Bandits

by Elmore Leonard, Frank Muller (Narrator)

Bandits assembles an unlikely crew: an ex-nun, an ex-cop, and an ex-con. They've got theit eyes on several million dollars that they've decided should notbe spent to aid the Contrast in Nicaraugua. Of courst , a lot of other people have their eyes on the money, too—Bandits assembles an unlikely crew: an ex-cop, an ex-con, and an ex-nun. They've got their eyes on several million bucks intended for the Contras; with their unique set of skills and their crazily clever plan, they're sure to make out like bandits — if they live so long.

Author Biography:

Elmore Leonard has written more than three dozen books including Cuba Libre, Rum Punch, and Get Shorty, and numerous screenplays. He has an unparalleled reputation among lovers of mayhem, suspense, and just plain wonderful writing. A Grand Master Award winner of the Mystery Writers of America, he has been likened to everyone from Balzac to Dostoevsky to Dickens to Dashiell Hammett — but he is, in fact, entirely and entertainingly sui generis.

He lives in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Novels, Mystery Thriller, Noir

9 pages, Audiobook

First published January 14, 1986

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

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1987, Bandits is very much a book of its time, set at the end of the Reagan administration when the war in Nicaragua was raging between the governing Sandinistas and the rebel Contras. The Reagan administration viewed the Sandinistas as a bunch of dirty commies who represented a significant threat to American interests in Latin America and, Reagan insisted, to the very security of the United States itself. The administration thus threw its support behind the Contras, ignoring the human rights abuses perpetrated by the group. Their support for the Contras ultimately led to the most significant scandal of the Reagan years, the infamous Iran-Contra affair.

The book's protagonist, Jack Delaney, is a former jewel thief and ex-convict who is now working for his brother-in-law's funeral parlor in New Orleans. Jack is not a happy man; his life is at loose ends, and working at a mortuary is, figuratively, at least, a dead end. But things take a decided change one day when Jack is sent out to collect a body from a leprosy colony. He's not at all excited about the prospect of being anywhere near such a place, but he has no choice. Along for the ride is Sister Lucy, a very attractive nun who has recently returned from Nicaragua where she worked among the lepers there.

Upon arriving at the colony, Jack is stunned to discover that the "corpse" he was sent to pick up is still very much alive--a young woman on the run from a Contra colonel in Nicaragua who was, and is still, determined to kill her. Sister Lucy helped the woman to escape from Nicaragua and is still attempting to protect her from the evil colonel who is now in the United States.

As inevitably happens in an Elmore Leonard novel, one thing leads to another. The evil colonel is in the U.S., ostensibly to raise money for the Contras. His goal is to raise five million dollars. He insists that once he has done so, he will be back in the jungles of his home country fighting alongside his brave comrades to free Nicaragua from the nasty Sandinistas.

Sister Lucy suspects that the colonel is actually planning to take the money to fund his own luxurious lifestyle in the jungles of Miami Beach. She has what she believes to be a much better plan: let the colonel collect the money then steal it from him and use it to help the poor and suffering common people of Nicaragua. Sister Lucy turns out to be very persuasive, especially once she decides to leave the nunnery, and Jack is immediately on board with the program, which he figures will be a lot more exciting than working in a damned mortuary.

This is a fun read, filled with the usual Elmore Leonard characters and punctuated by great dialog. If I have any complaint about the book, it would be that it got a bit too caught up in the political squabble over the Sandinistas and the Contras, but this is a relatively minor complaint. Another very good novel from EL.

[Still · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was as much fun as the last crime novel by Elmore Leonard that I read and is every bit as good as the next crime novel by Elmore Leonard that I intend to read.

This was the third time I've read this novel.
The 1st time I read this was back when the book was 1st published in 1987.
I read it again in the mid 1990's.
Odd thing about reading it a third time: it came to me as fresh as the first time.

I found that I'd forgotten key plot details.
My question: does plot even matter when it comes to an Elmore Leonard novel?

Reason I read Elmore Leonard novels is not because I'm all into the heist or the scam the main characters are planning. I don't read them because I want to find out how aggrieved parties exact revenge from an offending villain.
I read and re-read Elmore Leonard's novels because I love his characters.
I love the way he creates distinctive voices for the various characters in his novels.
I love the dialogue.

