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Killshot
Armand Degas and Richie Nix combine their criminal credentials, their ease with killing, and their lust for adventure and take off on a spree that has innocent victims running for cover
321 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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3257 people want to read
About the author
Elmore Leonard
211 books3,699 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 490 reviews
September 3, 2013
Who would be more dangerous, two sociopathic killers teaming up or a middle-aged couple who could use some marriage counseling?
Armand Degas (a/k/a Blackbird) sometimes does contract killing for a group of mobsters in Michigan and Canada, and while visiting his old hometown after murdering a man in Detroit, he meets Richie Nix. Nix is a small time armed robber and all-around punk who doesn’t think twice about shooting anyone who crosses his path. Richie has come up with a scheme to extort money from a real estate tycoon and invites Degas to help.
Carmen Colson has been selling houses since her son grew up and joined the Navy, and she’d like her husband Wayne to join her in the business. Wayne is a hard drinking ironworker who does dangerous jobs on high rises, and his biggest concern is getting ready for the upcoming deer hunting season. He reluctantly agrees to meet with Carmen’s boss to talk about changing careers.
When Armand and Richie show up at the real estate office, a case of mistaken identity causes them to think Wayne is in charge. Since Wayne isn’t the type of guy to be threatened by a couple of thugs, there’s a bit of a scuffle, and he manages to run them off. However, Armand and Richie don’t turn the other cheek and start coming after Wayne and Carmen for revenge.
The two relationships are the heart of this book. The partnership between Armand and Richie starts well with Richie initially being impressed with a mob hit man, and Armand admiring Richie’s fearlessness. But as they spend more time together, they start seriously getting on each other’s nerves. Like a lot of Leonard villains, there’s a certain slyness disguising an overall streak of stupidity. They get so fixated on the idea of killing Wayne and Carmen that they don’t even stop to once consider why they’re doing it, and part of their revenge campaign is simply about each of them trying to show the other guy that they can be ruthless and cool under pressure.
Carmen and Wayne’s relationship is set up in one incredibly well done chapter in which Leonard establishes their history and the current state of their marriage. So we know that Wayne is happy with things as they are while Carmen’s desire to shake things up leads her to push Wayne to consider an offer from the Feds to join the Witness Protection Program because the idea of a new life appeals to her.
As with most Leonard novels, the plot zigs and zags with unexpected twists, and he artfully shifts the point of view around to make you sympathize with different characters so that the way you feel about someone at the beginning of the story isn’t necessarily going to be the same by the end.
Armand Degas (a/k/a Blackbird) sometimes does contract killing for a group of mobsters in Michigan and Canada, and while visiting his old hometown after murdering a man in Detroit, he meets Richie Nix. Nix is a small time armed robber and all-around punk who doesn’t think twice about shooting anyone who crosses his path. Richie has come up with a scheme to extort money from a real estate tycoon and invites Degas to help.
Carmen Colson has been selling houses since her son grew up and joined the Navy, and she’d like her husband Wayne to join her in the business. Wayne is a hard drinking ironworker who does dangerous jobs on high rises, and his biggest concern is getting ready for the upcoming deer hunting season. He reluctantly agrees to meet with Carmen’s boss to talk about changing careers.
When Armand and Richie show up at the real estate office, a case of mistaken identity causes them to think Wayne is in charge. Since Wayne isn’t the type of guy to be threatened by a couple of thugs, there’s a bit of a scuffle, and he manages to run them off. However, Armand and Richie don’t turn the other cheek and start coming after Wayne and Carmen for revenge.
The two relationships are the heart of this book. The partnership between Armand and Richie starts well with Richie initially being impressed with a mob hit man, and Armand admiring Richie’s fearlessness. But as they spend more time together, they start seriously getting on each other’s nerves. Like a lot of Leonard villains, there’s a certain slyness disguising an overall streak of stupidity. They get so fixated on the idea of killing Wayne and Carmen that they don’t even stop to once consider why they’re doing it, and part of their revenge campaign is simply about each of them trying to show the other guy that they can be ruthless and cool under pressure.
Carmen and Wayne’s relationship is set up in one incredibly well done chapter in which Leonard establishes their history and the current state of their marriage. So we know that Wayne is happy with things as they are while Carmen’s desire to shake things up leads her to push Wayne to consider an offer from the Feds to join the Witness Protection Program because the idea of a new life appeals to her.
As with most Leonard novels, the plot zigs and zags with unexpected twists, and he artfully shifts the point of view around to make you sympathize with different characters so that the way you feel about someone at the beginning of the story isn’t necessarily going to be the same by the end.
March 7, 2023
Two very different "couples" find themselves locked in a deadly struggle in this novel. Armand Degas, who is half French-Canadian and half Ojibway, is a contract killer sometimes known as The Blackbird. Richie Nix is an arrogant punk, an ex-con without much brainpower who aspires to rob a bank in every one of the United States, or maybe just forty-nine, "fuck Alaska." In the interim, he concocts a plot to extort $10,000 from a real estate agent.
Degas does a job in Detroit, killing a mob boss in a fancy hotel, and once the job is done he decides to visit his grandmother as long as he's in the neighborhood. On the way, he has a chance encounter with Richie who explains his scheme and invites Degas to join him in the effort. Degas agrees and the two form a team.
A woman named Carmen Colson works for the realtor in question. Her husband, Wayne, is an iron worker and a general good ol' boy who mostly likes to drink and hunt deer. The two have a good relationship, but Carmen would like Wayne to spruce up his act a bit and suggests that he might join her in the real estate business.
By chance, on the day that Nix and Degas come to the real estate office to collect the extortion money, Wayne is there with Carmen and the two thugs mistake him for the realtor they are attempting to extort. One thing leads to another and Wayne runs them off, but not before pitching Richie Nix out a second-story window. The cops arrive and begin a manhunt for Degas and Nix. The Colsons are the only witnesses against them and so Degas and Nix conclude that they have to eliminate Carmen and Wayne in order to save themselves.
What follows is a cat-and-mouse game in which the two thugs try to track the Colsons down while the Colsons attempt to save themselves. Carmen Colson steals the show, while a variety of other characters that could only be drawn by Elmore Leonard round out the cast. As in other EL novels there's a fair amount of wry humor involved.
In the end, I got a bit annoyed by the ongoing relationship between Degas and Nix which dragged on a bit too long to be entertaining. Richie Nix in particular, wore out his welcome early on and didn't seem to be nearly as engaging and compelling as a lot of Leonard's better villains. Killshot is not my favorite Elmore Leonard novel then, but it is an Elmore Leonard novel, which means that it's still pretty damn good. three and a half stars rounded up to four.
Degas does a job in Detroit, killing a mob boss in a fancy hotel, and once the job is done he decides to visit his grandmother as long as he's in the neighborhood. On the way, he has a chance encounter with Richie who explains his scheme and invites Degas to join him in the effort. Degas agrees and the two form a team.
A woman named Carmen Colson works for the realtor in question. Her husband, Wayne, is an iron worker and a general good ol' boy who mostly likes to drink and hunt deer. The two have a good relationship, but Carmen would like Wayne to spruce up his act a bit and suggests that he might join her in the real estate business.
By chance, on the day that Nix and Degas come to the real estate office to collect the extortion money, Wayne is there with Carmen and the two thugs mistake him for the realtor they are attempting to extort. One thing leads to another and Wayne runs them off, but not before pitching Richie Nix out a second-story window. The cops arrive and begin a manhunt for Degas and Nix. The Colsons are the only witnesses against them and so Degas and Nix conclude that they have to eliminate Carmen and Wayne in order to save themselves.
What follows is a cat-and-mouse game in which the two thugs try to track the Colsons down while the Colsons attempt to save themselves. Carmen Colson steals the show, while a variety of other characters that could only be drawn by Elmore Leonard round out the cast. As in other EL novels there's a fair amount of wry humor involved.
In the end, I got a bit annoyed by the ongoing relationship between Degas and Nix which dragged on a bit too long to be entertaining. Richie Nix in particular, wore out his welcome early on and didn't seem to be nearly as engaging and compelling as a lot of Leonard's better villains. Killshot is not my favorite Elmore Leonard novel then, but it is an Elmore Leonard novel, which means that it's still pretty damn good. three and a half stars rounded up to four.
