The Switch

By Elmore Leonard

Book Overview

"My favorite Leonard book....He writes the way Hammett and Chandler might write today, if they sharpened their senses of ironic humor and grew better ears for dialogue." -- Dallas Morning News "The best writer of crime fiction alive." -- Newsweek Dangerously eccentric characters, razor-sharp black humor, brilliant dialog, and suspense all rolled into one tight package--that's The Switch , Elmore Leonard's classic tale of a kidnapping gone wrong...or terribly right, depending on how you look at it. The Grand Master whom the New York Times Book Review calls, "the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever," has written a wry and twisting tale that any of the other all-time greats--Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, John D. MacDonald, James M. Cain, Robert Parker...every noir author who ever walked a detective, cop, or criminal into a shadowy alley--would be thrilled to call their own. Leonard, the man who has given us U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (currently starring in TV's Justified ) is at his storytelling best, as a spurned wife decides to take a rightful--and profitable--revenge on her deceiving hubby by teaming up with the two thugs he hired to abduct her.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060082208
• ISBN13: 9780060082208
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

finally!!!

yes, finally an Elmore Leonard book that is as good as it gets, AND has a brilliant ending... I always smile thinking about it... endings are one of the (if not the only) weak point of Leonard... his books are so good and compelling that the endings tend to be anticlimatic... this one though... oh, my!!! just amazing!!!

Particularly recommended to Groove Holmes fans!

This was the first Elmore Leonard book I read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.Lots of great dialogue and plot twists.

Switch to this book now

This is possibly the most enjoyable Leonard novel I have read. It really is superb, mixing violence and humour to great effect. The story is streamlined, with no unnecessary characters or plotlines, and the jokes are very funny. The ending is especially enjoyable, the type of ending you wish for but know that the author won't deliver...unless it's Elmore Leonard. It really ties things up nicely, and there's not a cliche or stereotype to be seen. That's what makes Leonard so enjoyable...it's believable people doing believable things. Funny, clever, engrossing. I couldn't put it down, and that's a cliche I don't mind using...

Another winner from Leonard

Another great read set in Detorit with the usual creative slick and crooked characters. The dialogue is the best, as always. He makes it look so easy. A joy to read!

brilliant

I think elmore has written a brilliant-fast pace and exciting story -very mutch like many of his books.