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City Primeval
'As gritty and hard-driving a thriller as you'll find . . . The action never stops, the language sings and stings' Washington Post
Clement Mansell knows how easy it is to get away with murder. The crazed killer is back on the Detroit streets - thanks to some nifty courtroom moves by his lawyer - and this time he's feeling invincible enough to execute a crooked Motown judge. Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz thinks the 'Oklahoma Wildman' crossed the line long before this latest outrage, and he's determined to see that the psycho does not slip through the legal system's loopholes a second time. But that means a good cop is going to have to play somewhat fast and loose with the rules - in order to manoeuvre Mansell into a showdown that he won't be walking away from.
Clement Mansell knows how easy it is to get away with murder. The crazed killer is back on the Detroit streets - thanks to some nifty courtroom moves by his lawyer - and this time he's feeling invincible enough to execute a crooked Motown judge. Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz thinks the 'Oklahoma Wildman' crossed the line long before this latest outrage, and he's determined to see that the psycho does not slip through the legal system's loopholes a second time. But that means a good cop is going to have to play somewhat fast and loose with the rules - in order to manoeuvre Mansell into a showdown that he won't be walking away from.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1980
881 people are currently reading
3030 people want to read
About the author
Elmore Leonard
211 books3,700 followersElmore 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.
Father of Peter Leonard.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 363 reviews
April 10, 2013
Career criminal Clement Mansell killed a crooked judge and the only witness to the crime, the judge's girlfriend. Now, detective Raymond Cruz is trying to pin the crime on Clement but Clement is the slipperiest of worms. Cruz and Clement are heading for a showdown that only one of them will walk away from...
As of this writing, I've read 15 Elmore Leonard novels. Many of them have the same sort of rhythm. The bad guys are slick, the good guys are slicker, and you wind up liking most of them to some degree. This one doesn't quite fit in that mold.
The characters drive the story in City Primeval. Roger Cruz, the divorced detective trying to make his squad take him seriously, and Clement Mansell, the career criminal who might just be too slick for his own good, contrast one another nicely. The interaction between the pair make this cop story feel more like a modern western than anything else. Unlike a lot of Leonard antagonists, I couldn't wait for Mansell's has to get settled. He was a reprehensible worm and I had the literary equivalent of a screaming orgasm when he finally met his fate.
The supporting cast was a little light on personality but the two lead female supporting cast members contrasted one another almost as well as Cruz and Clement. Sandy was a pothead who lived in fear of Clement while Carolyn was a tough lady lawyer who was reluctant to let herself need anyone.
The writing was still Leonard's standard style but with a coldness where much of the humor would normally be. Of all the Elmore Leonard's I've read, this one would be the only one that I could see being at home in the Hard Case Crime series.
No complaints on this one. It was quick and breezy and a slight departure from Leonard's normal fare. Four easy stars.
Also posted at Shelf Inflicted
As of this writing, I've read 15 Elmore Leonard novels. Many of them have the same sort of rhythm. The bad guys are slick, the good guys are slicker, and you wind up liking most of them to some degree. This one doesn't quite fit in that mold.
The characters drive the story in City Primeval. Roger Cruz, the divorced detective trying to make his squad take him seriously, and Clement Mansell, the career criminal who might just be too slick for his own good, contrast one another nicely. The interaction between the pair make this cop story feel more like a modern western than anything else. Unlike a lot of Leonard antagonists, I couldn't wait for Mansell's has to get settled. He was a reprehensible worm and I had the literary equivalent of a screaming orgasm when he finally met his fate.
The supporting cast was a little light on personality but the two lead female supporting cast members contrasted one another almost as well as Cruz and Clement. Sandy was a pothead who lived in fear of Clement while Carolyn was a tough lady lawyer who was reluctant to let herself need anyone.
The writing was still Leonard's standard style but with a coldness where much of the humor would normally be. Of all the Elmore Leonard's I've read, this one would be the only one that I could see being at home in the Hard Case Crime series.
No complaints on this one. It was quick and breezy and a slight departure from Leonard's normal fare. Four easy stars.
Also posted at Shelf Inflicted
November 29, 2023
A strange one
A really evil, no conscience, bad guy who likes killing people is called the Oklahoma Wildman. As many people as he has killed and as many crimes as he has committed, he keeps getting away with it. He goes to court and walks.
Acting police lieutenant Raymond Cruz finally comes up with ideas to stop him. But will any of them work?
Even though this novel does not mention either Rayland Givens or the U.S. Marshals Service, I understand that it is the inspiration for the latest Justified programs.
A really evil, no conscience, bad guy who likes killing people is called the Oklahoma Wildman. As many people as he has killed and as many crimes as he has committed, he keeps getting away with it. He goes to court and walks.
Acting police lieutenant Raymond Cruz finally comes up with ideas to stop him. But will any of them work?
Even though this novel does not mention either Rayland Givens or the U.S. Marshals Service, I understand that it is the inspiration for the latest Justified programs.
November 25, 2025
A Western In Detroit
The American novelist Elmore Leonard (1925 -- 2013) began his career as a writer of genre westerns but achieved greater renown as a writer of crime fiction. Leonard's crime novels have many different settings but none more so than Detroit, his beloved home. Leonard's is a poet of Detroit streets in much that same way that the noir writer David Goodis has become known as the poet of the underside of Philadelphia.
Leonard's 17th novel, "City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit" (1980) captures the streets of Detroit, the city's corruption and violence, and its law enforcement officers. The subtitle "High Noon" of course refers to the famous 1952 western that starred Gary Cooper as the aging Marshall Will Kane of the small town of Hadleyville, Territory of New Mexico who has cleared the town of its outlaws. Marshall Kane is forced to confront a gang of thugs that have returned for vengeance after their release from prison. Kane is about to be married and retire and he seeks help from the townspeople. With everyone cowed and afraid, Marshall Kane must confront the outlaws alone in a large gunfight in the climactic scene of the movie. With the killing of the outlaws, the town is able to move on and to prosper as a cohesive community.
As is "High Noon", "City Primeval" is a story of law and community. Leonard wrote the novel after spending time following the Detroit Police Department and writing a favorable newspaper article about its efforts in fighting crime. With its communal, self-effacing efforts in protecting a large, troubled city, the Detroit Police Department is the hero of Leonard's novel. The book has some characteristics of a police procedural but is deepened by the conflict between a police office and the criminal.
In Leonard's book, the major police officer, Lieutenant Raymond Cruz, takes the fight against evil personally and outside the law in his pursuit of the crazed but fascinating killer Clement Mansell, the "Oklahoma Wildman". Leonard's novel is a confrontation between Cruz and Mansell, as "High Noon" was a confrontation between Marshall Kane and the outlaws who have returned to plague the town of Hadleyville. Cruz kills the Oklahoma Wildman but in the process goes outside the law and throws away the careful police work done by his staff and others in the police department. The Wildman was deprived of his life and of the opportunity for a fair trial. The course of the law, not the actions of a committed but vigilante police officer, is the manner, the novel suggests, in which law and peace may be established and Detroit, the "City Primeval", may overcome its difficult days and become a thriving, united community whose citizens may pursue their own paths for life and happiness.
In addition to the conflict between the vigilante lawman and the bad outlaw, the book focuses the the characters' relationship to women. Mansell is involved with the sexy 23-year old Sandy Stanton, a lost individual and a marijuana user who is also the girlfriend of an Albanian immigrant that Mansell wants to hit for his money. Cruz is divorced. As the novel proceeds he becomes involved with Carolyn Wilder, the seemingly cold and brilliant criminal defense attorney who has been representing Mansell. These relationships, and the backstories of the characters, receive development in Leonard's telling.
The streets, places, and music of late 1970s Detroit are at the center of the story as Leonard describes the toughness and violence of his city. The book illustrates Leonard's inimitable writing style, with its sharp observations, preciseness, and, especially, has ear for speech patterns and dialogue. The characters come to life through their words.
