosed, U.S. Marshall fantasy woman. Karen is attracted to cool, whether the male be a criminal or a citizen. Cool is her description of Jack: he's laid-back, non-controlling, daring and manly, a criminal-type but still warm and gentle with soul mates. Karen's big decision involves Jack and her duties as a police officer. Her big question: can she due her duty and arrest Jack? We have to wait to the last few pages to find out. And that's why the tension builds and why this book rates 5 stars. If you hate violence, you might want to shut your eyes during the final few pages. Larry Rochelle, Author of the mysteries DEATH & DEVOTION, TRACETRACKS and DANCE WITH THE PONY
Rating:
Summary: The movie is very close
Review: I picked this up after seeing the great movie with George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, and Ving Rhames. I wanted to see how close to the original the movie came. Yes, it is very close. The book is very heavy on dialogue. I found this well done. The book moved rapidly, but I felt I understood the characters involved. It is hard to read the book without seeing the actors in the movie, because the words in the script are identical, in places, to the words in the novel. Some of the characters described by Leonard are not as you would find in the movie. In the book, Buddy (Foley's partner) is described as a white redneck. For Mr. Ripley, the stock swindler, he has little to no part in the novel, just a brief mention. If you think you shouldn't read the book because you know how it ends, you are mistaken. Without giving details, the ending of the book is not the same as the ending of the movie. It is a quick, but good, ending.
Rating:
Summary: I Suppose He's Done Better
Review: I'm new to Elmore Leonard and finally decided to check out his work. I also haven't seen the movie for this book. Since the guy gets so many rave reviews, and his books have been made into movies, and since he's written around thirty books, he must be doing something right. Some of his other books are probably awesome, but I wasn't too impressed by this one. The plot is rather creative, but the twists and turns seem forced as if Leonard was trying desperately to make the action look less predictable. The dialogue is stunted and poorly constructed, with conversations between characters taking abrupt and nonsensical turns, once again in a forced attempt to avoid predictability. The female and non-white characters here are hardly plausible in their actions or speech. The supposed centerpiece of the story, the relationship between Karen the US Marshall and Foley the bad guy, is poorly developed. Their relationship moves along illogically in fits and starts, and their interactions are far from believable. I guess I'll try a different Leonard book and then I'll see what the fuss is about.
Rating:
Summary: not as good as the movie
Review: Out of sight is a pretty good book but is not as great as the movie which is strange because typically the other way around. The book still is a great crime novel that would please any fan of elmore leonard.
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