April 24, 2017
"You can't lose something you don't have."
- Elmore Leonard, Killshot
Not a fantastic Leonard, but still a very good one. Leonard is the master of defining 5-7 good characters, setting them all in motion and writing great dialogue as they orbit closer and closer and eventually either crash into one another or find an unnatural equilibrium. This story is basically a cat & mouse game between two bizarre criminals (One an impulsive shit-talker = Richie Nix. One an French/Ojibway Indian hit man = Armand Degas, Aka Blackbird, Aka Bird) and a middle-aged couple that probably needs to read Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love. They aren't a bad couple. They probably just need a bit of marriage counseling. Oh, and they probably need her mother to move or die.
One of the great things about good or great Leonard novels is not even the main cast of characters but his ability to breath life into bit players. He has a gift for dialogue and a talent for capturing essentials about the human condition in funky misfit characters.
I'll leave my review there because if I write any more I'm tempted to expand into the nature of bureaucracy, the character of local cops, or feminism in crime novels and might just give too much of the plot away. And the surprised and twists are one of the real reasons to read Leonard.
- Elmore Leonard, Killshot
Not a fantastic Leonard, but still a very good one. Leonard is the master of defining 5-7 good characters, setting them all in motion and writing great dialogue as they orbit closer and closer and eventually either crash into one another or find an unnatural equilibrium. This story is basically a cat & mouse game between two bizarre criminals (One an impulsive shit-talker = Richie Nix. One an French/Ojibway Indian hit man = Armand Degas, Aka Blackbird, Aka Bird) and a middle-aged couple that probably needs to read Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love. They aren't a bad couple. They probably just need a bit of marriage counseling. Oh, and they probably need her mother to move or die.
One of the great things about good or great Leonard novels is not even the main cast of characters but his ability to breath life into bit players. He has a gift for dialogue and a talent for capturing essentials about the human condition in funky misfit characters.
I'll leave my review there because if I write any more I'm tempted to expand into the nature of bureaucracy, the character of local cops, or feminism in crime novels and might just give too much of the plot away. And the surprised and twists are one of the real reasons to read Leonard.
May 9, 2025
3,5 Deși autorul este catalogat ca unul dintre cei mai apreciați scriitori de thriller, romanele lui fiind intens ecranizate, aceasta nu mi s-a părut ceva deosebit. A fost interesant modul în care a prezentat ineficiența poliției și a sistemului american, care nu reușește să rezolve niște crime în serie și nici să protejeze un cuplu prin sistemul de protecție, iar la final cazul este "rezolvat" de o femeie ca o ironie la adresa sistemului.
May 26, 2024
Wayne and Carmen Colson are regular Americans who do things well - Carmen is a successful real estate agent and Wayne is an outdoor guy who is good at jobs that require physical strength. While trying to save their marriage, they run into a couple of incompetent con-men (Richie Nix and Arman Degas) who are out to extort money from Carmen's boss. Donna is Richie's lonely jail warden girlfriend, whom he shares with Arman.
Leonard's dialog writing is terrific. He isn't really into descriptions. The dialogs take the story forward. I liked the way he subtly builds tension in Wayne and Carmen's marriage almost entirely through their conversations. Arman and Richie are unbelievably stupid and also dangerous and some of their exchanges are hilarious. Arman's (an Ojibway Indian) introduction in the first few chapters and his overall characterization that includes his relationship to his grandmother and her strange myths (about owls and blackbirds) and superpowers is really amazing.
The theme of erotic triangulation is one that recurs in Leonard's novels. Killshot is no different. Leonard's con-men are almost always sharing a woman (remember Jackie Brown/The Rum Diary, Riding the Rap and The Bandits?). Maybe Leonard is trying to make the point that men who are involved in high risk jobs feel a natural affinity toward each other as their life is constantly in danger. I've read that air-force pilots usually share/swap wives since the possibility of fatality is imminent. The same could be the case with Leonard's con-men.
Leonard's dialog writing is terrific. He isn't really into descriptions. The dialogs take the story forward. I liked the way he subtly builds tension in Wayne and Carmen's marriage almost entirely through their conversations. Arman and Richie are unbelievably stupid and also dangerous and some of their exchanges are hilarious. Arman's (an Ojibway Indian) introduction in the first few chapters and his overall characterization that includes his relationship to his grandmother and her strange myths (about owls and blackbirds) and superpowers is really amazing.
The theme of erotic triangulation is one that recurs in Leonard's novels. Killshot is no different. Leonard's con-men are almost always sharing a woman (remember Jackie Brown/The Rum Diary, Riding the Rap and The Bandits?). Maybe Leonard is trying to make the point that men who are involved in high risk jobs feel a natural affinity toward each other as their life is constantly in danger. I've read that air-force pilots usually share/swap wives since the possibility of fatality is imminent. The same could be the case with Leonard's con-men.
February 25, 2021
Killshot was a selection I picked up as part of . . . .
The story here is about Carmen and Wayne who find themselves in a wrong place/wrong time situation when hitman “the Blackbird” and small-time hood Richie (if you enjoyed Glenn in Out of Sight you'll love Richie since they are pretty much the same character) show up at Carmen’s office and mistake Wayne for a local real estate tycoon they’re hoping to shake down. What follows is a lot of brawling and shoot ‘em ups along with a brief stint in the Witness Protection Program and a relocation to Cape Girardeau Missouri (hence the Show Me State connection for my challenge).
So Elmore Leonard is just like THE GUY for me. If there is a genre called Chick Lit, then he is one of the masters of “Dick Lit.” He gives you action, he gives you humor, and in this one he even gives you a bumbling Barney Fife/Harvey Weinstein combo for the local sheriff. I probably own 20 of his books and I pick up every single one I see at the thrift store or in a bargain bin. He’s just an automatic good time . . . .
And if you don’t feel like reading? A bunch of his stuff has been adapted into movies – including this one . . . .
The story here is about Carmen and Wayne who find themselves in a wrong place/wrong time situation when hitman “the Blackbird” and small-time hood Richie (if you enjoyed Glenn in Out of Sight you'll love Richie since they are pretty much the same character) show up at Carmen’s office and mistake Wayne for a local real estate tycoon they’re hoping to shake down. What follows is a lot of brawling and shoot ‘em ups along with a brief stint in the Witness Protection Program and a relocation to Cape Girardeau Missouri (hence the Show Me State connection for my challenge).
So Elmore Leonard is just like THE GUY for me. If there is a genre called Chick Lit, then he is one of the masters of “Dick Lit.” He gives you action, he gives you humor, and in this one he even gives you a bumbling Barney Fife/Harvey Weinstein combo for the local sheriff. I probably own 20 of his books and I pick up every single one I see at the thrift store or in a bargain bin. He’s just an automatic good time . . . .
And if you don’t feel like reading? A bunch of his stuff has been adapted into movies – including this one . . . .
September 7, 2014
The 27th novel by Elmore Leonard, published in 1989 as his renaissance from pulp fiction to the bestseller list was underway, killed me softly. It begins as a routine caper, headed for a bit of home invasion as a pair of crooks tangle with a married couple. It's all carried over with Leonard's sharp, often inspired dialogue, illustrious research and just enough quirkiness to keep me turning the pages. The novel coasts toward its conclusion and when I wasn't looking, knocked me to the mat.
Armand Degas, alias The Blackbird, a "half-breed tough guy" from Toronto, drags himself out of a bar to take work in Detroit, where a mafioso's father-in-law is staying in town for a Tigers game. Bending one of his rules (never let them start talking) and sticking to another (never leave any witnesses), Blackbird returns to Walpole Island, an Indian reserve on the Canadian side of the channel where he once lived with his brothers, one now in prison, the other dead.
Blackbird contemplates transitioning into civilian life on Walpole Island. Realizing how ridiculous this would be, he's held up by Richie Nix, a "punk" ex-con with a motor mouth and a hair trigger temper. Busy breaking into houses and trashing the ones without anything to steal, Richie cooks up a protection racket, planning to blackmail a successful local realtor with continued property damage unless he pays up. Needing a partner, Richie lets Blackbird in on the scam.