The western influence is strong in "City Primeval". The book differs from the later works of Leonard in its sharply gritty, menacing focus and its portrayal of a tense struggle between the police department, the lawman acting outside his duty, and an outlaw. Many of Leonard's later books involve crime and low life, but they also have a lightness and sense of humor about them that (with the exception of some sharply funny dialogue passages) is largely absent from "City Primeval". This book takes the fight between good and evil more seriously and tensely. I enjoyed the lightness of Leonard's later writings but I found "City Primeval" more gripping.
I have been enjoying getting to know Leonard's writings and think "City Primeval" and its portrait of Detroit, the police department, and of good guys and bad guys is among his better works. There is a good deal to be learned in our current troubled times from this book in its discussion of the nature of law and community. The book is included in a Library of America compilation of four Elmore Leonard novels from the 1980s.
Robin Friedman
The American novelist Elmore Leonard (1925 -- 2013) began his career as a writer of genre westerns but achieved greater renown as a writer of crime fiction. Leonard's crime novels have many different settings but none more so than Detroit, his beloved home. Leonard's is a poet of Detroit streets in much that same way that the noir writer David Goodis has become known as the poet of the underside of Philadelphia.
Leonard's 17th novel, "City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit" (1980) captures the streets of Detroit, the city's corruption and violence, and its law enforcement officers. The subtitle "High Noon" of course refers to the famous 1952 western that starred Gary Cooper as the aging Marshall Will Kane of the small town of Hadleyville, Territory of New Mexico who has cleared the town of its outlaws. Marshall Kane is forced to confront a gang of thugs that have returned for vengeance after their release from prison. Kane is about to be married and retire and he seeks help from the townspeople. With everyone cowed and afraid, Marshall Kane must confront the outlaws alone in a large gunfight in the climactic scene of the movie. With the killing of the outlaws, the town is able to move on and to prosper as a cohesive community.
As is "High Noon", "City Primeval" is a story of law and community. Leonard wrote the novel after spending time following the Detroit Police Department and writing a favorable newspaper article about its efforts in fighting crime. With its communal, self-effacing efforts in protecting a large, troubled city, the Detroit Police Department is the hero of Leonard's novel. The book has some characteristics of a police procedural but is deepened by the conflict between a police office and the criminal.
In Leonard's book, the major police officer, Lieutenant Raymond Cruz, takes the fight against evil personally and outside the law in his pursuit of the crazed but fascinating killer Clement Mansell, the "Oklahoma Wildman". Leonard's novel is a confrontation between Cruz and Mansell, as "High Noon" was a confrontation between Marshall Kane and the outlaws who have returned to plague the town of Hadleyville. Cruz kills the Oklahoma Wildman but in the process goes outside the law and throws away the careful police work done by his staff and others in the police department. The Wildman was deprived of his life and of the opportunity for a fair trial. The course of the law, not the actions of a committed but vigilante police officer, is the manner, the novel suggests, in which law and peace may be established and Detroit, the "City Primeval", may overcome its difficult days and become a thriving, united community whose citizens may pursue their own paths for life and happiness.
In addition to the conflict between the vigilante lawman and the bad outlaw, the book focuses the the characters' relationship to women. Mansell is involved with the sexy 23-year old Sandy Stanton, a lost individual and a marijuana user who is also the girlfriend of an Albanian immigrant that Mansell wants to hit for his money. Cruz is divorced. As the novel proceeds he becomes involved with Carolyn Wilder, the seemingly cold and brilliant criminal defense attorney who has been representing Mansell. These relationships, and the backstories of the characters, receive development in Leonard's telling.
The streets, places, and music of late 1970s Detroit are at the center of the story as Leonard describes the toughness and violence of his city. The book illustrates Leonard's inimitable writing style, with its sharp observations, preciseness, and, especially, has ear for speech patterns and dialogue. The characters come to life through their words.
The western influence is strong in "City Primeval". The book differs from the later works of Leonard in its sharply gritty, menacing focus and its portrayal of a tense struggle between the police department, the lawman acting outside his duty, and an outlaw. Many of Leonard's later books involve crime and low life, but they also have a lightness and sense of humor about them that (with the exception of some sharply funny dialogue passages) is largely absent from "City Primeval". This book takes the fight between good and evil more seriously and tensely. I enjoyed the lightness of Leonard's later writings but I found "City Primeval" more gripping.
I have been enjoying getting to know Leonard's writings and think "City Primeval" and its portrait of Detroit, the police department, and of good guys and bad guys is among his better works. There is a good deal to be learned in our current troubled times from this book in its discussion of the nature of law and community. The book is included in a Library of America compilation of four Elmore Leonard novels from the 1980s.
Robin Friedman
April 3, 2022
Clement Mansell styles himself as the "Oklahoma Wildman," and he openly boasts of having killed at least nine people. Prosecutors had him dead to rights for a triple murder, but his clever attorney, Carolyn Wilder, managed to get him off on a technicality. Now Mansell has killed a judge that pretty much everybody hated after an incident of road rage. He's also killed the judge's girlfriend, but there's no concrete evidence to tie him to the killings.
Veteran Detroit homicide detective Raymond Cruz, knows that Mansell is guilty as sin, and Cruz is frustrated beyond belief that he can't get the evidence to prove it. What results then is a long-running game of cat and mouse in which Cruz attempts trap Mansell while the Oklahoma Wildman keeps dancing away from him, assisted by Carolyn Wilder.
Elmore Leonard was incapable of writing a bad book, but this is not among his best. Leonard's novels are always driven more by great, often very sleazy characters and fantastic dialogue, rather than by plot. In this case, though, neither the characters nor the dialogue is up to Leonard's usual standards, at least in my opinion. Where most of his novels sparkle with great writing, captivating characters, and dark humor, City Primeval seems a bit leaden. I enjoyed it, but I expected more from one of the greatest authors in the genre.
Veteran Detroit homicide detective Raymond Cruz, knows that Mansell is guilty as sin, and Cruz is frustrated beyond belief that he can't get the evidence to prove it. What results then is a long-running game of cat and mouse in which Cruz attempts trap Mansell while the Oklahoma Wildman keeps dancing away from him, assisted by Carolyn Wilder.
Elmore Leonard was incapable of writing a bad book, but this is not among his best. Leonard's novels are always driven more by great, often very sleazy characters and fantastic dialogue, rather than by plot. In this case, though, neither the characters nor the dialogue is up to Leonard's usual standards, at least in my opinion. Where most of his novels sparkle with great writing, captivating characters, and dark humor, City Primeval seems a bit leaden. I enjoyed it, but I expected more from one of the greatest authors in the genre.
March 14, 2016
"Fight, bleep, or hold the flashlight"
- Elmore Leonard, "Impressions of a Murder"
This novel was tight as a futtock shroud, smooth as Mai Noi silk, sharp as the turns on Col de Braus, and hard as a boiled egg. I finish reading Elmore Leonard and I want to be him, just for a second. Now look: Chandler, Cain and Hammett are absolutely the Holy Trinity of crime; the Father, Son and Holy Ghosts of Noir. Leonard, however, is both the Word and death's echo. He is the ultimate end, the great inevitable, the voice in the void. His dialogue alone would be scary in its perfection, but you drape that shit on his plot and it is magical.
He sets this novel up from the title. City Primeval' was inspired by both 'High Noon' and Leonard's early Western fixation and Leonard's own work with The Detroit News and writing a piece called "Impressions of a murder" that he wrote for The Detroit News Sunday Magazine. Anyway, there really wasn't anything I didn't love here.
- Elmore Leonard, "Impressions of a Murder"
This novel was tight as a futtock shroud, smooth as Mai Noi silk, sharp as the turns on Col de Braus, and hard as a boiled egg. I finish reading Elmore Leonard and I want to be him, just for a second. Now look: Chandler, Cain and Hammett are absolutely the Holy Trinity of crime; the Father, Son and Holy Ghosts of Noir. Leonard, however, is both the Word and death's echo. He is the ultimate end, the great inevitable, the voice in the void. His dialogue alone would be scary in its perfection, but you drape that shit on his plot and it is magical.