Amazon's plot description reads:
Reformed jewel thief Jack Delaney was going straight - until he met sexy ex nun Lucy Nichols. Jack's in the funeral business and when he's sent to collect a body from a leper hospital, he finds it in Sister Lucy's care - and very much alive. Lucy's on a goodwill mission, hoping to smuggle the 'deceased' away from her dangerous ex, a Nicaraguan colonel with guns and goons aplenty. And it just so happens the colonel's also got several million dollars that could aid Lucy's quest to help mankind. With a crazy plan in hand and ex cop Roy Hicks on board, they plot to rob the colonel's coffers, and they're sure to make out like bandits - if they live that long...

Well sure, that's the basic plot ...although that synopsis fails to mention one of Elmore Leonard's most unforgettable characters: Franklin De Dios –an especially intriguing -and violent- man of honor.

Great fun.
It's not noir.
It's not really a crime novel.
It's not even a caper novel in the Donald Westlake tradition.
It's out there in a field uniquely "Dutch".

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a story, what a plot and what a performance from the narrator, Frank Muller.
Put simply, just brilliant in all of the aforementioned.

There is so much going on here and it’s all held together by Elmore Leonard’s tongue in cheek dialogue driven plot.

There’s a cast of memorable characters that will bring all your emotions to the surface.

There is the twenty something year old beautiful ex nun. There is the, now straight, ex jewel thief come ex con. There is the ex cop who is also an ex con. There is also the sadistic Nicaraguan Contra Colonel and last but not least there is Franklin the strong silent Miskito Indian. Franklin doesn’t say much but he sees a lot.

What brings all these characters together is quite the tale but at the root, of course, is money, lots of it. Everybody wants it, some to do good and some just because they want it.

At the heart of most Elmore Leonard’s books are sharp, witty dialogues and its all here in spades.

This is a highly entertaining 4/5 star read.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not everyone is satisfied with a steady job, a two-story house, and a white-picketed lawn. Elmore Leonard characters, for instance. Leonard's books usually showcase men who have spent time in prison or who were slightly crooked, burned-out cops. Often these gentlemen in the beginning of a Leonard story are in the middle of an attempt to go straight or retire, working at present in regular normal jobs. Most of the time, they are natives of the American South, and they tend to have links particularly to Florida. Cubans and South Americans who want guns generally cross paths with people in the books, along with drug dealers with various degrees of intelligence. Some characters have a great capacity for killing, but most are reluctant to go that far in their plans to steal money or in resolving an issue from their pasts. Most of them are reluctant to kill. The psychopaths keep everyone guessing...

Perhaps, gentle reader, you are familiar with some of Leonard's specific fictional crowd of ne'er-do-wells as he has been writing bestsellers for decades, and some of his books have become movies. Some of his novels are clearly literary, but others do not quite go there. All are highly entertaining. All of them are fun, whatever their quality. 'Bandits' is a fun beach read, although not quite as special as some of the other of Leonard's books.

Jack Delaney is an ex-con, a jewelry thief, who is working at his brother-in-law's mortuary near Carville, Louisiana. Jack's sister Raejeanne is married to Leo Mullen, Jack's boss. Jack and Leo get along fine, despite the differences in their personalities. However, Jack knows he is treading water. He is missing something in his life, an excitement which has been missing since he got out of Angola Prison three years previously.

Jack reluctantly drives the mortuary's hearse to Charity Hospital, a leprosy colony in Carville. He is a squeamish ex-criminal, which is why he limited his burglaries to hotel rooms before he got caught. Handling a body which had leprosy is not ok for him. However, his contact person, Sister Lucy, turns out to be a stunning beauty - young, fashionable, wealthy and energetic. She is nothing he was expecting. Neither is the corpse. For one thing, the corpse is not dead. For another, both the Sister and the young fugitive from Nicaragua are in the run from a murderous colonel who wants revenge against the young girl - a girl who was kidnapped from her family and forced into concubinage until she contracted leprosy.