Killshot introduces some heart and soul with Wayne and Carmen Colson, an empty nest couple in their forties. Wayne is an ironworker who's welded together most of Detroit's highrises. Tired of waiting at home for her husband to decompress at the bar, Carmen has gone into the work force as a real estate agent. Hoping to transition Wayne into a career where they can spend more time together, she gets him an interview with her boss, a successful local realtor.
Visiting the realtor's office, Richie and Blackbird mistake Wayne for their victim. The ironworker draws the men out to his truck, where he introduces Blackbird to a sleever bar and throws Richie through a window. The thugs lick their wounds and begin to prowl around the Colsons' home in Algonac. Their next move is even more disastrous, with Richie turning a 7-11 he follows Wayne to into a shooting gallery. Blackbird finds himself on the Colsons' porch with Carmen pointing a shotgun loaded with Magnum shot at his face.
With the rap on The Blackbird and Richie a federal one, the FBI offer Carmen and Wayne the services of the Witness Protection Program. Carmen seizes on the opportunity to transition into a new life and new home, in Cape Giradeau, Missouri. But under federal watch, the couple discover less of whatever they're looking for, complete with a sleazy U.S. Deputy Marshal putting the moves on Carmen. Unwilling to wait for their tormentors to be arrested, Carmen and Wayne return to Detroit to play out the hand they've been dealt.
No author makes me conscious of what a slave I've become to plot like Elmore Leonard does. Without twists (!) and turns (!) at the end of every paragraph, Killshot coasts along, almost as if you were just hanging out with some particularly interesting (or dangerous) friends for the weekend. When I realize I'm hooked merely reading about Carmen Colson or Richie Nix sitting in traffic -- simply being Carmen or being Richie -- throw in professional murder, amateur racketeering and home invasion and I'm riveted.
Leonard's writing is frequently a laugh riot:
* The guy said, "I'll tell you what I want. I'll tell you my name too, in case you ever heard of me, Richie Nix. N-i-x, not like Stevie Nicks spells hers." Armand shook his head. He'd never heard of either one.
* Donna told him to stay out of the bars at Sans Souci, Indians from Walpole Island drank there and got ugly. Oh, was that right? Richie dropped by one evening and glared for an hour at different ones and nobody made a move. Shit, Indians weren't nothing to handle. Go in a colored joint and glare you'd bleed all the way to the hospital.
* Her mom retired from Michigan Bell but couldn't stay away from the telephone. She'd call Carmen every day to give her recipes Carmen never used, or talk about the weather in detail, the arrogance of doctors who her made her wait knowing she was suffering excruciating back pain, eventually getting around to Wayne. "What time did the man of the house come home last night? If it was before seven you're lucky, depending how you look at it. If you don't mind that booze on his breath when he comes in and gives you a kiss then you're different than I am, I won't say another word." Wayne said, "You'd have to wire her jaw shut."
Leonard's best work not only survives the conventions forced on it, but thrives under those conventions. One of his tricks is that his wit is put to work revealing character, always. Opening an Elmore Leonard novel is like spending time with old friends. This explains another trick, how Killshot builds to such a taut, exciting finish with what seems like such a routine plot. Instead of reading about crimes, you're caught up finding out what's going to happen to your friends.
A little seen film adaptation of Killshot made it to screens in 2008 after a torturous road to release.
With the massive success of Pulp Fiction, Miramax Films optioned film rights to four Elmore Leonard novels for Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of the author. Those novels were: Bandits, Freaky Deaky, Killshot and Rum Punch. Tarantino picked the latter to adapt and direct (as Jackie Brown) and for a brief time, considered producing Killshot with Tony Scott directing, Robert DeNiro playing The Blackbird and Tarantino playing Richie. Mickey Rourke and Joseph Gordon-Levitt ultimately took those roles, with Diane Lane and Thomas Jane playing the Colsons for director John Madden, whose film sat in the vault for nearly three years while studio co-chairman Harvey Weinstein's divorce from Disney was finalized and he set up The Weinstein Company.
Armand Degas, alias The Blackbird, a "half-breed tough guy" from Toronto, drags himself out of a bar to take work in Detroit, where a mafioso's father-in-law is staying in town for a Tigers game. Bending one of his rules (never let them start talking) and sticking to another (never leave any witnesses), Blackbird returns to Walpole Island, an Indian reserve on the Canadian side of the channel where he once lived with his brothers, one now in prison, the other dead.
Blackbird contemplates transitioning into civilian life on Walpole Island. Realizing how ridiculous this would be, he's held up by Richie Nix, a "punk" ex-con with a motor mouth and a hair trigger temper. Busy breaking into houses and trashing the ones without anything to steal, Richie cooks up a protection racket, planning to blackmail a successful local realtor with continued property damage unless he pays up. Needing a partner, Richie lets Blackbird in on the scam.
Killshot introduces some heart and soul with Wayne and Carmen Colson, an empty nest couple in their forties. Wayne is an ironworker who's welded together most of Detroit's highrises. Tired of waiting at home for her husband to decompress at the bar, Carmen has gone into the work force as a real estate agent. Hoping to transition Wayne into a career where they can spend more time together, she gets him an interview with her boss, a successful local realtor.
Visiting the realtor's office, Richie and Blackbird mistake Wayne for their victim. The ironworker draws the men out to his truck, where he introduces Blackbird to a sleever bar and throws Richie through a window. The thugs lick their wounds and begin to prowl around the Colsons' home in Algonac. Their next move is even more disastrous, with Richie turning a 7-11 he follows Wayne to into a shooting gallery. Blackbird finds himself on the Colsons' porch with Carmen pointing a shotgun loaded with Magnum shot at his face.
With the rap on The Blackbird and Richie a federal one, the FBI offer Carmen and Wayne the services of the Witness Protection Program. Carmen seizes on the opportunity to transition into a new life and new home, in Cape Giradeau, Missouri. But under federal watch, the couple discover less of whatever they're looking for, complete with a sleazy U.S. Deputy Marshal putting the moves on Carmen. Unwilling to wait for their tormentors to be arrested, Carmen and Wayne return to Detroit to play out the hand they've been dealt.
No author makes me conscious of what a slave I've become to plot like Elmore Leonard does. Without twists (!) and turns (!) at the end of every paragraph, Killshot coasts along, almost as if you were just hanging out with some particularly interesting (or dangerous) friends for the weekend. When I realize I'm hooked merely reading about Carmen Colson or Richie Nix sitting in traffic -- simply being Carmen or being Richie -- throw in professional murder, amateur racketeering and home invasion and I'm riveted.
Leonard's writing is frequently a laugh riot:
* The guy said, "I'll tell you what I want. I'll tell you my name too, in case you ever heard of me, Richie Nix. N-i-x, not like Stevie Nicks spells hers." Armand shook his head. He'd never heard of either one.
* Donna told him to stay out of the bars at Sans Souci, Indians from Walpole Island drank there and got ugly. Oh, was that right? Richie dropped by one evening and glared for an hour at different ones and nobody made a move. Shit, Indians weren't nothing to handle. Go in a colored joint and glare you'd bleed all the way to the hospital.
* Her mom retired from Michigan Bell but couldn't stay away from the telephone. She'd call Carmen every day to give her recipes Carmen never used, or talk about the weather in detail, the arrogance of doctors who her made her wait knowing she was suffering excruciating back pain, eventually getting around to Wayne. "What time did the man of the house come home last night? If it was before seven you're lucky, depending how you look at it. If you don't mind that booze on his breath when he comes in and gives you a kiss then you're different than I am, I won't say another word." Wayne said, "You'd have to wire her jaw shut."
Leonard's best work not only survives the conventions forced on it, but thrives under those conventions. One of his tricks is that his wit is put to work revealing character, always. Opening an Elmore Leonard novel is like spending time with old friends. This explains another trick, how Killshot builds to such a taut, exciting finish with what seems like such a routine plot. Instead of reading about crimes, you're caught up finding out what's going to happen to your friends.
A little seen film adaptation of Killshot made it to screens in 2008 after a torturous road to release.