He sets this novel up from the title. City Primeval' was inspired by both 'High Noon' and Leonard's early Western fixation and Leonard's own work with The Detroit News and writing a piece called "Impressions of a murder" that he wrote for The Detroit News Sunday Magazine. Anyway, there really wasn't anything I didn't love here.
March 17, 2019
-Suficiente, nada más.-
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Ciudad salvaje (publicación original: City Primeval, 1980) y en Detroit, Clement Mansell asesina a un antiguo juez, junto a la mujer que lo acompañaba, mientras intentaba trabajar en una clase distinta de delito. El juez siempre estuvo bajo el punto de mira de policía y justicia por su comportamiento y sentencias, así que la investigación, con el detective Raymond Cruz al frente, valora la posibilidad de un ajuste de cuentas. Pero las pistas pronto conducen hacia Clement, también conocido de la policía y que se ha salido con la suya en varias ocasiones.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Ciudad salvaje (publicación original: City Primeval, 1980) y en Detroit, Clement Mansell asesina a un antiguo juez, junto a la mujer que lo acompañaba, mientras intentaba trabajar en una clase distinta de delito. El juez siempre estuvo bajo el punto de mira de policía y justicia por su comportamiento y sentencias, así que la investigación, con el detective Raymond Cruz al frente, valora la posibilidad de un ajuste de cuentas. Pero las pistas pronto conducen hacia Clement, también conocido de la policía y que se ha salido con la suya en varias ocasiones.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...
January 25, 2018
I first fell in love with Elmore Leonard's writing while reading his early Westerns. The settings were so vivid it was as if he had transported himself to the location and was describing every dust mote and atmospheric shift. The characters had such authentic voices; there was never any confusion about who was speaking, and he had an uncanny ear for patois.
Leonard displays these same features in this book. Here is Detroit, viewed from the 25th floor of a luxury condo: “The Detroit River looked like any big city river with worn-out industrial workers and warehouses lining the frontage, ore boats and ocean freighters passing by, a view of Windsor across the way that looked about as much fun as Moline, Illinois, except for the giant illuminated Canadian Club sign over the distillery.” (p.53) Leonard provides plenty of description of Detroit at street level as well, with special attention to the cars that traverse them, as befitting a story set in “Motor City.”
The characters are gritty. Leonard opens with an oblique glimpse of the soon to be late Judge Alvin Guy. It's a masterpiece of understatement, a series of deadpan reports of flagrant misconduct related in the measured cadences of officialdom. One of them relates Judge Guy boasting of sleeping with a co-defendant up for trial. “Sgt. Robinson was quite surprised and chagrined to hear a judge boasting of his sexual participation with a former criminal defendant. As a result, Robinson prepared a memorandum about the incident which he forwarded to his superiors. The respondent learned of this memorandum and exhibited his vindictiveness by improper and heavy-handed efforts to impair Robinson's credibility....” (p.3) Needless to say, few tears are shed when the judge is murdered. Raymond Cruz even suggests with a straight face that the police should have dumped the body off at a neighboring precinct to spare his unit the bother of an investigation.
Rounding out the characters are a violent psychopath named Clement Mansell, his not-so-bright but oddly sympathetic girlfriend Sandy, a tough-minded, sexy defense attorney named Caroline Wilder, and a naïve Albanian mark, Skender Lulgjaraj.
There's a bit of the romantic in Lieutenant Raymond Cruz. How else to explain his misjudgment of dinner with a reporter. He assumes its a date. It's really a confrontational interview. Cruz is divorced. Why couldn't he make his marriage work? Emotionally unavailable? Her accusation that he views himself as the stereotypical Western lawman contains the smallest grain of truth: “You relate to that, don't you? The no-bullshit Old West lawman?” (p.26) Cruz is annoyed but can't shake the comparison, which will reverberate throughout the story.
Being a homicide investigator is isolating and Leonard finds just the right way to convey that aspect as well. The reporter seizes on Cruz's taciturn demeanor. Too macho. “Raymond thought of the girl from the News and said [to his partner Wendell], 'You tell your wife what you do?' Now Wendell was frowning. 'What I do? You mean tell her everything? Do I look like I want to get shot with my own gun?'” (p.65) No one does a better job with dialogue than Elmore Leonard.
Leonard displays these same features in this book. Here is Detroit, viewed from the 25th floor of a luxury condo: “The Detroit River looked like any big city river with worn-out industrial workers and warehouses lining the frontage, ore boats and ocean freighters passing by, a view of Windsor across the way that looked about as much fun as Moline, Illinois, except for the giant illuminated Canadian Club sign over the distillery.” (p.53) Leonard provides plenty of description of Detroit at street level as well, with special attention to the cars that traverse them, as befitting a story set in “Motor City.”
The characters are gritty. Leonard opens with an oblique glimpse of the soon to be late Judge Alvin Guy. It's a masterpiece of understatement, a series of deadpan reports of flagrant misconduct related in the measured cadences of officialdom. One of them relates Judge Guy boasting of sleeping with a co-defendant up for trial. “Sgt. Robinson was quite surprised and chagrined to hear a judge boasting of his sexual participation with a former criminal defendant. As a result, Robinson prepared a memorandum about the incident which he forwarded to his superiors. The respondent learned of this memorandum and exhibited his vindictiveness by improper and heavy-handed efforts to impair Robinson's credibility....” (p.3) Needless to say, few tears are shed when the judge is murdered. Raymond Cruz even suggests with a straight face that the police should have dumped the body off at a neighboring precinct to spare his unit the bother of an investigation.
Rounding out the characters are a violent psychopath named Clement Mansell, his not-so-bright but oddly sympathetic girlfriend Sandy, a tough-minded, sexy defense attorney named Caroline Wilder, and a naïve Albanian mark, Skender Lulgjaraj.
There's a bit of the romantic in Lieutenant Raymond Cruz. How else to explain his misjudgment of dinner with a reporter. He assumes its a date. It's really a confrontational interview. Cruz is divorced. Why couldn't he make his marriage work? Emotionally unavailable? Her accusation that he views himself as the stereotypical Western lawman contains the smallest grain of truth: “You relate to that, don't you? The no-bullshit Old West lawman?” (p.26) Cruz is annoyed but can't shake the comparison, which will reverberate throughout the story.
Being a homicide investigator is isolating and Leonard finds just the right way to convey that aspect as well. The reporter seizes on Cruz's taciturn demeanor. Too macho. “Raymond thought of the girl from the News and said [to his partner Wendell], 'You tell your wife what you do?' Now Wendell was frowning. 'What I do? You mean tell her everything? Do I look like I want to get shot with my own gun?'” (p.65) No one does a better job with dialogue than Elmore Leonard.
October 5, 2019
Please allow me to consider this novel a test-run for a proto-Raylan Givens character.
The lead character in this novel is named Raymond Cruz, told often enough by other characters throughout that he resembles Gregory Peck in the classic Western THE GUNFIGHTER.
Cruz sports a mustache and when we first meet him (page 11), he's being interviewed by a young female newspaper reporter for a feature that is never referenced again. Cruz will contrast other young women he encounters throughout the book with this reporter but we never know how the article or feature turns out.
The bad guy in this one is Clement Mansell, "The Oklahoma Wildman" -a proto-Boyd Crowder, though not half as likeable as Boyd. A thrill killer we meet in the first few pages. Like Raymond Cruz, he's an anachronism from the 19th century ...both men out of the Wild West originally and now partially settled among the city folk on the streets of Detroit.
Clement Mansell has a few nice moments. One recalling his mother who was sucked away by a tornado while trying to make it to the storm cellar from her backyard, her body never recovered.