Jack reluctantly helps the two women leave the hospital in his hearse, until he discovers from Sister Lucy the colonel is scamming the Reagan administration out of $5 million for weapons for the Contra War against the Communist Sandinistas in Nicaragua. Jack realizes he wants the money more than helping Sister Lucy save the girl and Nicaragua. Jack knows some good people from Angola who would love a piece of the action and the money, too. But first he has got to handle the Nicaraguan killers following the hearse from the hospital. Plus, the corpse is stirring around in the back. She needs to pee, not having thought to go to the restroom before they left the hospital. Jack is not armed. Is he going to call the police and step out of this unfolding drama of which he is not yet fully involved? What do you think, gentle readers?

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid EL novel, featuring a raft of characters and that great Leonard dialogue.
Perhaps the most intriguing character of all was Franklin de Dios— a Meskito Indian who works for a corrupt leader whose plan it is to raise millions for the contra rebels but then abscond with the funds.
As others have reviewed the plot, I won’t belabor you with a rehash here.
There are essentially five or so characters that matter, all drawn in EL fashion and all operating on various levels of truth and deceit. Dialogue is the strongpoint, especially as the plot moves inexorably towards the finale.
For me, this was 3.5 stars, rounded up. No knock on the story— I just didn’t connect with it as strongly as I have with other novels by the author. A fun read, regardless of rating.

[Geoff Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note to self: you don't really enjoy Elmore Leonard books. You just think you should because he has a cool name and big reputation. You find him quite hard to follow and the attitudes and characters all feel a bit dated now. You do like the physical details in the dialogue but that's not enough it it? This is the third Leonard book I've read. I think it will be the last.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book because Elmore Leonard was described to me as the “greatest American author,” and it raised my curiosity, for I have heard that term used loosely with a lot of “greats.” Perhaps “greatest” applies to the noir he was writing in: crime with a touch of black humour.
The situation is bizarre, the plot takes off at an unplanned tangent, the events are comedic, the characters are eccentric, and the good guys win while the baddies get their come-uppance in the most unexpected manner.

Jack Delaney, an ex-con working for his brother-in-law in a funeral parlour, meets Lucy the ex-nun who dreams of having a showdown on the street with the Contra leaders and stealing their ill gotten gains to build a leper hospital in Nicaragua. Their associates in the heist are Rick, a Robin Hood type cop who once landed in jail for his borderline actions, and Cully, a bank-robber who is just out after 27 years and is desperate to get laid in case he winds up in the can again after another botched “job” and has to endure a libido diet for a further 27 years. Arraigned against them are the bad guys: Dagoberto (Bertie), the Contra chief who is in the USA to fundraise for his cause and has the blessing of President Reagan and the US establishment, and his two Latino henchmen. Leonard throws in the CIA and IRA to add flavour, and convolutes the plot in unpredictable directions. He also creates an unforgettable character in Franklin de Dios, Bertie’s half-Indian terminator, who is very composed whenever he encounters his opponents, whether it’s just after he has killed someone or when facing death himself, and greets them with a polite “How you doing?”

Social prejudices and political issues are exposed amidst the humour and mayhem: “Leprosy comes from coloured people,” and “In rich countries, the rich get robbed, in poor countries, the poor get robbed.” The characters have depth unlike in traditional crime entertainment novels: Lucy explores her reasons for joining and leaving the nunnery, and Jake attains St. Francis of Assisi like status with his desire not to kill the enemies but to bring them into the fold even at the risk to his own life. And the comedic situations are hilarious: two burglars surprise each other by entering the same room at the same time on the same mission, Cully makes love to a deaf woman and is arrested for stealing her hearing aid, and Rick calls the bluff of an ex-nun with a shoulder gun and learns a painful lesson.

And yet the narrative is uneven and jerky, and back story is filled in with voluminous paragraphs of dialogue which starts to sound formulaic after awhile. That is why I would refrain from conferring the title of America’s greatest novelist on Leonard, although he is a very entertaining and engaging one and someone who has definitely shaped the crime noir genre with his vast oeuvre.

[Leftbanker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not without its charms, but probably the Elmore Leonard novel I least enjoyed. There were so many characters running around inside this book that you'll need a score card. I just want this book behind me as I don't have time for a proper review.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even after reading 20ish books by Elmore Leonard, I've never thought of him as a political writer. Small-p political, maybe. Gender politics, politics among scoundrels, some business politics, sure. But not global politics, even when some of his novels take place outside the U.S. Politics, however, are inescapable in 1987's Bandits, a novel firmly entrenched in the mid-80s anxiety about Nicaragua and the conflict between the contras and the Sandinistas. But that actually makes it sound more serious and political than it actually is. The Nicaraguan conflict is more than backdrop, but to say Bandits is about that conflict is sort of like saying The Book Thief is about the Holocaust. It's part of the narrative fabric, but it isn't the whole tapestry.