With the massive success of Pulp Fiction, Miramax Films optioned film rights to four Elmore Leonard novels for Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of the author. Those novels were: Bandits, Freaky Deaky, Killshot and Rum Punch. Tarantino picked the latter to adapt and direct (as Jackie Brown) and for a brief time, considered producing Killshot with Tony Scott directing, Robert DeNiro playing The Blackbird and Tarantino playing Richie. Mickey Rourke and Joseph Gordon-Levitt ultimately took those roles, with Diane Lane and Thomas Jane playing the Colsons for director John Madden, whose film sat in the vault for nearly three years while studio co-chairman Harvey Weinstein's divorce from Disney was finalized and he set up The Weinstein Company.
August 8, 2014
I'm gonna commit what should be the most flattering of intellectual property crimes, and pass along the opening query with which Kemper begins his (admittedly superior) review of this book:
- One of our sociopaths, Armand "Blackbird" Degas, is half Canadian (well, French-Canadian), and half Ojibway Indian
- Sociopath number two, Richie is (IMHO) incredibly annoying
- The man of the house is an iron worker
- The little lady is in real estate/taking care of her elderly mother
I was up and down with enjoying the story, and wanting them to get on with it already. I'll tell you this, though: Elmore Leonard knows how to keep tension in the air. I believe the word that is "suspense," but that term covers far too broad a swath of feelings for my liking these days.
Short, interesting and unpredictable.
_______________________________________
P.S. I didn't read this in Italian, but that's what my cover looked like, so just go with it.
Who would be more dangerous, two sociopathic killers teaming up or a middle-aged couple who could use some marriage counseling?Well if that isn't a question for the ages, then I just don't know what is. This is a bit of a lazy review, so I'll give you some extra tidbits of info to take into account while puzzling through this scenario:
- One of our sociopaths, Armand "Blackbird" Degas, is half Canadian (well, French-Canadian), and half Ojibway Indian
- Sociopath number two, Richie is (IMHO) incredibly annoying
- The man of the house is an iron worker
- The little lady is in real estate/taking care of her elderly mother
I was up and down with enjoying the story, and wanting them to get on with it already. I'll tell you this, though: Elmore Leonard knows how to keep tension in the air. I believe the word that is "suspense," but that term covers far too broad a swath of feelings for my liking these days.
Short, interesting and unpredictable.
_______________________________________
P.S. I didn't read this in Italian, but that's what my cover looked like, so just go with it.
August 27, 2013
Does it get any better than this? Killshot...five stars not because of this being my tribute to the passing of Mr. Leonard but it deserved five stars on its own. Great book, per usual from Elmore Leonard.
Elmore John Leonard, Jr. Picture Taken September 17, 2012
My tribute read for Elmore Leonard, RIP.
Born: Elmore John Leonard, Jr.
October 11, 1925
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Died:
August 20, 2013 (aged 87)
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, United States
From Wiki: Leonard often cited Ernest Hemingway as one of his most important influences, but at the same time criticized Hemingway for his lack of humor.
Mr. Leonard wrote more than 49 books, numerous screenplays, TV series including Justified and adapted his books to so many movies we've seen and recall fondly. My personal favorites were Get Shorty and Out of Sight.
Two Goodreads friends have been personally touched by his passing; Col from UK and Mohammed from Sweden both being longtime fans and I'm sure feel as though they knew him personally. My condolences to both my friends.
And let me add, my very good Goodreads friend and neighbor, Remy, who loved Elmore Leonard, as well.
Elmore John Leonard, Jr. Picture Taken September 17, 2012
My tribute read for Elmore Leonard, RIP.
Born: Elmore John Leonard, Jr.
October 11, 1925
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Died:
August 20, 2013 (aged 87)
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, United States
From Wiki: Leonard often cited Ernest Hemingway as one of his most important influences, but at the same time criticized Hemingway for his lack of humor.
Mr. Leonard wrote more than 49 books, numerous screenplays, TV series including Justified and adapted his books to so many movies we've seen and recall fondly. My personal favorites were Get Shorty and Out of Sight.
Two Goodreads friends have been personally touched by his passing; Col from UK and Mohammed from Sweden both being longtime fans and I'm sure feel as though they knew him personally. My condolences to both my friends.
And let me add, my very good Goodreads friend and neighbor, Remy, who loved Elmore Leonard, as well.
September 28, 2021
A master class in genre fiction writing. Each character, even the secondary ones, is fully and satisfyingly sketched and filled in. The dialogue is perfect (I especially enjoyed the phone conversations between Carmen Colson and her mother Lenore). There are moments of subtle hilarity. A stone cold killer unexpectedly administers a chiropractic treatment to Lenore, who suffers from chronic back pain.
June 11, 2017
'Killshot' was written during Elmore Leonard's prime, so the plot and pacing crackle with intensity. The novel is one of the best crime comedy novels Leonard ever wrote - it certainly must be on all of his fans' top ten list! The book is full of the author's insightful wit along with the usual mix of smart and dumb criminals destroying decent folks (and each other) until they meet nice but streetsmart people who happen to be a little bit smarter and luckier.
Wannabe hitman Richie Nix, who is someone missing a lot of brain filters along with any moral ones, runs into an actual hitman, Armand 'Blackbird' Degas. The chain of events leading to their acquaintance and partnership are highly improbable, but given the amazing true-crime non-fiction I have read, not entirely impossible. Whatever. Once they meet, Nix leads Degas into a scheme of extortion which goes wrong, and then more wrong, starting with targeting the wrong victims.
Carmen and Wayne Colsen are very good together as a couple. Their marriage works despite quirks and differences. She's a clever real estate agent and he is a strong muscular ironworker. They have a son in the Navy and a very pretty home that they fixed up over several years. But when Nix and Degas mistake Carmen's husband for the owner of the real estate company she works for in a Keystone Kops confrontation, the two bad guys end up getting their asses kicked. Degas and Nix barely escape! Their plan to extort the real estate owner is forgotten.
The couple saw their faces, though, so the dastardly duo plan a return visit to silence them forever. However, they don't know who the couple is, or where they live, and the FBI has become involved because as bumbling as Nix is as a killer, he truly is an insane killer. Degas and Nix have begun eyeing each other with growing distaste too. Perhaps their partnership should be dissolved - permanently - after they have taken care of the witnesses to their failed attempt to rob the real estate owner.
Who will live and who will die is going to come down to the best killshot strategy!
Wannabe hitman Richie Nix, who is someone missing a lot of brain filters along with any moral ones, runs into an actual hitman, Armand 'Blackbird' Degas. The chain of events leading to their acquaintance and partnership are highly improbable, but given the amazing true-crime non-fiction I have read, not entirely impossible. Whatever. Once they meet, Nix leads Degas into a scheme of extortion which goes wrong, and then more wrong, starting with targeting the wrong victims.
Carmen and Wayne Colsen are very good together as a couple. Their marriage works despite quirks and differences. She's a clever real estate agent and he is a strong muscular ironworker. They have a son in the Navy and a very pretty home that they fixed up over several years. But when Nix and Degas mistake Carmen's husband for the owner of the real estate company she works for in a Keystone Kops confrontation, the two bad guys end up getting their asses kicked. Degas and Nix barely escape! Their plan to extort the real estate owner is forgotten.
The couple saw their faces, though, so the dastardly duo plan a return visit to silence them forever. However, they don't know who the couple is, or where they live, and the FBI has become involved because as bumbling as Nix is as a killer, he truly is an insane killer. Degas and Nix have begun eyeing each other with growing distaste too. Perhaps their partnership should be dissolved - permanently - after they have taken care of the witnesses to their failed attempt to rob the real estate owner.
Who will live and who will die is going to come down to the best killshot strategy!
September 30, 2018
Elmore Leonard occupies each of his characters with such fluidity we forget he is even present as an author. The entire cast of characters has such a unique sense of presence that the effect is cinematic. Blink — or skip a few sentences — and you will miss a trail of inferences to be drawn from his compact writing.
KILLSHOT opens with Armand Degas, a dangerously alienated criminal. He is part French-Canadian and part Ojibway. The absence of any family members in his life is matched by the absence of emotion he feels about that. No one calls him Armand; he's known as “Blackbird.” His employers call him “Chief.” A confederate will start calling him “Bird.” He's a fifty-year-old hit man for the Canadian mafia who experiences killing and inebriation with equal indifference. The latest hit takes him back to the area he grew up in. What might seem like a midlife crisis is to him merely a nagging, inexplicable dissatisfaction. Fortunately, he's rescued from the brink of introspection by meeting Richie Nix.