Another fine moment is when he's being interrogated by Raymond Cruz at the station:
There's another fine Clement Mansell anecdote about the time he was run over by a train back in Oklahoma and lived. But, uncharacteristically for Elmore Leonard, what could have been a nice, brief paragraph or two becomes a page and a half on how this incident helped prepare Clement for holding his cool during and after crime sprees.
This novel also contains one of the most embarrassingly written sex scenes I've ever encountered:
To quote Daffy Duck: "YECCHHHH!"
This novel was a disappointment for me.
I'd originally given this five stars but had to knock it down a star.
Very talky and lacking in the usual clever repartee between characters, it features only intermittent action with occasional mayhem and violence. Way too many characters to keep up with. Superior to most other crime-thrillers of the era, but it's not up to what I've come to expect from Elmore Leonard. Previous non-Westerns from this era are superior to this, yet at one time it was my second-favorite Elmore Leonard novel.
The lead character in this novel is named Raymond Cruz, told often enough by other characters throughout that he resembles Gregory Peck in the classic Western THE GUNFIGHTER.
Cruz sports a mustache and when we first meet him (page 11), he's being interviewed by a young female newspaper reporter for a feature that is never referenced again. Cruz will contrast other young women he encounters throughout the book with this reporter but we never know how the article or feature turns out.
She was annoyed and for a moment he felt good about it. But it was a satisfaction he didn't need and he said, "What're you mad at?"
"I think you're still playing a role," the girl said. "You did the Serpico thing in Narcotics. You thought Vice was fun---"
"I said some funny things happened."
"Now you're into a another role, the Lieutenant of Homicide."
"Acting Lieutenant. I'm filling in."
"I want to ask you about that. How old are you?"
"Thirty-six."
"Yeah, that's what it said in your file, but you don't look that old. Tell me... how do you get along with the guys in your squad?"
"Fine. Why?"
"Do you ... handle them without any trouble?"
"What do you mean, 'handle them'?"
"You don't seem very forceful to me."
Tell her you have to go to the Men's, Raymond thought.
"Too mild mannered--" She stopped and then said with some enthusiasm, making a great discovery, "That's it-- you're trying to look older, aren't you? The big mustache, conservative navy-blue suit-- but you know how you come off?"
"How?"
"Like someone posing in an old tintype photo, old timey."
Raymond leaned on the table, interested. "No kidding, that's what you see?"
"Like you're trying to look like young Wyatt Earp," the girl from the News said, watching him closely. "You relate to that, don't you? The no-bullshit Old West lawman."
The bad guy in this one is Clement Mansell, "The Oklahoma Wildman" -a proto-Boyd Crowder, though not half as likeable as Boyd. A thrill killer we meet in the first few pages. Like Raymond Cruz, he's an anachronism from the 19th century ...both men out of the Wild West originally and now partially settled among the city folk on the streets of Detroit.
Clement Mansell has a few nice moments. One recalling his mother who was sucked away by a tornado while trying to make it to the storm cellar from her backyard, her body never recovered.
Another fine moment is when he's being interrogated by Raymond Cruz at the station:
Clement didn't say anything.
"I don't mean to pry," Raymond said. "You arouse my curiosity." He sat back in Norb Bryl's stiff swivel chair and placed his legs on the corner of the desk. "It's interesting what you said, like it's a game. Cops and robbers. A different life that's got nothing to do with anybody else."
"Less we need 'em," Clement said. "Then you get into victims and witnesses. Use who you can."
"But what it comes down to," Raymond said, "what it's all about, I mean, is just you and me, huh?"
"That's it, partner".
"Some other time -- I mean a long time ago, we might have settled this between us. I mean if we each took the situation personally."
"Or if we thought it'd be fun," Clement said. "You married?"
It took Raymond by surprise. "I was."
"You got a family? Kids?"
"No."
"So you get bored, don't have nothing to do and you put more time in on the job."
Raymond didn't say anything. He waited, looking at the wall clock. It was 11:15.
Clement said, "You ever shoot anybody?"
"Well ...not lately."
[skipping down the page a paragraph or two]
Clement said, "Yeah?" and let his gaze move around the squad room before returning to Raymond Cruz, sitting with his feet on the desk. "Say you're pretty good with it, huh?"
Raymond shrugged. "I qualify every year."
"Yeah?" Clement paused staring at Raymond now. "Be something we had us a shooting match, wouldn't it?"
"I know a range out in Royal Oak," Raymond said. "It's in the basement of a hardware store."
"I'm not talking about any range," Clement said, staring at Raymond. "I was thinking out on the street." He paused for effect. "Like when you least expect."
"I'll ask my inspector," Raymond said, "see if it's okay."
"You won't do nothing of the kind," Clement said, "cause you know I'm not kidding."
There's another fine Clement Mansell anecdote about the time he was run over by a train back in Oklahoma and lived. But, uncharacteristically for Elmore Leonard, what could have been a nice, brief paragraph or two becomes a page and a half on how this incident helped prepare Clement for holding his cool during and after crime sprees.
This novel also contains one of the most embarrassingly written sex scenes I've ever encountered:
They made love in a bed with white sheets and a dark oak headboard that towered to the ceiling. They made love almost at once, as though they missed each other so much they couldn't wait, hands moving, learning quickly, and when he entered her she breathed a sound of relief he had never heard before- even in the beds with decorator pillows and designer sheets, with the girls who would groan dramatic obscenities -none of them came out of themselves the way Carolyn did.
To quote Daffy Duck: "YECCHHHH!"
This novel was a disappointment for me.
I'd originally given this five stars but had to knock it down a star.
Very talky and lacking in the usual clever repartee between characters, it features only intermittent action with occasional mayhem and violence. Way too many characters to keep up with. Superior to most other crime-thrillers of the era, but it's not up to what I've come to expect from Elmore Leonard. Previous non-Westerns from this era are superior to this, yet at one time it was my second-favorite Elmore Leonard novel.
January 13, 2024
City Primeval is a weaker Leornard novel. All the signature components of his work are here, but they never quite gel into the unforgettable experience that his better novels possess. This is probably due to the normalness of the characters. There’s the Detroit detective who is conservative in behavior, there’s the gorgeous and competent female lawyer that is also conservative in behavior, and then there’s the wild, out-of-left-field, criminal that is a bit too smart to be truly wild. All this adds up to an Elmore Leornard novel that never gets off the ground into that realm of human decision and indecision that happens in the moment, in response to circumstances at the time. The best of Leonard's novels make you feel like you are flying through life as opposed to City Primeval, which has you walking along Earth's surface the entire time.
July 2, 2017
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of a good salary and a smart house, must be in want of a bonkfest from someone in the law enforcement business.
And she duly gets one around the halfway point in this novel, so we have a couple of paragraphs featuring words like arching and thrusting and gasps and so forth.
It’s another universal truth that authors believe to their very soul that the hero and the bad guy have to have a one on one showdown. Elmore Leonard almost sends up this cliché by subtitling his novel "High Noon in Detroit". But nevertheless it’s played totally straight in the end.
The thing is, you can’t have the Sheriff of Nottingham shot in the back by some lowly Merry Man, the audience will feel cheated. It has to be Robin Hood who fights the Sheriff, no one else. This universal law of thrillers, crime fiction, fantasy and any other fiction which has any kind of villain is such a terrific bore. It embeds a huge spoiler into the plot from the get-go. It completely denies the messiness and randomness of real life events.
Those are my gripes. Otherwise I was bowled along by Mr Leonard’s high speed linear badman tale, and the famously enjoyable dialogue was all there; it fact it was like an episode of Homicide, one of my all time favourite tv shows. Except with the above clichés added, which they mostly avoided.
3.5 stars.
Elmore Leonard wrote hundreds of these books so I’m looking for a suggestion - which one I should read next?
And she duly gets one around the halfway point in this novel, so we have a couple of paragraphs featuring words like arching and thrusting and gasps and so forth.