Because, as in pretty much every Leonard novel, it's really about schemes and double crosses and flirtations played at least partially for laffs – in this case, a scam conceived by an ex-nun and a funeral home worker to steal five million dollars from a Nicaraguan colonel who's come to the U.S. to kill a woman who he suspects gave him leprosy. If you've read more than a couple of Leonard's books, you'll recognize that description as being sort of quintessential Leonard. But this time around there's a very real undercurrent of dread permeating the goings-on, and Leonard seems to be making an uncharacteristically serious point about global politics.

The nun, Lucy, worked at a leper colony in Nicaragua and saw firsthand how the Sandinistas (led by Colonel Dagoberto) came in and brutally killed patients and doctors alike in the search for the patient Dagoberto (falsely) believes infected him. When Lucy encounters Jack Dancey, a hearse driver tasked with sneaking the leper colony patient into New Orleans (it's a long story), the two of them quickly connect in typically Leonardian fashion and immediately begin plotting how to steal money that had been illegally funneled to Dagoberto.

Bandits has all of Leonard's trademarks – razor sharp dialogue, byzantine plotting, noble scoundrels – but the verisimilitude of that global context makes it one of his rare novels that feels like there are real-world consequences to the characters' actions. Most of his novels could take place in any contemporary time period (which I consider a significant strength of his work), but Bandits is indisputably a product of its time, rooted in the very real existential angst of the Reagan era.

[T.W. Dittmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has to be one of my favorites of Mr. Leonard.

Intriguing plot, engaging characters, and laced with Leonard's dry humor.

For me, very enjoyable.

[Chris Haughton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bandits was witty and funny, but one thing with Elmore Leonard is that he kept going with the story and not looking back. He kept every character in a situation and only reminded you of how they were involved. There is no way of determining how the story will finish as it is all smartly written. Lots of laughs, but in a different style. Solid read, definitely will read more of Elmore Leonard.

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leonard is an acquired taste. I get it. More oysters than chocolate. One of those writers you get as much as you read. He gives you everything you need to know, but doesn't hold you hand. I love this stuff, obviously. In this one, some of his beloved small-time crooks find they have a heart. Mostly.

[Edward]

Bought a copy of this today.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s something so... sweet about this one. Tenderhearted. There’s all the usual crime and craziness but then there’s an ex-nun who has been in the shit and everyone wants to be on the side of the good guys but no one is sure which side that is. It’s such an odd duck of a story. A beautiful one. I loved it.

Ask him why he didn’t kill you.
Ask him what he was doing.
Ask him what side he was on.
Franklin de Dios was wondering if he was certain about the sides. If there were more than two sides. If he was on the side he thought he was on or a different side. He was getting a feeling, more and more, that he was alone.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a disappointing novel by Mr. Leonard. A number of interesting characters, and an intriguing storyline eventually leads to a novel that rather fizzles out . . . especially when the ending is so predictably mundane.

[Taylor Gaines · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ex-nun, ex-con and ex-cop get together to pull off a heist. What more do you need to hear?

[JC · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25🌟 Franklin is probably the best character I've seen in awhile. The rest of the folks were enjoyable as well.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

He is an interesting writer. Great plots with twists and turns. Going to read all his books

[Ken Loft · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like Dubmore Leonard! or should I say Elless??

[Michael Nutt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written during a period when Elmore Leonard was turning out some of his very best crime fiction, 'Bandits' (1987) is written with the author's customary ease and economy, full of his snappy dialogue, a cast of interesting characters, and a plot that picks up pace along the way.

The story begins with a corpse, in a place where death is everyday business. We are in a mortuary in New Orleans and two men are working on a road traffic victim. The scene is set with some rapid fire dialogue between the two men as they work on the body. Or rather while one man works on it, while the other watches evasively.

