Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap

Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap (USA 2012)

From the Publisher:
"THE KING DADDY OF CRIME NOVELISTS." -- SEATTLE TIMES
Now that mom's gravy train has derailed, gambling, debt-ridden Palm Beach playboy Warren "Chip" Ganz has decided to take somebody rich hostage -- with the help of a Bahamian ex-con, a psycho gardener/enforcer, and the beautiful, if underfed, psychic Reverend Dawn. The trouble is, they chose bookmaker Harry Arno as their victim, and Harry can scam with the best. The big trouble is, ace manhunter U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is sleeping with Harry's ex-exotic dancer ex-girlfriend, and Joyce wants Harry found. And since nearly everyone has guns, locating and springing the captive bookie almost certainly can't happen without some measure of lethal difficulty.

"Tart, hip, and funny... . Shot through with sly, mordant street wisdom." -- Chicago Sun-Times
"Vintage Leonard... . He keeps you guessing, turning pages, gnawing your way to the end." -- San Francisco Chronicle
"The uncontested master of the crime thriller... . This one [ranks] up there with his best." -- Washington Post

ELMORE LEONARD has written more than forty books during his highly successful writing career, and many of his novels have been made into movies. Leonard is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from PEN USA and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives in Bloomfield Village, Michigan.

Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap. William Morrow Paperbacks, ISBN: 9780062122476 (January, 2012), 338 p., $14.99.

Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap (USA 2010)

"Tart, hip, and funny... . Shot through with sly, mordant street wisdom." -- Chicago Sun-Times
"Vintage Leonard... . He keeps you guessing, turning pages, gnawing your way to the end." -- San Francisco Chronicle
"The uncontested master of the crime thriller... . This one [ranks] up there with his best." -- Washington Post

Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap. Harper, ISBN: 9780062020291 (April, 2010), 326 p., $7.99.

Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap (UK 2009)

From the Publisher:
A classic Leonard thriller featuring Raylan Givens - the inspiration behind the hit show JUSTIFIED.
Palm Beach playboy Chip Ganz needs money - fast. He has spiralling debts, and his mother's gravy-train has just derailed.
So he has a plan: he's going to find somebody rich, and take them hostage. With the help of an ex-con, a psycho gardener and the beautiful psychic Reverend Dawn, he chooses bookmaker Harry Arno as the lucky victim. The trouble is, Harry can scam with the best of them. And that's not the only problem. US Marshal Raylan Givens is sleeping with Harry's ex girlfriend, Joyce, and she wants Harry found...

Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap. Phoenix, ISBN: 9780753822418 (April, 2009), 326 p., £7.99.

Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap (USA 2002)

From the Publisher:
"THE KING DADDY OF CRIME NOVELISTS." -- Seattle Times
Now that his mom's gravy train has derailed, gambling, debt-ridden Palm Beach playboy Warren "Chip" Ganz has decided to take somebody rich hostage -- with the help of a Bahamian ex-con, a psycho gardener/enforcer, and the beautiful, if underfed, psychic Reverend Dawn. The trouble is they choose bookmaker Harry Arno as their victim, and Harry can scam with the best. The BIG trouble is ace manhunter U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is sleeping with Harry's ex-exotic dancer ex-girlfriend, and Joyce wants Harry found. And since nearly everyone has guns, locating and springing the captive bookie most probably can't happen without some measure of lethal difficulty.

"Leonard remains the uncontested master of the crime thriller. This latest one, ranking up there with his best, secures his hold on the title." -- Washington Post

Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap. HarperTorch, ISBN: 0060082186 (April, 2002), 341 p., $7.50.

Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap (USA 1995)

From the Publisher:
Many imitate him but none can touch him. He's set the standard against which all other crime novels are measured. His signature is vise-tightening suspense, crackling dialogue, and deadeye wit. And now, in his new novel, Riding the Rap, Elmore Leonard proves once again that he is "the greatest living writer of crime fiction" (The New York Times).

Raylan Givens, U.S. marshal, is working on Warrants, bringing in fugitive felons, when Harry Arno disappears again and Raylan feels obliged to find him. This time with misgivings. Raylan believes Harry has dropped out of sight to get attention and win back his former lover, Joyce, who had fallen into Raylan's arms, but now seems concerned only with Harry's welfare.

The last person to see Harry is a nifty young psychic -- certified medium and spiritualist -- named Dawn Navarro. As soon as Raylan talks to her he senses that Harry has very likely been kidnapped and Dawn is involved.

Cut to the bad guys. Chip Ganz describes his idea, a way to make millions, as "taking hostages." Not unlike the way it was done in Lebanon, but this time for profit. Does he mean kidnapping? "In a way," Chip tells his ex-con accomplices, Louis Lewis and Bobby Deo, "only different. A lot different." It's the victim who has to come up with a way to pay the ransom. "It had better be the best idea you've ever had," Chip tells Harry, blindfolded and in chains. "Because if we don't like it, you're dead."

In time Raylan's pretty sure he knows where Harry is being held, but doesn't have "probable cause" to get a warrant and gain entry. As he closes in, though, Chip's hostage plan begins to come apart and the scene is set for a showdown -- one of the best you'll ever see.

Elmore Leonard: Riding the Rap. Delacorte Press, ISBN: 0385308477 (September, 1995), 294 p., $22.95.