It’s another universal truth that authors believe to their very soul that the hero and the bad guy have to have a one on one showdown. Elmore Leonard almost sends up this cliché by subtitling his novel "High Noon in Detroit". But nevertheless it’s played totally straight in the end.
The thing is, you can’t have the Sheriff of Nottingham shot in the back by some lowly Merry Man, the audience will feel cheated. It has to be Robin Hood who fights the Sheriff, no one else. This universal law of thrillers, crime fiction, fantasy and any other fiction which has any kind of villain is such a terrific bore. It embeds a huge spoiler into the plot from the get-go. It completely denies the messiness and randomness of real life events.
Those are my gripes. Otherwise I was bowled along by Mr Leonard’s high speed linear badman tale, and the famously enjoyable dialogue was all there; it fact it was like an episode of Homicide, one of my all time favourite tv shows. Except with the above clichés added, which they mostly avoided.
3.5 stars.
Elmore Leonard wrote hundreds of these books so I’m looking for a suggestion - which one I should read next?
August 5, 2018
This was such a great read.
Elmore Leonard at his very best.
Nobody does dialogue driven plots better than Leonard.
Clement Mansell shoots a Judge for no reason other than the judge got in Mansell’s way. Mansell, who was on his way to commit a crime, got so ticked off when the judge wouldn’t let Mansell pass in his car he decided the judge and his female passenger needed to die. So he shot them both dead.
Mansell is such a complete and utter psychopath no one will testify against him. So he just keeps killing and the police are powerless to do anything about it.
That is until Lt Raymond Cruz decides enough is enough and come what may, legally or otherwise, Mansell is going down,
Cruz puts all his efforts into a legal conviction but he soon realises that this is never going to happen. So he turns to far less orthodox methods.
The dialogue between Cruz and Mansell is like sword fencing, it’s all thrust and parry and so full of black humour, it’s a joy to read.
As for the end, well I don’t want to say too much but suffice to say I had a smile on my face when I closed the book at the end.
I found it really hard to put down.
Highly recommended
Elmore Leonard at his very best.
Nobody does dialogue driven plots better than Leonard.
Clement Mansell shoots a Judge for no reason other than the judge got in Mansell’s way. Mansell, who was on his way to commit a crime, got so ticked off when the judge wouldn’t let Mansell pass in his car he decided the judge and his female passenger needed to die. So he shot them both dead.
Mansell is such a complete and utter psychopath no one will testify against him. So he just keeps killing and the police are powerless to do anything about it.
That is until Lt Raymond Cruz decides enough is enough and come what may, legally or otherwise, Mansell is going down,
Cruz puts all his efforts into a legal conviction but he soon realises that this is never going to happen. So he turns to far less orthodox methods.
The dialogue between Cruz and Mansell is like sword fencing, it’s all thrust and parry and so full of black humour, it’s a joy to read.
As for the end, well I don’t want to say too much but suffice to say I had a smile on my face when I closed the book at the end.
I found it really hard to put down.
Highly recommended
January 12, 2025
Back when "prestige TV" was in its adolescent stage, no longer bound to just HBO originals, I told people, like friends and extended family members that I have a thing for morally grey narratives whenever I was given recommendation. As a result, I got Breaking Bad as a recommendation, which was morally grey as fuck as a show can be and represents the idiom "The road to hell is paved with good intention" well though my favourite has to be FX's Justified.
Justified the show is hard to pin down on what it actually is aside from the generic and vague genre classification of crime. It's part neo-western, an apt label considering a lot of former cast members from the western drama series Deadwood also appeared in it while also part noir, Hillbilly Noir to be precise because of the setting but really, the show much like Leonard's writing in general is more congruent with the classification of character driven slice of life stories that just so happened to have crimes in them.
The show ran for six seasons from 2010 to 2015, ending perfectly I might add but has since returned for a mini-series in 2023 adapting one of Leonard's famous novel, City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit with Raylan Givens in place of the novel's protagonist Raymond Cruz. I liked parts of it but overall, I wished it was never made. I've since decided to read the novel the mini-series was based on instead because the novel was talked about in high regard while adding more of Leonard's bibliography into my index.
I know what to do, Then come back for you
Leonard when he writes cops or main characters that are the law enforcement type, they're often as an exploration of the big man, the government and the changes of how law enforcement are enacted as the by product of the changing of time. When they're not the protagonist, they're the racist, the inept or the plain ol' big bully of the authority but when they are the protagonist of the story, they're the jaded, cynical and mirrored truth to the criminals they're chasing. Raymond Cruz, the protagonist is a homicide detective veteran, a Lieutenant in the Detroit Police Department and he's the embodiment of Elmore's jaded lawman and a mirrored truth to the criminal he's chasing, the "Oklahoma Wildman" Clement Mansell.
While I wouldn't say Raymond Cruz a sociopath, he does have moment where I believe this man could have breakdown and tie someone down and uses a car battery as a persuading agent. His good scout act is just for his squad to take him seriously in the position of authority. Clement Mansell sees it just as much as I do that Cruz, is and always will be a door and teeth knocker but now tied down due to the authoritative position he is in. Clement Mansell is however, free to do his worst and is doing so to bring the wildman in Cruz back out.
I haven't got the cash but I'm still guilty of the crime
Part of the mano-o-mano between Cruz and Mansell was because of Detroit PD aggressively going for Mansell over the killing of a loathsome Judge and the woman he was with which happened at the start of the novel. The Detroit PD angle of going after Mansell however was for a prior incident, a triple homicide where the Mansell was able to walked on scot-free because of a mickey-mouse technicality.
I said, "I wish you were a war"
Clement sees Cruz as a partner in his crazy cop and killer game and Cruz doesn't reject the idea. He's doing his job as a lawman, not for the pleasure of nailing people like Clement but is honest enough with himself that he recognise it's personally gratifying to him. Cruz going after criminal like Mansell is the best way to channel his urges to be like criminal he's going after.
The subtitle, High Noon in Detroit is a perfect encapsulation of this novel. It's a neo-western with the lawman and the outlaw going through the grinder betting on themselves and on what they know of each other. It could only ends in one way. Leonard borrowed some noir techniques and applied them to the tried and tested Western tropes to create a stealthy neo-western novel that can only be done by him.
When you zig, I zag, when you zig, I zag I zigzag
In between the craziness of Mansell and Cruz and the subsequent Albanian plot is the main female characters that while light, carried enough to be two dimensional. Sandy is Mansell's paranoid pot using lover who is in a relationship with one of the Albanian immigrant with mob connection. The other woman is Carolyn Wilder, a defense attorney and the will they-won't they dance partner to Cruz. The two women's entanglement with the main men zig-zag nicely between the main plot until they became a variable towards the resolution of the story itself.
If there were something I wished was flushed out more was having more of Cruz's colleagues for him to bounce off with.
It's a different verse but the song is the same
Leonard's prose here is short and sweet with punchy dialogue, often ended midway through like he regularly does but there's a coldness to them. It carries very little sensory or emotional thrills often use to portray lively and vivid settings but spends most of it between the interaction of Cruz and Mansell.
I've been the hunter and I've been the prey
City Primeval is one of Leonard’s best novels after just one reading and one that I can see myself going back to. It's a stealthy neo-western novel tricked by the conventions of noir writing showcasing some great character driven narrative.
Justified the show is hard to pin down on what it actually is aside from the generic and vague genre classification of crime. It's part neo-western, an apt label considering a lot of former cast members from the western drama series Deadwood also appeared in it while also part noir, Hillbilly Noir to be precise because of the setting but really, the show much like Leonard's writing in general is more congruent with the classification of character driven slice of life stories that just so happened to have crimes in them.
The show ran for six seasons from 2010 to 2015, ending perfectly I might add but has since returned for a mini-series in 2023 adapting one of Leonard's famous novel, City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit with Raylan Givens in place of the novel's protagonist Raymond Cruz. I liked parts of it but overall, I wished it was never made. I've since decided to read the novel the mini-series was based on instead because the novel was talked about in high regard while adding more of Leonard's bibliography into my index.