The evasive one is Jack Delaney, just turned forty, a one-time fashion model who ended up doing time in Angola penitentiary for burglary, and now working for his brother-in-law Leo Mullen who got him an early release through the rehabilitation programme by offering him a job as assistant in his funeral director's business.

It is clear from the start that Jack has not put his criminal past completely behind him. First there is the body that has appeared that day on the mortuary slab, and which Jack recognises as an acquaintance from his wild years. Then there is the revelation that he has been socialising with red-headed Helene, another character from his criminal past.

Soon Jack is on his way to the leper colony in Carville in the company of a nun, Sister Lucy, only the body they are going to collect in the hearse is not a dead one. And Sister Lucy, in her Calvin Klein jeans and heels, appears very well-attired for a woman of the cloth.

This is a slow-burner by Leonard's standards and the story takes a while to ignite. The plot has a conventional, linear structure - very different to the author's usual cross-cutting chapters that leap between characters and locations before bringing all the strands together.

Written in the late 1980s, Leonard draws on the wars of Central America of the late 20th century - the conflicts in Nicaragua, Honduras - as a background to the contemporary story, introducing themes of responsibility and morality that have been lacking in Jack's life. There is more than a touch of bitterness in the way Leonard remarks on the USA's involvement in those dirty little wars in Central America. He does not spare his American readers the uncomfortable truths of US foreign policy and how it supported the most vicious and inhuman parties in those struggles. Leonard is angry, very angry, as he writes of the atrocities the US financed in Nicaragua in the name of anti-Communism.

The bad guys are often the most interesting characters in Leonard's crime novels and he keeps us waiting to meet the villain of this story. Bertie - Colonel Dagoberto Godoy Diaz - is an officer who served the deposed Nicaraguan dictator Somoza and he has a personal interest in the girl that Jack and Lucy have taken out of Carville. He is on their case, while visiting the States to raise funds for his army of contras still fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Lucy's father, a wealthy oil tycoon, could be just the man to help him.

It is almost a third of the way into the story before we meet Colonel Diaz and we are left in no doubt about what Jack and Lucy are up against. The Colonel has the CIA and some smooth operators working on his side and Jack is going to need help from some people from his criminal past, so he calls on a couple of bandits: ex-cop Roy Hicks, whom Jack knew in Angola, and old lag Tom Cullen, recently released from a 27 year stretch into the care of a nursing home. This unlikely wild bunch have a chance of redemption, of using their criminal skills for the force of good against evil. But with their criminal backgrounds, will they stay as the good guys or succumb to the temptation of more than two million dollars?

I love this novel's New Orleans setting, the familiar street names and locales. I love the anecdotes that Leonard drops in to fill out the main characters' back-stories, each one a short story in itself. I love the way that Leonard will follow a plot thread and character for a while before leaving it and moving off in an entirely different direction. I love how this leaves the story open to so many possibilities, not just with the bandits' quest to steal the Colonel's funds but also in their relationships with each other.

The story builds to its climax, with some twists and turns along the way, raising our anticipation like watching a car bomb primed to go off. It ends as it begins, with a live body being transported in a hearse. But we have come a long way in between, and so too have his characters. 'Bandits' is not up there with Leonard's best novels, but it is a thoroughly good read. Take a trip in Jack's hearse: it is a journey worth taking.

[Craig Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I heard Elmore Leonard died, I went digging through my stack of old thrillers looking for his books that I'd read long ago. Every single title I remembered the plot -- except this one. So I pulled it out and started reading.

Jack Delaney is a former New Orleans hotel thief who spent time in prison and is now eking out a living helping his brother-in-law Leo at a funeral home. This book has one of Leonard's best openings ever, with Leo asking Jack to go pick up a body at the Louisiana leper colony, and that ultimately pulling Jack into a wacky plan to rob a Nicaraguan colonel raising money for the contras.

Leonard's trademarks are all in evidence here: deep research, vivid characters, funny dialogue, meandering plot. There's also his occasionally distracting/disturbing habit of referring to black characters as "colored," which I've never understood. While it's still clearly a thriller, the book has a somewhat leisurely pace and delves more deeply into social issues -- i.e., U.S. support for the contras vs. the Sandinistas and what that means -- than most of his other books.

All in all a satisfying read, although the ending is a bit of a letdown and I can see why it didn't seem all that memorable. Now I want to hunt for other Leonard books that I might have forgotten and discover them all over again.

