Elmore Leonard Classic 3-Book Collection: Essential Crime Thrillers—Get Shorty, Killshot, Tishomingo Blues

by Elmore Leonard

New York Times bestselling author Elmore Leonard has written over forty books, including four about U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, the captivating hero of the hit FX series Justified. Now three of Leonard’s best novels—Get Shorty, Tishomingo Blues, and Killshot—are together in one classic ebook collection.

Genres: Fiction

869 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 13, 2012

About the author

Elmore John Leonard lived in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Memphis before settling in Detroit in 1935. After serving in the navy, he studied English literature at the University of Detroit where he entered a short story competition. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.

Father of Peter Leonard.

Reviews

[Evan Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elmore Leonard wins with this three pack of some of his best novels. Get Shorty has a loan shark taking over Hollywood, Tishmingo Blues has a stunt diver (as in water) going against the Dixie Mafia with a Civil War reenactment in the background, and Killshot is a slow character study of a hit man against an aging couple. Each delivers wonderful, charismatic characters and the language of Leonard drawling its way through enjoyable prose.

[Nick Iuppa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection with interesting, volatile, but often very likable characters. The plots are strong and unpredictable. Leonard's free-flowing style is always engaging. Thisamingo may be the weakest of the three, but the strength of the other stories more than makes up for it. Have I said, as I start my sixth Leonard book in a row, that he's also addictive?

[Jonathan Reitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get Shorty is a classic.

It's a good thing that book was first. The other two are solid, but not nearly as entertaining as "Get Shorty". Elmore Leonard certainly knows how to tell a story, and you will be glad you read all three books.

[Paula Michalowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Elmore, what else can you say? Enjoyed all 3.

[Stephen Redwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three stories, all a good read,each with enough complexity to keep attention, deploying crisp language, uncluttered by fanciful language or images, and relying on the strength of dialog and the storyline to keep the reader engaged. All the stories use crime as the theme, but the real power is in the way relationships develop across a complex set of circumstances. In Get Shorty, the first story's main protagonist is a career mafia hard man, who connects with a has-been movie director and through a convoluted process ends up being the good guy and edging into the world of movies himself. Story two, Tishomingo Blues, is about an itinerant high diver who comes under threat after accidentally seeing a murder while up on his high board, and somehow gets mixed up with a bunch of civil war re-enactors who are being used as cover for all sorts of retribution. Killshot, the third story, is about an iron worker and his wife whose lives are threatened by a couple of crazy criminals, one a low grade professional hit man, the other a psychopathic wannabe pro-killer. The style feels almost like a movie script, but the stories are strong enough not to need the medium of film to be enjoyable.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good crime novels.

Amazon prime freebie. Get shorty was turned into a movie with John Travolta. The second book is a sort of con job or mob war. Killshot, is a sort of bloody survival story. Get value and plenty of material.

[Dwight Holing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does anybody 'do' dialogue better than Elmore Leonard? In just a few words he can set scene, move plot, and capture character. These three novels rank among his best.

[Scott Lord · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 Classic Elmore Leonard stories

All great! If you like crime fiction, do yourself a favor and read the best. You'll be glad you did.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are different from each other and I liked all 3 of them.

I think I'm ready for something light after finishing Killshot.

[Cecily V · Rating 5 out of 5]

To read Elmore Leonard is to take a masterclass in cool. The man could write a dialogue scene about paint drying and make it sound like the wittiest, most dangerous negotiation ever conducted. In this collection (or any of his books, really) is a startling reminder of everything so many crime writers get wrong: they try to be literary, or gruesome, or shocking.

Leonard simply was. His genius was in what he left out. The prose is lean, mean, and utterly without vanity. Every character, from the slickest gangster to the most hapless bystander, has a voice that rings like a bell. It’s effortless, timeless, and as criminally good as the rogues that populate its pages. The man is still the king, and the throne remains empty.

[herbert hooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not his besr

Bless Elmore. He always ties up the loose ends, and doesn't disappoint his readers. The bad guys have their reckoning, as you feel will happen from the start. The unbearably self absorbed mother in law is a pain in the ass, as well as the stupid Marshall. Frustrating to see the characters make so many dumb mistakes. A little repetitious and drags too much in places. But overall, an enjoyable read.

[Ellie Feroleto · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to review these stories because they're simultaneously entertaining and also boring.
Leonard likes to segue off into tangents about whatever his new favorite obsession is at the moment.
I didn't buy this book to skim through endless pages on civil war enactment trivia, or other such similar stuff.
But on the other hand, the stories were sufficiently entertaining to keep me reading (while grinding my teeth) through to the end.

[Slavo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veľmi dobré dialógy, zaujímavá zápletka, ale stále mám pocit, akoby tam niečo ešte chýbalo. Takže skôr 3,5 ako plné 4. Myslím, že toto asi najlepšie vystihuje knihy Elmora Leonarda: It's hard to review these stories because they're simultaneously entertaining and also boring.

[Karen I Ziniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got started too late reading these novels (I'm 88).

Going to try, though, got some time left. Nothing else to do now but wait. Best series of books I can imagine. Going to the bookstore and get some more before we cash in our chips.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories cemented my estimation of Elmore Leonard: he was a very uneven writer. Get Shorty was fun, well written and I could easily see why it was made into a successful film. Tishomingo Blues and Killshot were both subpar, in my opinion. There were aspects of each that were interesting and the basic plots were interesting enough, yet they both seemed very drawn out and tedious. Also, I had a lot of difficulty relating to some of the characters largely because their motivations and actions often seemed unrealistic and irrational. Further, there was little or no character development in several of the main characters.
Mr Leonard's work reminds me of an interview I saw with Woody Allen who stated that instead of working on a few huge films, he preferred to work on a lot of smaller films; trying different ideas and themes, some worked out well - some didn't. Mr Leonard wrote a lot of books and short stories, some seem much better than others.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

***** Get Shorty (1990)
***** Tishomingo Blues (2002)
**** Killshot (1989)