Richie is a mix of impatient viciousness and bottomless stupidity. The problem isn't lack of experience because he has no learning curve. His big ambition is to rob a bank in every state of the union. But then, he has his big brainstorm. It's a haphazard extortion scheme.
Leonard's virtuosity really shines when he inhabits his female character, Carmen. Carmen has what can only be described as grit. Twenty years of marriage and she can still enjoy a lusty ardor for her husband Wayne while facing life with clear-sighted practicality and plausible tolerance. With their only son grown, Carmen, not Wayne, repairs their “handyman's dream” of a house: "...it kept her busy, Carmen doing more of the fixing up than Wayne, who was handier with a thirty-five-pound impact wrench than a hammer and saw." (p.42)
Carmen assesses the people around her with shrewdness which she attributes to her study of handwriting analysis. Her absence of pretentiousness is yet another appealing aspect of her character. As the story will demonstrate, she's nailed her mother's character: "...Carmen knew her mom's hand and had not seen anything good to say about it. Her uneven spaces and lack of style values showed indecision plus an inability to think clearly. She couldn't tell her mom that, because her wide-spaced t stem showed she was easily hurt and would take offense." (p.39) All of this signals: when Carmen speaks, take notice.
The new series of crises bursts through her previously reticent acceptance. She confronts the dense but lovable Wayne after Armand enters her house and threatens her. "'Not once have you asked me what it was like, what I felt, what was going through my mind. You put your gun by the door, just in case — there, you've done your part.'" Clueless Wayne points out that she handled the situation. Carmen continues: "'Did you think about how scared I must've been....The FBI man, Scallen, he understood. I told him I hope I never have to do that again and you said — do you know what you said?....You said, 'My wife's a winner. That's why I married her.'....It's like you're taking credit, because you picked me.'" (p.182)
Carmen's grit emerges from an initial presumption of ordinariness. She earns a realtor's license, is, unsurprisingly, successful, and works for the biggest real estate magnate in the county. She pitches her idea to Wayne: "'Isn't there something we can do together?...some kind of work or business we could both get into...and be together more.'" Despite Wayne's wise-cracking deflections, she sets him up with an appointment with her employer, a real jerk, who also just happens to be the prospective extortion victim targeted by Richie and Armand. And, well, one thing leads to another.
What I loved about this book was Leonard's inhabiting of Carmen. Below her patience with Wayne's humorous banter there is a steely resolve which is a constant thread running through the succession of tight and unpredictable situations that ensue. The contrast between Carmen and Wayne provides an entertaining balance to the tension supplied by the criminal dual.
KILLSHOT opens with Armand Degas, a dangerously alienated criminal. He is part French-Canadian and part Ojibway. The absence of any family members in his life is matched by the absence of emotion he feels about that. No one calls him Armand; he's known as “Blackbird.” His employers call him “Chief.” A confederate will start calling him “Bird.” He's a fifty-year-old hit man for the Canadian mafia who experiences killing and inebriation with equal indifference. The latest hit takes him back to the area he grew up in. What might seem like a midlife crisis is to him merely a nagging, inexplicable dissatisfaction. Fortunately, he's rescued from the brink of introspection by meeting Richie Nix.
Richie is a mix of impatient viciousness and bottomless stupidity. The problem isn't lack of experience because he has no learning curve. His big ambition is to rob a bank in every state of the union. But then, he has his big brainstorm. It's a haphazard extortion scheme.
Leonard's virtuosity really shines when he inhabits his female character, Carmen. Carmen has what can only be described as grit. Twenty years of marriage and she can still enjoy a lusty ardor for her husband Wayne while facing life with clear-sighted practicality and plausible tolerance. With their only son grown, Carmen, not Wayne, repairs their “handyman's dream” of a house: "...it kept her busy, Carmen doing more of the fixing up than Wayne, who was handier with a thirty-five-pound impact wrench than a hammer and saw." (p.42)
Carmen assesses the people around her with shrewdness which she attributes to her study of handwriting analysis. Her absence of pretentiousness is yet another appealing aspect of her character. As the story will demonstrate, she's nailed her mother's character: "...Carmen knew her mom's hand and had not seen anything good to say about it. Her uneven spaces and lack of style values showed indecision plus an inability to think clearly. She couldn't tell her mom that, because her wide-spaced t stem showed she was easily hurt and would take offense." (p.39) All of this signals: when Carmen speaks, take notice.
The new series of crises bursts through her previously reticent acceptance. She confronts the dense but lovable Wayne after Armand enters her house and threatens her. "'Not once have you asked me what it was like, what I felt, what was going through my mind. You put your gun by the door, just in case — there, you've done your part.'" Clueless Wayne points out that she handled the situation. Carmen continues: "'Did you think about how scared I must've been....The FBI man, Scallen, he understood. I told him I hope I never have to do that again and you said — do you know what you said?....You said, 'My wife's a winner. That's why I married her.'....It's like you're taking credit, because you picked me.'" (p.182)
Carmen's grit emerges from an initial presumption of ordinariness. She earns a realtor's license, is, unsurprisingly, successful, and works for the biggest real estate magnate in the county. She pitches her idea to Wayne: "'Isn't there something we can do together?...some kind of work or business we could both get into...and be together more.'" Despite Wayne's wise-cracking deflections, she sets him up with an appointment with her employer, a real jerk, who also just happens to be the prospective extortion victim targeted by Richie and Armand. And, well, one thing leads to another.
What I loved about this book was Leonard's inhabiting of Carmen. Below her patience with Wayne's humorous banter there is a steely resolve which is a constant thread running through the succession of tight and unpredictable situations that ensue. The contrast between Carmen and Wayne provides an entertaining balance to the tension supplied by the criminal dual.
November 9, 2013
One of Elmore Leonard's best line up of characters and his strongest female lead ever.
This would be a very nice introduction to readers unfamiliar with Elmore Leonard's writing.
It's a thriller straight out of the gate and lacks the kind of jokey exchanges between characters that most readers of EL are accustomed to.
Everything about this novel is perfect.
It's an exciting, suspenseful and ultimately satisfying read.
Highly Recommended.
This would be a very nice introduction to readers unfamiliar with Elmore Leonard's writing.
It's a thriller straight out of the gate and lacks the kind of jokey exchanges between characters that most readers of EL are accustomed to.
Everything about this novel is perfect.
It's an exciting, suspenseful and ultimately satisfying read.
Highly Recommended.
November 15, 2021
Un giudizio controverso per questo lavoro di un grande scrittore. La trama, le situazioni, la qualita' dei dialoghi, il ritmo, il grottesco, c'e' tutto e tutto in bella mostra, eppure tutto sembra poco originale, gia' visto e letto altrove. Poi leggo la data di pubblicazione e allora penso che Leonard in decenni e' stato imitato, copiato, scimmiottato, citato cosi' tante volte che probabilmente finisce lui per essere quello non originale!!! Da leggere comunque.
October 15, 2007
Part of the problem here is that Elmore Leonard is hyped as an Important Writer, a kind of second-coming of Raymond Chandler et al. If I'd sat down to read Killshot (my first and probably last Leonard novel) without those expectations, I'd probably have come away satisfied by this workmanlike but generally unremarkable thriller. As it was, I found myself holding him to a standard against which he doesn't even begin to compete: Leonard is decent at characterization and has a nice ear for local idiom, but otherwise he definitely belongs in the supermarket-checkout-aisle minor leagues.
November 23, 2020
Elmore Leonard is the type of crime writer you want to have a beer with. It’s a shame he passed on, as I would have loved to share a pint with him.
One thing is certain about reading an Elmore Leonard novel is that you get to know his characters. I don’t mean the usual sense of knowing when you pick up a fact or two right from the start. I mean, you know them. They feel like someone you have already met. From their first introduction, you can picture their faces and mannerisms, know how they talk, how they move, and how they act. This man, the writer, had a gift. If he were still alive, and we were in a gritty bar, I would have asked him how he did it.
He would have probably returned only an enigmatic smile.
But I bet it was like this.
He figured out his plots by letting his characters talk.