I know what to do, Then come back for you
Leonard when he writes cops or main characters that are the law enforcement type, they're often as an exploration of the big man, the government and the changes of how law enforcement are enacted as the by product of the changing of time. When they're not the protagonist, they're the racist, the inept or the plain ol' big bully of the authority but when they are the protagonist of the story, they're the jaded, cynical and mirrored truth to the criminals they're chasing. Raymond Cruz, the protagonist is a homicide detective veteran, a Lieutenant in the Detroit Police Department and he's the embodiment of Elmore's jaded lawman and a mirrored truth to the criminal he's chasing, the "Oklahoma Wildman" Clement Mansell.
While I wouldn't say Raymond Cruz a sociopath, he does have moment where I believe this man could have breakdown and tie someone down and uses a car battery as a persuading agent. His good scout act is just for his squad to take him seriously in the position of authority. Clement Mansell sees it just as much as I do that Cruz, is and always will be a door and teeth knocker but now tied down due to the authoritative position he is in. Clement Mansell is however, free to do his worst and is doing so to bring the wildman in Cruz back out.
I haven't got the cash but I'm still guilty of the crime
Part of the mano-o-mano between Cruz and Mansell was because of Detroit PD aggressively going for Mansell over the killing of a loathsome Judge and the woman he was with which happened at the start of the novel. The Detroit PD angle of going after Mansell however was for a prior incident, a triple homicide where the Mansell was able to walked on scot-free because of a mickey-mouse technicality.
I said, "I wish you were a war"
Clement sees Cruz as a partner in his crazy cop and killer game and Cruz doesn't reject the idea. He's doing his job as a lawman, not for the pleasure of nailing people like Clement but is honest enough with himself that he recognise it's personally gratifying to him. Cruz going after criminal like Mansell is the best way to channel his urges to be like criminal he's going after.
The subtitle, High Noon in Detroit is a perfect encapsulation of this novel. It's a neo-western with the lawman and the outlaw going through the grinder betting on themselves and on what they know of each other. It could only ends in one way. Leonard borrowed some noir techniques and applied them to the tried and tested Western tropes to create a stealthy neo-western novel that can only be done by him.
When you zig, I zag, when you zig, I zag I zigzag
In between the craziness of Mansell and Cruz and the subsequent Albanian plot is the main female characters that while light, carried enough to be two dimensional. Sandy is Mansell's paranoid pot using lover who is in a relationship with one of the Albanian immigrant with mob connection. The other woman is Carolyn Wilder, a defense attorney and the will they-won't they dance partner to Cruz. The two women's entanglement with the main men zig-zag nicely between the main plot until they became a variable towards the resolution of the story itself.
If there were something I wished was flushed out more was having more of Cruz's colleagues for him to bounce off with.
It's a different verse but the song is the same
Leonard's prose here is short and sweet with punchy dialogue, often ended midway through like he regularly does but there's a coldness to them. It carries very little sensory or emotional thrills often use to portray lively and vivid settings but spends most of it between the interaction of Cruz and Mansell.
I've been the hunter and I've been the prey
City Primeval is one of Leonard’s best novels after just one reading and one that I can see myself going back to. It's a stealthy neo-western novel tricked by the conventions of noir writing showcasing some great character driven narrative.
October 16, 2023
Очаквах много повече от тази кримка, но и не съм сигурен, дали все пак книгата не е била осакатена безобразно от превеждалия текста…
Може би не е съвсем правилно, но давам най-ниската възможна тук оценка - 1*.
Може би не е съвсем правилно, но давам най-ниската възможна тук оценка - 1*.
March 20, 2017
Like the Detroit in which it takes place, City Primeval has a slick, modern surface and an undercurrent that's more, well, primeval: this is a novel about sophisticated legal defense maneuvers, patient police investigation, honor bound by blood, and Old West shootouts.
Professional dirtbag Clement Mansell, always one or two steps ahead of where people expect him to be (among other things, the Oklahoma accent throws them off), has a lethal blend of practicality, ingenuity, and impulsiveness that come together to kick off the plot when he kills a corrupt judge in a fit of road rage pique. Disappointed to realize he's done for free what he could have done for hire, Clement looks to find a way to retroactively monetize the murder, while the straightforward and slightly melancholy Detective Raymond Cruz seeks to untangle everything and see Clement in jail or in the ground. The story of the novel is in part the story of how his goal shifts from primarily the former to primarily the latter as Raymond admits that within him is a certain amount of pre-civilization justice.
The savagery beneath the veneer is the book's main theme, and Leonard handles it lightly and well. Clement's sometime-girlfriend and accomplice is terrified of him, and medicates that terror with weed and carefully-managed lightheartedness. His lawyer believes she can manage him--and she's up to the task more than most--but she underestimates just how weak a hold the rules of society have over him. And we all learn never to kill an Albanian, because his friends and family will keep after you until you're dead, because that's a matter of honor.
All of this is suspenseful and tightly-written, and its only real flaws are where that tightness slackens: Raymond's investigation pre-Clement is a little too discursive, for example, and the murdered judge gets a colorful and thorough introduction that his small importance in the novel doesn't really justify. But for the most part, this runs incredibly smoothly, and Leonard is of course great at the little details that make the world feel real, like the way a lead opens up because a doorman gets offended or the way Raymond admires lawyer Carolyn's clever workaround of justice even as he spends the entire novel trying, one way or another, to find a justice with no loopholes. The result is a novel that is narrow--one highly specific case, and not one of much inherent interest in and of itself, no gaudy violence or entrenched corruption, one detective's cautious and delimited moral journey--but deep, with characters who feel real and who give this set of incidents the weight of revelation.
Also, it's Leonard, so it's funny:
Professional dirtbag Clement Mansell, always one or two steps ahead of where people expect him to be (among other things, the Oklahoma accent throws them off), has a lethal blend of practicality, ingenuity, and impulsiveness that come together to kick off the plot when he kills a corrupt judge in a fit of road rage pique. Disappointed to realize he's done for free what he could have done for hire, Clement looks to find a way to retroactively monetize the murder, while the straightforward and slightly melancholy Detective Raymond Cruz seeks to untangle everything and see Clement in jail or in the ground. The story of the novel is in part the story of how his goal shifts from primarily the former to primarily the latter as Raymond admits that within him is a certain amount of pre-civilization justice.
The savagery beneath the veneer is the book's main theme, and Leonard handles it lightly and well. Clement's sometime-girlfriend and accomplice is terrified of him, and medicates that terror with weed and carefully-managed lightheartedness. His lawyer believes she can manage him--and she's up to the task more than most--but she underestimates just how weak a hold the rules of society have over him. And we all learn never to kill an Albanian, because his friends and family will keep after you until you're dead, because that's a matter of honor.
All of this is suspenseful and tightly-written, and its only real flaws are where that tightness slackens: Raymond's investigation pre-Clement is a little too discursive, for example, and the murdered judge gets a colorful and thorough introduction that his small importance in the novel doesn't really justify. But for the most part, this runs incredibly smoothly, and Leonard is of course great at the little details that make the world feel real, like the way a lead opens up because a doorman gets offended or the way Raymond admires lawyer Carolyn's clever workaround of justice even as he spends the entire novel trying, one way or another, to find a justice with no loopholes. The result is a novel that is narrow--one highly specific case, and not one of much inherent interest in and of itself, no gaudy violence or entrenched corruption, one detective's cautious and delimited moral journey--but deep, with characters who feel real and who give this set of incidents the weight of revelation.
Also, it's Leonard, so it's funny:
Raymond was coming out of an exam, having identified the photograph of a woman, bound and gagged with a pantyhose and shot twice in the back of the head, as Liselle Taylor, and testified that upon showing the photo to Alfonso Goddard, Mr. Goddard denied knowing the deceased until, after several hours of questioning, he stated: "Oh, yeah, I know her. See, you asked me if she was my girlfriend and I said no to that, because she wasn't my girlfriend, we was only living together, you understand?"