[Verge Noir · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like your novels driven by mostly snap-crackling dialogue, you've found the master in Elmore Leonard and in this book published in 1987 at the height of the Nicaraguan conflict between the Sandinistas and the--then U. S. backed Contras. Mr. Leonard really shines. Then again I'm a fan so yeah.

Former Hotel thief Jack Delaney works as a morticians assistant, who's been sent to pick up a body but the body ain't really dead. Enter a former nun who used to work at a lepers hospital in Nicaragua and now wants to let loose and pinch some moola from ex-Coronel Dagoberto Godoy who's in New Orleans to collect funds for the war down there, from rich oil barons, and Republican politicos; armed with a sign and sealed letter of high praises from the champion of anti-communism himself president Ronald Reagan.

Despite the fact that this book was published a while back, the story has a fresh feel to it with believable characters that make for a very satisfying ride.

Reading this book in that unique style of his; Mr. Leonard reminds me that its all about the journey not the destination.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think of Leonard as a member of the hardboiled trifecta, along with Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. On the no-nonsense, world-weary, word-clipping characters front, Leonard did well. I know I can learn from his dialogue and ability to set a scene in a few words.

As far as actually telling a story... I was disappointed. So many potentially tense scenes were totally deflated, either because they were narrated by a character in the aftermath or they were too abrupt for me to figure out the significance of what was happening until it was over. And talk about an inactive protagonist. As said protagonist points out near the end, "We didn't do anything." Maybe that was the point - neither the "good guys" nor the "bad guys" win, they just have front row seats to watch "justice" unfold.

On the plus side, that justice involves a nun and a guy named "Franklin of God" heading to Nicaragua with two million bucks to build a hospital for lepers. Next time make them the protagonists. That's a story I'd read.

[Zany · Rating 4 out of 5]

You won't believe the zany, madcap hi-jinks that ensue when these people, each with their own selfish agenda, accidentally cross paths and become unlikely allies. What? What are the odds that something like this would ever happen? It's a good thing we've got you, Elmore Leonard, here to document such shenanigans. Pretty good stuff, guy. I even chuckled a few times. Your stories have wit. And wit matters. Thanks guy!

[Laura Martone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe it's taken me this long to read an Elmore Leonard story, especially given how fond I am of the films Get Shorty and Out of Sight, not to mention the show Justified. With sharp dialogue, engaging characters, and a streamlined plot, this is definitely a crime novel worth savoring - and it doesn't hurt that it takes place in New Orleans, my favorite American city.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three people find a stash of several million dollars. The ex-con, ex-cop, and former nun develop a plan to try to hang on to the money.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

only one word for this book STUPID

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has it all. Louisiana, Nicaragua, ex cons, ex nuns, oilmen, mortuaries. I really enjoyed it. Plenty of chuckles.

[Betty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh... I felt this book would never end. Finally about 1/2 through it I quit. BORING BORING BORING.

[Leew49 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Delaney, ex-jewel thief and ex-con, is working in a New Orleans mortuary as one of the terms of his parole. Less than enthusiastic at being sent to pick up a body at a leper hospital, his attitude quickly changes when he discovers (a) the "body" is very much alive young woman named Amelita, and (b) it is accompanied by a very attractive and idealistic ex-nun named Lucy. Lucy's mission is to protect Amelita from her former lover, a Nicaraguan contra colonel named Dagoberto Godoy. Once Amelita has been put safely on a plane to Los Angeles, Jack and Lucy turn their attention to another important fact about Gadoy: he is collecting money--about $2 million--to support the contras, and that money could go a long way toward rebuilding a leper hospital in Nicaragua that Gadoy destroyed. With the assistance of two of Jack's prison acquaintances and a former girlfriend, they develop what can only be described as a constantly evolving scheme to steal the money.

Leonard's narration is almost like an added character in the story: a worldly, somewhat sardonic observer who gets inside everyone's head and gives the reader a constantly shifting view of people and events. Dialogue and sense of location have always been two of Leonard's strong points, and this novel is no exception. Both Lucy and Jack go through some major changes in perception and philosophy, but the real surprise--and key to the plot--is a laconic Miskito Indian whom no one fully understands and whom everyone underestimates.