Don’t get me wrong here; his books aren’t about plot. He wasn’t great at those. His stories usually seemed only loosely stitched together. It was letting his characters speak their truth that informed the writer what was going to happen next. Maybe Elmore Leonard might have set up a situation like this: Carmen Colson and her husband, Wayne, with a real estate agent about to buy a home. That’s it.
Imagine the writer sits at his desk. He pulls out his notebook from a drawer (Elmore Leonard was old school) and takes out a pen. Carmen says to Wayne, “Hon, I was born in a house newer than that one.” And Elmore Leonard, the writer, races to catch up to Wayne’s response, as fast as the writer’s pen could scratch ink on paper. That’s why his dialogue is exquisite. Each word and mannerism is true to the character he imagined.
I can picture Elmore Leonard not talking much. I imagine him more of a listener. Someone who might blend into the background of a party to listen to the nuances of speech, the gestures, the tics, and the silences of the people around him.
Killshot is not like one of his forty-seven other books. In most of his writing, the criminals are bad to the bone, and inevitably, push too far the one cool, confident man or woman that will not back down. While Killshot retains Elmore Leonard’s brilliant, gritty characterizations, this novel has something more to it. It’s one of his few works that have a more literary quality. It reads differently than the others. The plot seems more well thought out, the descriptions fuller and more lyrical than his usual works. In this one, Elmore Leonard breaks his own rules. The Blackbird (Armand Degas) is one of Elmore Leonard’s most fleshed-out criminals. I empathized with Armand right from the get-go based on the racism he had faced — except when he wasn’t killing people. Maybe that’s why it’s different this time. Elmore Leonard cared to explain why one of his toughest criminals turned bad. A calm, coolness pervades most of Elmore Leonard’s villains and heroes alike, but this time, he took a chance and went deeper.
Another reason why Killshot is not quite like Elmore Leonard’s other crime novels is that it has more substance and less cool. If you love Get Shorty, you might not quite like this one. But Elmore Leonard takes you down a road where two hardened criminals, starting on a murderous crime spree, meet head-on a salt of the earth ironworker, Wayne, and his sweetheart real estate agent wife, Carmen. Neither side wants to make this a war, but it becomes one. At first, Wayne and Carmen do all the right things an almost victim is supposed to do. But it’s not until the couple stops playing the victim when it becomes an Elmore Leonard crime novel again. Even the Blackbird seemed to have sensed it.
Check it out.
One thing is certain about reading an Elmore Leonard novel is that you get to know his characters. I don’t mean the usual sense of knowing when you pick up a fact or two right from the start. I mean, you know them. They feel like someone you have already met. From their first introduction, you can picture their faces and mannerisms, know how they talk, how they move, and how they act. This man, the writer, had a gift. If he were still alive, and we were in a gritty bar, I would have asked him how he did it.
He would have probably returned only an enigmatic smile.
But I bet it was like this.
He figured out his plots by letting his characters talk.
Don’t get me wrong here; his books aren’t about plot. He wasn’t great at those. His stories usually seemed only loosely stitched together. It was letting his characters speak their truth that informed the writer what was going to happen next. Maybe Elmore Leonard might have set up a situation like this: Carmen Colson and her husband, Wayne, with a real estate agent about to buy a home. That’s it.
Imagine the writer sits at his desk. He pulls out his notebook from a drawer (Elmore Leonard was old school) and takes out a pen. Carmen says to Wayne, “Hon, I was born in a house newer than that one.” And Elmore Leonard, the writer, races to catch up to Wayne’s response, as fast as the writer’s pen could scratch ink on paper. That’s why his dialogue is exquisite. Each word and mannerism is true to the character he imagined.
I can picture Elmore Leonard not talking much. I imagine him more of a listener. Someone who might blend into the background of a party to listen to the nuances of speech, the gestures, the tics, and the silences of the people around him.
Killshot is not like one of his forty-seven other books. In most of his writing, the criminals are bad to the bone, and inevitably, push too far the one cool, confident man or woman that will not back down. While Killshot retains Elmore Leonard’s brilliant, gritty characterizations, this novel has something more to it. It’s one of his few works that have a more literary quality. It reads differently than the others. The plot seems more well thought out, the descriptions fuller and more lyrical than his usual works. In this one, Elmore Leonard breaks his own rules. The Blackbird (Armand Degas) is one of Elmore Leonard’s most fleshed-out criminals. I empathized with Armand right from the get-go based on the racism he had faced — except when he wasn’t killing people. Maybe that’s why it’s different this time. Elmore Leonard cared to explain why one of his toughest criminals turned bad. A calm, coolness pervades most of Elmore Leonard’s villains and heroes alike, but this time, he took a chance and went deeper.
Another reason why Killshot is not quite like Elmore Leonard’s other crime novels is that it has more substance and less cool. If you love Get Shorty, you might not quite like this one. But Elmore Leonard takes you down a road where two hardened criminals, starting on a murderous crime spree, meet head-on a salt of the earth ironworker, Wayne, and his sweetheart real estate agent wife, Carmen. Neither side wants to make this a war, but it becomes one. At first, Wayne and Carmen do all the right things an almost victim is supposed to do. But it’s not until the couple stops playing the victim when it becomes an Elmore Leonard crime novel again. Even the Blackbird seemed to have sensed it.
Check it out.
October 23, 2014
This is a downloaded from my library & was my first by this author, so I gave it an extra star for being a good introduction. I don't know who narrated this - the info isn't even on the audio. He was good, though.
The story was fast paced & fairly well put together. There were a few times I wondered why the characters acted as they did, but not one of them was particularly normal. The bad guys were psychos, the authorities stuffed bureaucrats, & the victims were - great. Not exactly normal, but I liked them. They played well within a simple framework.
If you want a shot of fast action without a lot of thought required, Elmore provides a great ride. I'll definitely look for more audio books by this author. I doubt I'll bother buying any of his books, though.
The story was fast paced & fairly well put together. There were a few times I wondered why the characters acted as they did, but not one of them was particularly normal. The bad guys were psychos, the authorities stuffed bureaucrats, & the victims were - great. Not exactly normal, but I liked them. They played well within a simple framework.
If you want a shot of fast action without a lot of thought required, Elmore provides a great ride. I'll definitely look for more audio books by this author. I doubt I'll bother buying any of his books, though.
August 22, 2013
Please note: I read this book in 2006. I'm just updating some of the formatting. This is also a celebration of Elmore Leonard, whose life tragically ended this week.
My Expectations: Since I am a fan of the movie adaptations of Elmore Leonard's works (Jackie Brown, Be Cool) I've been wanting to start reading his books. This is the first I've read and I was most impressed with his writing style.
My ThoughtsI was amused to find him not at all sympathetic toward police or U.S. Marshals, although he did seem to like his FBI character; in fact, if anything, he seemed most sympathetic toward Blackbird, his assassin character. Despite gaping holes in this character, his was the most filled in one in the bunch and by the end you almost found yourself wondering if he could be redeemed.
My Synopsis: The Colsons, the couple who find themselves on the run after accidentally being caught in the middle of an attempted protection shake-down by an ex-prisoner, Richie Nix, and Blackbird, are presented initially as the perfect married couple, but as the strain of the chase gets to them, the strains they have kept hidden within their marriage start to come out. Perhaps to a certain degree this book is about how everyone faces the strain of day-to-day living by hiding how they feel? I hesitate to say, as I believe everyone will get something different from this book - however, I feel that there may be a deeper meaning hidden within this story.
My Future Plans: I can't wait to go on and read more of Mr. Leonard's books, and accumulate more of them as well - I only have two more at this time, but will be on the lookout for more at my favorite 2nd hand and discount stores (which is generally where I buy my books - otherwise, as many books as I buy, I'd be in severe trouble . . . )
My Expectations: Since I am a fan of the movie adaptations of Elmore Leonard's works (Jackie Brown, Be Cool) I've been wanting to start reading his books. This is the first I've read and I was most impressed with his writing style.
My ThoughtsI was amused to find him not at all sympathetic toward police or U.S. Marshals, although he did seem to like his FBI character; in fact, if anything, he seemed most sympathetic toward Blackbird, his assassin character. Despite gaping holes in this character, his was the most filled in one in the bunch and by the end you almost found yourself wondering if he could be redeemed.