September 16, 2023
I loved the show Justified and went back and read the Elmore Leonard books on which the protagonist Raylan Givens was based (Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the HoleFire in the Hole. So, when I heard the Oliphant was taking on the badge as Raylan again, I had to read the book they were using as a frame. In fact, City Primeval shares exactly none of the characters with the Raylan stories, but I definitely could see the same snarl and sardonic grin on the protagonist here. And the bad guy is a great one. This is pulp fiction, so you don't go in expecting literary excellence, but the book is entertaining and edgy like the best stories and novellas of Leonard. I can't wait to see how it was treated on screen!
May 18, 2024
The dialogue and characters were great, but somehow the story was just too slow. 3 1/2 stars.
August 27, 2023
If everyone did their job half as well as Elmore Leonard does, this would be a better world. What Elmore Leonard does is write crime fiction mostly about little shit-heel, two-bit criminals who aren’t as smart as they often think they are, like in the case of Clement Mansell. Throw in a tireless police detective determined to bring Mansell down for murdering a judge, a beautiful defense attorney in over her head, and various other oddballs and sidekicks and you have a fun read as are all of his novels.
Some of Leonard’s books are better than otherS, of course, but I’ve enjoyed everything that I have read of his and I’ve read a lot of them. I’ve also been able to finish every one of his books in a sitting or two at most. On his worst day he is better than most of the books out there in this genre. It’s sad to think about, but someday I won’t have any more of his books to read.
Some of Leonard’s books are better than otherS, of course, but I’ve enjoyed everything that I have read of his and I’ve read a lot of them. I’ve also been able to finish every one of his books in a sitting or two at most. On his worst day he is better than most of the books out there in this genre. It’s sad to think about, but someday I won’t have any more of his books to read.
December 5, 2012
I picked this book up at a library sale I attended about a month ago. I had never heard of this book by Leonard. It was published in 1980 and only has 221 pages. This is a gritty crime novel set in Detroit. This is classic Elmore Leoanard. Tough, hardboiled crime drama with lots of quirky off beat characters and dialogue.
I think this may have been one of Leonard's first forays into writing crime and his later novels are really a lot better, but this was a fascinating read.
A crafty criminal,Clement, escapes justice and shoots an unpopular judge and a woman that was with him. Homicide detective Raymond Cruz is determined to see that Clement doesn't get away with murder again. So begins a clever cat and mouse game between Clement, his girlfriend, Sandy, Raymond and Clement's lady lawyer. Raymond will do whatever it takes to take Clement down. The two outwit one another up until the final showdown.
Keep in mind the time frame the book was written in if you happen to come across this book somewhere. It is a little dated. The decriptions of the clothing and music of the era are sort of funny and can either add to the enjoyment of the book or take away from it, depending on your frame of mind. Another thing to keep in mind is that the language used and the attitudes in that era can be offensive.
Overall a B
I think this may have been one of Leonard's first forays into writing crime and his later novels are really a lot better, but this was a fascinating read.
A crafty criminal,Clement, escapes justice and shoots an unpopular judge and a woman that was with him. Homicide detective Raymond Cruz is determined to see that Clement doesn't get away with murder again. So begins a clever cat and mouse game between Clement, his girlfriend, Sandy, Raymond and Clement's lady lawyer. Raymond will do whatever it takes to take Clement down. The two outwit one another up until the final showdown.
Keep in mind the time frame the book was written in if you happen to come across this book somewhere. It is a little dated. The decriptions of the clothing and music of the era are sort of funny and can either add to the enjoyment of the book or take away from it, depending on your frame of mind. Another thing to keep in mind is that the language used and the attitudes in that era can be offensive.
Overall a B
October 18, 2022
Thumbs up. From that late 70’s-early 80’s era of Elmore’s I like so much. Raymond Cruz in a lot of ways seems like a proto-Bryan Hurd yet this story takes very different turns. It gets where you think it’s going but not how you think it’s going to get there.
June 12, 2016
#2016-usa-geography-challenge: MICHIGAN
I hereby declare that Elmore Leonard was a great crime novelist. Oh, you already knew that? Yes, I am new to his novels, but better late than never, right?
In Elmore's first book set in Detroit, rotten and despicable Recorder's Court Judge Alvin B. Guy is gunned down in his big Lincoln and acting police lieutenant Raymond Cruz and the homicide squad wonder which of the long list of his enemies might have had him killed, especially after he declared he could bring down some of the city's greats with a tell-all book.
But a messy trail soon points to a case of road rage instead and they easily figure out whodunit but how to prove it? The suspect has escaped justice too many times already so they need to make their case air tight. 'The Wildman' and Cruz make it personal and put themselves on course for a 'high noon in Detroit' style ending with some interesting twists.
Having been born in Detroit and lived in its suburbs for almost half my life, it was fun revisiting some familiar areas. In fact we were still living there when this book was published in 1980. It was once a great American city and might be again if people care enough to revive it.
I hereby declare that Elmore Leonard was a great crime novelist. Oh, you already knew that? Yes, I am new to his novels, but better late than never, right?
In Elmore's first book set in Detroit, rotten and despicable Recorder's Court Judge Alvin B. Guy is gunned down in his big Lincoln and acting police lieutenant Raymond Cruz and the homicide squad wonder which of the long list of his enemies might have had him killed, especially after he declared he could bring down some of the city's greats with a tell-all book.
But a messy trail soon points to a case of road rage instead and they easily figure out whodunit but how to prove it? The suspect has escaped justice too many times already so they need to make their case air tight. 'The Wildman' and Cruz make it personal and put themselves on course for a 'high noon in Detroit' style ending with some interesting twists.
Having been born in Detroit and lived in its suburbs for almost half my life, it was fun revisiting some familiar areas. In fact we were still living there when this book was published in 1980. It was once a great American city and might be again if people care enough to revive it.
September 26, 2011
One of the best crime novels ever. Some of Leonard's best dialogue - and that's saying a lot, because Leonard has probably never written dialogue that isn't damn great, but here he outdoes himself. The sheer amount of authentic detail, right down to the repeated racist slurs, misogyny and bigotry is impressive - few authors today would dare to keep that much, I think. Yet it's all in service to the authenticity of the characters and you never once mistake the characters' bias for the author's, so perfectly in control of his instruments is Leonard. The 'wild western' motif, the repeated gunslinger references, the fact that Leonard is as much a western novelist as a crime novelist and the fact that the two genres are really just 'before/after' snapshots of American life, add powerfully to the story. Perhaps the weakest part of it is the end, which I personally felt could have been handled better, even bigger perhaps, but even in that, Leonard is true to his characters to the very end.
November 2, 2015
I got interested in reading Elmore Leonard because he is one of 20 writers for the 6-season FX series “Justified” (2010-2015) Don and I love. The main character U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is based on the character originally appearing in Leonard’s novels “Pronto” and “Riding the Rap.” Later, Leonard wrote the short story “Fire in the Hole,” that’s the inspiration for the “Justified” series.
I found “City Primeval” (1980) just sitting, unread, on my bookshelves along with another four Leonard titles.
Set in Detroit, “City Primeval” develops homicide detective Raymond Cruz as the lead investigator on a case involving Clement Mansell, an Oklahoma native who is wreaking havoc in Detroit. In the opening pages, he murders a judge and the judge’s companion “just because.”
The fast-moving story unfolds from there.
Leonard, who died in 2013, lived in Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills. He’s been compared to Dostoevsky, Dickens and Dashiell Hammett.
If you like crime stories with great character development and plot twists, you won’t be disappointed with Leonard’s tales.
I found “City Primeval” (1980) just sitting, unread, on my bookshelves along with another four Leonard titles.
Set in Detroit, “City Primeval” develops homicide detective Raymond Cruz as the lead investigator on a case involving Clement Mansell, an Oklahoma native who is wreaking havoc in Detroit. In the opening pages, he murders a judge and the judge’s companion “just because.”
