Rating: 
Summary: Early and excellent Elmore Leonard
Review: In 1992 the Mystery Writers of America made Elmore Leonard a Grand Master; the award "is presented only to individuals who, by a lifetime of achievement, have proved themselves preeminent in the craft of the mystery and dedicated to the advancement of the genre." Perhaps none of his novels better exemplifies why he won this honor than Ryan's Rules (which was later renamed Swag).Frank Ryan is a mildly honest used car salesman, but he thinks he's come up with a surefire way to get rich quick. So when Ernest Stickley, Jr. tries brazening his way out of the lot after Ryan catches him boosting a car, Frank decides to play dumb at the trial and Stick skips. Ryan explains his plan: Stick...I'm talking about simple everyday armed robbery. Supermarkets, bars, liquor stores, gas stations, that kind of place. Statistics show--man, I'm not just saying it, the statistics show--armed robbery pays the most for the least amount of risk. Now, you ready for this? I see how two guys who know what they're doing and're businesslike about it,; who're frank with each other and earnest about their work, can pull down three to five grand a week. And Frank doesn't just have a plan, he also has 10 rules for success and happiness, Ryan's Rules: 1. Always be polite on the job. Say please and thank you. 2. Never say more than necessary. 3. Never call your partner by name--unless you use a made-up name. 4. Dress Well. never look suspicious or like a bum. 5. Never use your own car. (Details to come.) 6. Never count the take in the car. 7. Never flash money in a bar or with women. 8. Never go back to an old bar or hangout once you have moved up. 9. Never tell anyone your business. Never tell a junkie even your name. 10. Never associate with people known to be in crime. For a while, the two are able to follow the plan and the rules and they are extremely successful. In one of the best bits in the book, they go into a bar and when someone else robs it, they rob the robber. But, inevitably, the rules start falling by the wayside and when they see a chance for a big score, the rules go out the window, with predictably disastrous results. Elmore Leonard novels can be like popcorn, you start consuming them by the handful, and there is a tendency to experience deja vu if you read too many too close together. I also think he became too dialogue dependent in his middle years, after receiving near universal acknowledgment as the best writer of dialogue in the business. But, perhaps because it was written relatively early in his career, Swag stands out as a great crime novel. Leonard obviously liked it too; he brought Stick back in an eponymous novel, that's also pretty good. GRADE: A
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best by a great writer of thillers
Review: This book seems quite dated and filled with cardboard characters. The two main crooks, for example, are impossible to tell apart--they have no separate personalities! There are much, much better books by Elmore Leonard.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best by a great writer of thillers
Review: This book seems quite dated and filled with cardboard characters. The two main crooks, for example, are impossible to tell apart--they have no separate personalities! There are much, much better books by Elmore Leonard.
Rating:
Summary: Leonard's best
Review: This is easily Elmore Leonard's best book. It is also one of his most overlooked books. Do yourself a favor and buy this book, because, when your done reading it, you'll want all of your friends to read it too!
Rating:
Summary: Elmore Leonard. What more can you say?
Review: This supercool book is just another one of the shining examples that shows how far Quentin Tarantino still has to go. Anything you ever liked in crime fiction is here, only multiplied exponentially, without any unnecessary glorification. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: One of Leonard's best books
Review: This was one of Leonard's best books that I have read. The relationship between Stick and Frank played out like a twisted version of the Odd Couple. I though the character development and plot were also exceptional. Definitely read this one.
Rating:
Summary: One of Leonard's best books
Review: This was one of Leonard's best books that I have read. The relationship between Stick and Frank played out like a twisted version of the Odd Couple. I though the character development and plot were also exceptional. Definitely read this one.
Rating:
Summary: The Proverbial Bandits
Review: Two small-time crooks (a guy who sells used cars and a guy who steals them) band together in early 70's Detroit and, with nothing better to do, decide to start holding up liquor stores, Quik-E Marts, and supermarkets. They establish a set of foolproof rules and make out like the proverbial bandits, stashing their loot under the sink and spending it on hysterically rendered period clothes, cars and stereos. Things go great until, of course, they begin to violate their own guidelines. Fast, funny, violent, gritty, sexy and chock full of Leonard's trademark dialogue and twisty turns, this book skims along like a Tarantino movie writ long before Tarantino came about. I'm a huge Elmore Leonard fan and this is my favorite of his books. I can't believe it's not more popular, can't believe it's actually OUT OF PRINT. Track it down used if you can, it's a true unheralded modern classic.
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