My Synopsis: The Colsons, the couple who find themselves on the run after accidentally being caught in the middle of an attempted protection shake-down by an ex-prisoner, Richie Nix, and Blackbird, are presented initially as the perfect married couple, but as the strain of the chase gets to them, the strains they have kept hidden within their marriage start to come out. Perhaps to a certain degree this book is about how everyone faces the strain of day-to-day living by hiding how they feel? I hesitate to say, as I believe everyone will get something different from this book - however, I feel that there may be a deeper meaning hidden within this story.
My Future Plans: I can't wait to go on and read more of Mr. Leonard's books, and accumulate more of them as well - I only have two more at this time, but will be on the lookout for more at my favorite 2nd hand and discount stores (which is generally where I buy my books - otherwise, as many books as I buy, I'd be in severe trouble . . . )
June 2, 2008
One of my favorite Elmore Leonard novels.
December 1, 2018
Elmore Leonard could be considered the Frankenstein of writers. He must have a virtual laboratory in his mind complete with gurneies, body parts, and bottled-up personalities lining the shelves. He's mentally adept at mixing and stitching these things together. He then adds power by striking the keyboard, giving life to his creations.
Killshot, however, is Leonard going over the top with his creations. It’s hard to imaging a Leonard novel where I could describe him as holding back but in retrospect, after reading Killshot, he never approaches the sharp edges that he achieves in this novel. The characters all have their quirks, normalities, abnormalities, hopes, dreams, psychoses, and fears; but they also represent extremes. Leonard’s talent shines with his ability to allow these extremes to exist within a completely believable world.
The story itself is one of hitmen, crossed paths, mediocre law enforcement, and people getting caught up in circumstances that are beyond their control. In reality, the story serves as the tortilla chip upon which a spicy character-salsa sits ready to be delivered to the palate.
Killshot, however, is Leonard going over the top with his creations. It’s hard to imaging a Leonard novel where I could describe him as holding back but in retrospect, after reading Killshot, he never approaches the sharp edges that he achieves in this novel. The characters all have their quirks, normalities, abnormalities, hopes, dreams, psychoses, and fears; but they also represent extremes. Leonard’s talent shines with his ability to allow these extremes to exist within a completely believable world.
The story itself is one of hitmen, crossed paths, mediocre law enforcement, and people getting caught up in circumstances that are beyond their control. In reality, the story serves as the tortilla chip upon which a spicy character-salsa sits ready to be delivered to the palate.
April 15, 2021
He's the king for a reason.
September 10, 2021
This was an interesting book, but the story itself wasn't really very good, and the ending seemed anti-climatic to me. It was the characters and their interactions that made it interesting. There was a slightly dumb but seemingly OK contract killer who meets up with a totally dumb punk criminal who likes talking about shooting people, and actually does, often for no reason at all. They decide on an extortion scheme that goes wrong because they assume a guy sitting in the boss's office is the boss they had already contacted. This guy, an iron-worker, is kind of dumb too, and isn't as afraid of them as he should be. But he and his wife saw the bad guys, so they become loose ends.
The story moves along from one crazy situation to another until it just kind of dies. No big surprises in that department. I liked the dark humor, which seems typical of Elmore Leonard, and I look forward to reading more of his books.
The story moves along from one crazy situation to another until it just kind of dies. No big surprises in that department. I liked the dark humor, which seems typical of Elmore Leonard, and I look forward to reading more of his books.
January 3, 2024
A nice american marriage, with a son far away in the navy, are confronted by the cynical world of law enforcement and two very stupid psychopaths, as a series of misunderstandings make them have to fend for themselves as they get deeper into these corrupted sides of society. As I've seen Elmore Leonard's novels are all quite solid and entertaining. Good for him and great for us.
September 25, 2013
Like my hero Kurt Vonnegut, Elmore Leonard makes it look so easy that I find myself getting angry at him at the same time I'm enjoying his books. Killshot is a deceptively simple story: a hardened, professional contract killer and a flaky, unprofessional thug stalk a married couple who are responsible for derailing the criminal duo's get-rich-quick scheme. And, plotwise, that's really all there is to it. But peel back just a single layer and Leonard is actually exploring two things: 1) the dying value of professionalism, and 2) the ongoing compromise of marriage. And of course he's ridiculously perceptive about both things, all while telling a funny, suspenseful story with his typically electric dialogue.
And here's the thing: I love a dense, complex book. I can appreciate, say, Pynchon for his audacity and invention, his ability to embed several hundred characters in a novel featuring eleventy-hundred subplots. But I'd argue that it's equally, if not more, impressive to craft something that's stripped-down and bare-bones – Killshot boasts a whopping four main characters and only two or three supporting ones – that still manages to be profound. There's beauty in simplicity, and Leonard (R.I.P., buddy) is as good as that gets.
And here's the thing: I love a dense, complex book. I can appreciate, say, Pynchon for his audacity and invention, his ability to embed several hundred characters in a novel featuring eleventy-hundred subplots. But I'd argue that it's equally, if not more, impressive to craft something that's stripped-down and bare-bones – Killshot boasts a whopping four main characters and only two or three supporting ones – that still manages to be profound. There's beauty in simplicity, and Leonard (R.I.P., buddy) is as good as that gets.
October 14, 2022
Carmen and Wayne, Richie Nix and the Bird, everybody driving each other stir crazy. Killshot is full of talk talk talk and that’s a great thing. Richie and the Bird have to be one of Elmore’s best pairings. Carmen and Wayne have to be one of his best marriages. But Carmen herself, boy oh boy. She’s the best.
October 13, 2017
Story of a couple of Michigan/Canadian thugs targeting a steel worker & his wife after they witness & interfere in their efforts to shakedown a local realtor...classic Elmore Leonard...intensity of action. real characters & excellent dialogue!!!...I've been on an Elmore Leonard tear recently!
March 25, 2020
Excellent read. Old Dutch demonstrates again why he's (well, was) the best crime fiction writer of the modern era. He follows Lawrence Block's advice to keep style "invisible," crafting prose that moves the eyes across the page and a narrative pace that keeps you interested throughout. There's some well-executed suspense and a cast of nicely drawn characters. You won't like most of them as people, but you'll be curious to see how things turn out for them. Enjoyed this as much as Rum Punch, which may be my favorite Elmore Leonard book.
February 20, 2012
i finally picked this up after years of enjoying the various film-adaptations of elmore leonard stories, but having never read one of his novels.
like the best films of his work (the original 3:10 to yuma, the tall t, mr. majestyk, jackie brown), this novel shows respect to all of its characters. some are good people, some are scoundrels, some are clever, some are idiotic. but leonard takes the time to turn each one of them into something with at least a shred of humanity and complexity, regardless of whether or not they find redemption in the end.
in doing so, he made me care about people who aren't particularly likeable by adding the occasional important detail, such as the mix of ethnic guilt and jealousy a hitman nick-named "the blackbird" feels when returning to the ojibway reservation he grew up on. the blackbird's contradictory feelings of shame and confidence add to the novel's considerable tension. by its conclusion, i wasn't sure i wanted the character's actions brought to justice, despite a considerable amount of time devoted to establishing him as a ruthless killer..
killshot is an engrossing read, but it moves at a more gradual pace than your typical page-turner. the novel slowly evolves from a familiar family-on-the-run drama into an understated exploration of personal boundaries. carmen colson, the likeable, new-agey office worker at the heart of the story, is constantly having her intimacy and privacy invaded. by the novel's conclusion, she has endured a half-dozen instances where unwanted guests make their way into her home. some readers have expressed impatience or disappointment by these plot developments, which on the surface may seem redundant. these home invasions certainly prolong the inevitable stand-off at the novel's conclusion. but they also develop carmen's sense of alienation, reflect the broader complications she feels with her husband and, finally, cultivate her strength as a character. killshot isn't simply a gangster drama - it's also the tale of a 20-year marriage between two decent, blue-collar people. its conclusion simultaneously delivers the genre thrills i signed up for and completes its portrait of a troubled but powerful protagonist.