The fast-moving story unfolds from there.
Leonard, who died in 2013, lived in Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills. He’s been compared to Dostoevsky, Dickens and Dashiell Hammett.
If you like crime stories with great character development and plot twists, you won’t be disappointed with Leonard’s tales.
October 22, 2012
As telegraphed by the title, City Primeval is an urbanized, big city western. Detroit police detective Raymond Cruz, a street-wise, plain spoken and analytical lawman becomes entangled in an intricate dance of violence with Clement Mansell, a “Billy the Kid” character who loves the game of cops and robbers and is so good at it that he’s managed to escape every murder rap that he has ever faced,--and several murders that he hasn’t had to face—a total of nine in all. Clement ultimately offers Cruz a face to face shoot-out as a test of courage but Cruz is a cop not a gunfighter and he’s certain that he can trip Clement up and finally make him pay. How this all reaches a climax leads to a satisfying and surprising ending that keeps the reader riveted until the conclusion. An excellent narrative with unfortunately believable characters.
February 1, 2022
Of course the reason why I started reading City Primeval was because there’s going to be a new Justified mini series, and it’s based on this book. Elmore Leonard created the characters that were later adapted to Justified, and even though this book has nothing to do with those characters, it’s still Elmore Leonard in the Elmore Leonard world.
Now, a confession: I have never read an Elmore Leonard novel. I know I should. I like crime novels, I like dark novels, and apparently I like his writing style. But until city primeval, I never really gave him a shot. This may be the year that I go deep.
It’s interesting, reading crime novels sit in the 80s; as a somewhat progressive reader in 2022, the novel at times comes across as shockingly sexist … until it doesn’t. When it comes to stuff like sexism, classism, and racism - not to mention homophobia and transphobia - you sometimes have to ask yourself if it’s the characters or the author making these judgments and saying these things.
Still, it’s a little shocking seeing the n-word dropped just all the time, even though it’s the bad guy dropping it. And there are three main women in the book - one competent and smart cop who’s sort of “just like the boys,” one a smart lawyer who makes a lot of bad judgment calls (and the good guy main character calls her out for trying to be a “tough broad”), and a simpering girlfriend. Maybe I’m judging all of this with contemporary eyes, but it just didn’t feel as well realized as it could have. Maybe that was just the 80s.
Did I like it? Yeah I liked it. In a way, I would have liked it more if what seemed like the ending actually happened. As it stands, the ending we get is a little bit more conventional than the one that seemed promised. It’s still a good ending, and it provides better closure, but the ending I thought we were getting would have meant more, I think. Or maybe I’m just a psychopath. It would have been a very dark ending.
So: not my favorite crime novel, but quite entertaining and very readable. I think I’m going to give this Elmore Leonard fellow another shot.
Now, a confession: I have never read an Elmore Leonard novel. I know I should. I like crime novels, I like dark novels, and apparently I like his writing style. But until city primeval, I never really gave him a shot. This may be the year that I go deep.
It’s interesting, reading crime novels sit in the 80s; as a somewhat progressive reader in 2022, the novel at times comes across as shockingly sexist … until it doesn’t. When it comes to stuff like sexism, classism, and racism - not to mention homophobia and transphobia - you sometimes have to ask yourself if it’s the characters or the author making these judgments and saying these things.
Still, it’s a little shocking seeing the n-word dropped just all the time, even though it’s the bad guy dropping it. And there are three main women in the book - one competent and smart cop who’s sort of “just like the boys,” one a smart lawyer who makes a lot of bad judgment calls (and the good guy main character calls her out for trying to be a “tough broad”), and a simpering girlfriend. Maybe I’m judging all of this with contemporary eyes, but it just didn’t feel as well realized as it could have. Maybe that was just the 80s.
Did I like it? Yeah I liked it. In a way, I would have liked it more if what seemed like the ending actually happened. As it stands, the ending we get is a little bit more conventional than the one that seemed promised. It’s still a good ending, and it provides better closure, but the ending I thought we were getting would have meant more, I think. Or maybe I’m just a psychopath. It would have been a very dark ending.
So: not my favorite crime novel, but quite entertaining and very readable. I think I’m going to give this Elmore Leonard fellow another shot.
December 19, 2010
City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit is from that dark period of Elmore's career when his novels contained more menace than humor. The realities on City Primeval are harsh, and the view is unblinking and succinctly delivered. No word is wasted, and every sentence is rich in narrative drive, essential information and characterization—this goes double for the dialogue.
Learning writers are drawn to Elmore Leonard because his prose has so much to teach. Lesson number one: Make sure the reader is gratified on every possible level. Lesson number two: be painstaking with the details so the reading is effortless. Lesson number three: Just give up. There is no sense in believing you will ever write a piece as clean and true and purely entertaining as one of Leonard's lesser achievements.
As for one of Elmore Leonard's classics, such as City Primeval? This is a book that will make aspiring authors forget that they even want to write—because the reality created in this book, and the enjoyment in the reading, are absolute and leave no room for outside contemplation.
Learning writers are drawn to Elmore Leonard because his prose has so much to teach. Lesson number one: Make sure the reader is gratified on every possible level. Lesson number two: be painstaking with the details so the reading is effortless. Lesson number three: Just give up. There is no sense in believing you will ever write a piece as clean and true and purely entertaining as one of Leonard's lesser achievements.
As for one of Elmore Leonard's classics, such as City Primeval? This is a book that will make aspiring authors forget that they even want to write—because the reality created in this book, and the enjoyment in the reading, are absolute and leave no room for outside contemplation.
June 7, 2014
It is funny, there's some sex and some action so even though it turns into a predictable thriller towards the end, it is still very enjoyable reading right until the final showdown. Without giving away too much, let's just say I didn't choose the word showdown as a metaphor. I will admit I didn't see it coming in spite of warning signs (Gregory Peck) so both the ending and the final twist were surprising. But unfortunately I was just surprised how bad maestro has finished the novel.
More here (review includes spoilers!):
http://a60books.blogspot.ie/2013/09/c...
More here (review includes spoilers!):
http://a60books.blogspot.ie/2013/09/c...
July 22, 2018
I’ve got to hand it to him, Elmore Leonard knows his trade: crime fiction. He keeps the suspense high & the dialogue crisp in this ‘High Noon in Detroit’ gunslinging cop-story showdown. It’s set in the 1970’s, so there’s a kind of double time-warp aspect to it, not just the throwback to old-timey Wild West notions of justice and honor, but also to Motown cool and Detroit cars. The two main characters are flip sides of the same coin—a killer and a lawman—and both embody their time & place. Racism is alive and well in that era, and Elmore Leonard doesn’t shy away from nailing it - and, in a way, exposing it for what it is - in the way people talk and in the way they act.
October 1, 2013
There's something so perfectly satisfying about his books - you don't always know where he's going, but you know he'll get there the right way and not let you down.
This book is, in almost every way, more a western than a procedural. At the same time, it is exactly a procedural. The blend of the two makes so much sense I'm surprised it's the first one I've read of its kind. At the same time, who could do it more perfect justice than Leonard?
This book is, in almost every way, more a western than a procedural. At the same time, it is exactly a procedural. The blend of the two makes so much sense I'm surprised it's the first one I've read of its kind. At the same time, who could do it more perfect justice than Leonard?
April 9, 2019
Even though this is, in a fashion, a novel of today's Detroit's "Cops & robbers"...this is as much a "western" as any of Elmore Leonard's "westerns"...good guy cop Raymond Cruz is out to stop the murderous, amoral, smart aleck bad guy Clement Mansell...eventually the showdown not in the street at "high Noon," but in an apartment...solid Leonard!
October 3, 2013
It speaks to Leonard's strength as a writer that this book, which is about as old as I am, still feels fresh and taut today. He doesn't stint on the development of good or bad guys, which is a welcome relief from the many writers who skip this crucial step.
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