48 ratings | 28 reviews | avg rating:4.90

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David

586 books | 63 friends

Clara Thompson

27 books | 37 friends

Veronica Piffer

3 books | 1 friend

Scott Gordon

80 books | 27 friends

Donna Foster

2,416 books | 4,999 friends

Alexander Blevens

186 books | 33 friends

Bruce Leonard

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

https://bruceleonardwriter.com

Genre

Mystery, Crime, Cookbooks

Influences

Robert B. Parker, Michael Connelly, Paul McCartney, Dennis Lehane, Jam ...more

Member Since

February 2016

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Hello, Readers,

My latest novel, Hard Exit, is the most personal of the five I've written. I've lived with the story and various drafts for decades. The story takes place in Malibu and south Los Angeles and is narrated by depressed private eye Jack Drake, who lives in a Malibu beach mansion with movie star Amanda Bigelow.

He's endured traumas and suffered significant losses. He's muddled through years of grief and stasis, but then Game, an at-risk sixteen-year-old, changes Jack's perspective. The two of them become friends, then try to solve a series of murders in Malibu and south Los Angeles.

Unlike the Hadley novels, Hard Exit isn't a cozy mystery. It contains cursing, a sex scene, and some violence. However, fists don't fly every twenty ...more

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Bruce Leonard’s books

Average rating: 4.13 · 1,742 ratings · 171 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	Quilt City Murders 3.86 avg rating — 826 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Quilt City: Panic in Paducah 4.31 avg rating — 469 ratings — published 2022 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Quilt City: Measure Once, Cut Twice: A Hadley Carroll Mystery, Book 3 4.41 avg rating — 203 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Quilt City: Proving a Negative (Hadley Carroll Mystery, #4) 4.53 avg rating — 175 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hard Exit: (Jack Drake Private-Eye Mysteries, #1) 4.34 avg rating — 29 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Quilt City Cookbook: A Companion to the Hadley Carroll Mysteries 4.32 avg rating — 28 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	National Parks Camping & RVing Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Shenandoah, Acadia, Denali, Glacier, Zion and 81 other national properties summarized 3.91 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2014	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Yellowstone and 71 Other National Parks, Including the Great Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, for RV and Tent Camping 3.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nervous Breakup A Short Story Collection 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fourth Rail: Three gonzo journalism tales that prove the author needs psychological help 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Bruce Leonard…

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Bruce Leonard's Blog

Words, words, words

How many words per day and per week are enough to make novelists feel that they're being productive?

How many words per day and per week can we write and still be sure that any of our sentences, let alone all of them, are effective, moving, or beautiful?

Each novelist differs in temperament, talent, and stamina. And our goals differ as well—from writing for ourselves to aspiring to sell as many no Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 22, 2022 13:33 • Tags: novelists, novels, productivity, word-counts

Series by Bruce Leonard

A Hadley Carroll Cozy Mystery (2 books)
by

Bruce Leonard (Goodreads Author)

4.02 avg rating — 1,295 ratings

Bruce is Currently Reading

Bruce Leonard is currently reading

Neither Snow nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service

by Devin Leonard

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Apr 30, 2022 08:29AM

Bruce Leonard is currently reading

Epic Begins With 1 Step Forward: How To Plan, Achieve, and Enjoy The Journey

by Zander Sprague (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jan 30, 2022 05:16AM

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Bruce Leonard rated a book it was amazing The Last Flight by Julie Clark (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Excellent. This thriller holds together well and requires very few willing suspensions of disbelief. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will happily read other novels by Julie Clark.
Jan 26, 2026 08:31PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Last Flight by Julie Clark. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Last Flight by Julie Clark <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bruce Leonard rated a book it was amazing Quilt City: Measure Once, Cut Twice: A Hadley Carroll Mystery, Book 3 (Hadley Carroll Mysteries) by Bruce Leonard (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 16, 2026 07:36PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Quilt City by Bruce Leonard. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Quilt City by Bruce Leonard <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bruce Leonard rated a book really liked it Back Spin (Myron Bolitar, #4) by Harlan Coben (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Improbable but fun. Plenty of clever dialogue, but I think the book would have been significantly improved if it had been at least 60 pages shorter.
Jan 04, 2026 12:10AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Back Spin by Harlan Coben. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Back Spin by Harlan Coben <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bruce Leonard rated a book really liked it Hush Money (Spenser, #26) by Robert B. Parker	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 17, 2025 09:56PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Hush Money by Robert B. Parker. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Hush Money by Robert B. Parker <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bruce Leonard rated a book it was amazing The Waiting (Renée Ballard, #6) by Michael Connelly (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 25, 2025 06:01PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Waiting by Michael Connelly. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Waiting by Michael Connelly <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bruce Leonard rated a book it was amazing Quilt City: Safety Second: A Hadley Carroll Mystery (Hadley Carroll Mysteries Book 5) by Bruce Leonard	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 03, 2025 06:04PM · like
Bruce Leonard rated a book it was amazing Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Masterful, moving and disturbing This well-researched, well-written book reveals that our legal system needs to be scrapped. Who knows how many people have been railroaded by incompetent police, duplicitous prosecutors and corrupt judges? The answer ...more
Nov 12, 2024 09:03PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Framed by John Grisham. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Framed by John Grisham <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bruce Leonard rated a book it was amazing Hard Exit: (Jack Drake Private-Eye Mysteries, #1) by Bruce Leonard (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 10, 2024 07:32AM · like
Bruce Leonard rated a book it was amazing A Savage Place (Spenser, #8) by Robert B. Parker	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 06, 2024 09:58PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Savage Place by Robert B. Parker. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Savage Place by Robert B. Parker <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Bruce Leonard liked David's review of Quilt City: Panic in Paducah:
Jul 24, 2024 11:23AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Quilt City by Bruce Leonard. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Quilt City by Bruce Leonard <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Cozy Mystery Corner : What Cozy Are You Reading?	3466	1109	Apr 16, 2022 09:43PM
Cozy Mysteries : Mystery ABCs game, Round 9	4153	818	Jul 20, 2025 12:49PM
Book Bloggers of ...: POST YOUR REVIEW HERE!	2332	1214	Mar 01, 2026 08:53AM

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Bruce’s Year In Books

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Bruce Leonard

Goodreads Author

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Bruce Leonard's Blog

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