(two sidenotes: 1. the italian version of this book pictured in the "other editions" sections of goodreads is really beautiful. i'd probably have read leonard long ago if it weren't for the ugliness of all his american book covers. 2. there are plenty of great film adaptations of leonard novels, but the film version of killshot isn't one of them. steer clear of it, unless you have a burning desire to see mickey rourke play a ponytailed, ojibway-french-canadian hitman.)
like the best films of his work (the original 3:10 to yuma, the tall t, mr. majestyk, jackie brown), this novel shows respect to all of its characters. some are good people, some are scoundrels, some are clever, some are idiotic. but leonard takes the time to turn each one of them into something with at least a shred of humanity and complexity, regardless of whether or not they find redemption in the end.
in doing so, he made me care about people who aren't particularly likeable by adding the occasional important detail, such as the mix of ethnic guilt and jealousy a hitman nick-named "the blackbird" feels when returning to the ojibway reservation he grew up on. the blackbird's contradictory feelings of shame and confidence add to the novel's considerable tension. by its conclusion, i wasn't sure i wanted the character's actions brought to justice, despite a considerable amount of time devoted to establishing him as a ruthless killer..
killshot is an engrossing read, but it moves at a more gradual pace than your typical page-turner. the novel slowly evolves from a familiar family-on-the-run drama into an understated exploration of personal boundaries. carmen colson, the likeable, new-agey office worker at the heart of the story, is constantly having her intimacy and privacy invaded. by the novel's conclusion, she has endured a half-dozen instances where unwanted guests make their way into her home. some readers have expressed impatience or disappointment by these plot developments, which on the surface may seem redundant. these home invasions certainly prolong the inevitable stand-off at the novel's conclusion. but they also develop carmen's sense of alienation, reflect the broader complications she feels with her husband and, finally, cultivate her strength as a character. killshot isn't simply a gangster drama - it's also the tale of a 20-year marriage between two decent, blue-collar people. its conclusion simultaneously delivers the genre thrills i signed up for and completes its portrait of a troubled but powerful protagonist.
(two sidenotes: 1. the italian version of this book pictured in the "other editions" sections of goodreads is really beautiful. i'd probably have read leonard long ago if it weren't for the ugliness of all his american book covers. 2. there are plenty of great film adaptations of leonard novels, but the film version of killshot isn't one of them. steer clear of it, unless you have a burning desire to see mickey rourke play a ponytailed, ojibway-french-canadian hitman.)
February 7, 2017
Maybe a 1.5. It wasn't awful, but I didn't particularly enjoy it.
I admit, I only picked this up because I needed an 'L' author and it also fit another challenge category - that will learn me!
It took me a couple of days to finish because it was just too easy to put down for other books. Kind of reminds me of No Country For Old Men, this does have speech marks but the tone/ style overall was similar. It started off OK, then just went rapidly downhill.
Armand Degas ( Blackbird) is a hit man, there is a long winded and not very interesting reason behind him being called Blackbird and everytime he meets someone, we get to read the reason again... He is given a Cadillac as payment for an execution.
The car attracts the attention of Richie Nix, a trigger happy ex-con. Richie realises Armand is a hit man while he is attempting to steal the car, instead of hi-jacking the Caddy, he recruits Armand to help him with his plan is to extort money from a former associate...
(If Armand was truly a badass, he could have just shot Richie in the face for attempting to steal his Caddy and continued on his way to Detroit and go on a tour of the Ford factory or something. That would have made this book would shorter and far more interesting)
It was around this point things started to go downhill...
A few interminable, mind-numbing chapters while Armand and Richie stay with Donna, Richie's 'woman'. (Donna is an Elvis obsessed criminal -humper, who is a dab hand with frozen dinners and drives a school bus. I hate to say it but I'm pretty sure if a person got fired from the prison service for sexual misconduct, I doubt that person would pass the record checks to be allowed to drive kids around)
Carmen and Wayne are a married couple with an empty nest. Carmen is employed by Nelson, the guy from whom Richie plans to screw money from. As a result, the couple are in the wrong place at the wrong time and are eventually placed in witness protection to keep them safe from Armand and Richie.
I have never read such a farcical and unrealistic set-up for witness protection, they keep the same names, have contact with family and keep the same cars! But Wayne does change his job...eh?
Richie and Armand are trying to track them down which should have been simple, but Richie and Armand don't come over as being very smart guys
The ending is predictable and not very satisfying.
While I was avoiding reading this, I came across this quote by Ernest Hemingway...
When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.
I think that's the trouble I was having with this and too many books lately...The people are not believable as human beings.
I admit, I only picked this up because I needed an 'L' author and it also fit another challenge category - that will learn me!
It took me a couple of days to finish because it was just too easy to put down for other books. Kind of reminds me of No Country For Old Men, this does have speech marks but the tone/ style overall was similar. It started off OK, then just went rapidly downhill.
Armand Degas ( Blackbird) is a hit man, there is a long winded and not very interesting reason behind him being called Blackbird and everytime he meets someone, we get to read the reason again... He is given a Cadillac as payment for an execution.
The car attracts the attention of Richie Nix, a trigger happy ex-con. Richie realises Armand is a hit man while he is attempting to steal the car, instead of hi-jacking the Caddy, he recruits Armand to help him with his plan is to extort money from a former associate...
(If Armand was truly a badass, he could have just shot Richie in the face for attempting to steal his Caddy and continued on his way to Detroit and go on a tour of the Ford factory or something. That would have made this book would shorter and far more interesting)
It was around this point things started to go downhill...
A few interminable, mind-numbing chapters while Armand and Richie stay with Donna, Richie's 'woman'. (Donna is an Elvis obsessed criminal -humper, who is a dab hand with frozen dinners and drives a school bus. I hate to say it but I'm pretty sure if a person got fired from the prison service for sexual misconduct, I doubt that person would pass the record checks to be allowed to drive kids around)
Carmen and Wayne are a married couple with an empty nest. Carmen is employed by Nelson, the guy from whom Richie plans to screw money from. As a result, the couple are in the wrong place at the wrong time and are eventually placed in witness protection to keep them safe from Armand and Richie.
I have never read such a farcical and unrealistic set-up for witness protection, they keep the same names, have contact with family and keep the same cars! But Wayne does change his job...eh?
Richie and Armand are trying to track them down which should have been simple, but Richie and Armand don't come over as being very smart guys
The ending is predictable and not very satisfying.
While I was avoiding reading this, I came across this quote by Ernest Hemingway...
When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.
I think that's the trouble I was having with this and too many books lately...The people are not believable as human beings.
July 17, 2016
As a fan of Elmore Leonard and a fellow Michigander, this one was looked-forward-to. I didn't read it as soon as it was published, but knew it was going to end up on the to-read list. Leonard didn't disappoint in this one. It may be the best of his I've read (although I have yet to read his westerns). I don't give five stars to a genre story, but there will always be exceptions, will there not?
Great story. Vivid characters, once again, brought to life by his exceptional talent at dialogue and voice. (I could hear those people talking and they all sounded like themselves.) Scenes are set up so that you can tell where everyone and everything is. Elmore's an artist.
With this genre, if you don't care for it, you could still read one of Leonard's and not feel like you were so much reading a crime novel, but a story about how people act, react and relate to one another. Carmen and Wayne, who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, must decide what to do to save their hides when State and Federal officers don't come through on the protection they find lacking.
A couple of average citizens–she sells real estate, he's an iron worker–they just want to get back to normal life. A beer after work and enjoying their old house with a woods out back to watch the deer. Oh, and being needled by Carmen's mom, who will feel more ill if Carmen can't be there when she feels like she needs her.
Leonard certainly follows his own advice: "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."
I swear, I never felt like I was reading "writing." I was reading a story.
Great story. Vivid characters, once again, brought to life by his exceptional talent at dialogue and voice. (I could hear those people talking and they all sounded like themselves.) Scenes are set up so that you can tell where everyone and everything is. Elmore's an artist.
With this genre, if you don't care for it, you could still read one of Leonard's and not feel like you were so much reading a crime novel, but a story about how people act, react and relate to one another. Carmen and Wayne, who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, must decide what to do to save their hides when State and Federal officers don't come through on the protection they find lacking.
A couple of average citizens–she sells real estate, he's an iron worker–they just want to get back to normal life. A beer after work and enjoying their old house with a woods out back to watch the deer. Oh, and being needled by Carmen's mom, who will feel more ill if Carmen can't be there when she feels like she needs her.
Leonard certainly follows his own advice: "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."
I swear, I never felt like I was reading "writing." I was reading a story.
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