Mr. Paradise: A Riveting Detroit Crime Thriller – A Model's Deadly Gamble After Double Murder

I've read many of them and I don't think there is an Elmore Leonard that isn't a five star book, but Mr. Paradise is, within the five star group, a five star --- i.e. top of the five star group. The writing is so effortless seeming the author's presence isn't felt. The dialogue is crisp, credible and magnificent. The characters are wonderful and the story a great read --- and, there is no higher approbation for me than "a good read." BTW --- "approbation," is exactly the sort of $5 word you'll never find in an Elmore Leonard book. Far too good, and confident a writer than to need to play look-at-me, look-at-me, English Professor games with the reader.

I'd heard a lot about Elmore Leonard, and I've seen a number of the movies made from his books. This is the first book of his I've read. I found it thoroughly enjoyable. Nice portrayals of comic hapless bad guys, and a rich old tycoon and his assistant trying to get his money. Things go awry for a couple of call girls he hires to dance for him at his estate. This is a later Leonard, and one of the many that are set in Detroit. I was born in Detroit, but moved out when I was four, so I don't remember much. It's nice, as is my wont, to go through the book after reading it with Google maps, and identify and look at all the places mentioned. It's almost all real, very few made-up places. I've been looking for someone as good as John D. MacDonald, and Leonard isn't that guy, but he is a lot of fun, and I look forward to reading more of him.

I give this novel five stars all the way. I've read all his novels, most of them multiple times, and he's just about ruined other authors for me. I've read this one at least five times over the years, and this time it was just as amazing. I can feel and see and hear the dialogue all the way. Being from the Detroit area all my life and growing up around criminals, you can appreciate how well Leonard writes them. I'd swear he was a crook if I didn't know any better. If I have to stop reading to laugh hysterically, the author is nailing it. Im sorry he's gone and there may never be another author that can live up to my standards. He was the best there was, period, and I miss his books to entertain me.

The story is moving with high speed and has just enough of romance involved. The vocalbyry is probably very correct and could be difficult to understand.

I like the writing style. Not a lot of superfluous detail but rather straight forward. It’s believable. I would recommend this book as well as the author.

Elmore at the height of his powers. A masterpiece of diction, character, shifting point of view, and page turning plot. A bit dated, true, but my god, the man could spin a tale with empathy, wit, and insight in the motors of human behavior. As usual, the moral center is there, but it's kind of squishy, and as usual, the greedy and the shallow are eventually punished. What fun. I've read it three times, the last time just so can admire the amazing economy of his language and the wonderful Detroit storyworld.

Mr. Paradise is a pretty standard entry from Elmore Leonard, the master of American crime fiction showcasing all if his hallmarks - gorgeous women, dangerous (if dumb) criminals, and a lead character so cool (like Elmore himself) he makes it look effortless. Throw in a bag of cash and you've got Mr. Paradise. The end result is not Elmore's best work, the first 50 or so pages get confusing as the two female leads, Chloe and Kelly, are so alike that it is too easy for the reader to get confused as to which is which. As this is partly a tale of mistaken identities, the two should be similar, but I found myself having to read and reread passages to discern which character Leonard was actually writing about. As frustrating as those first 50 pages were, once the two characters separate from each other, the novel becomes much easier to follow and Leonard spins a fun yarn in which slightly inept criminals struggle against each other in order to claim a small fortune left behind by the titular Mr. Paradise. Even when not at the top of his game Leonard leads the pack of American crime writers and this one is sure to please his longtime fans as well as new readers.

There are but a handful who can stand in Elmore Leonard’s company. Story, characterization, dialogue, imagination. It is all there every time. It must be unimaginably hard to be so consistently on top of your game. I don’t give away plots or storylines. Read the book It is worth the time.