Elmore Leonard: Swag (UK 2025)

From the Publisher:
'The Ten Golden Rules for Successful Armed Robbery' if rigidly adhered to will catapult two trainee robbers -- Frank and Stick -- into Detroit's criminal elite. But for how long can they maintain the Rules' austere discipline as the lurid, fun temptations pile up?

Elmore Leonard: Swag. Penguin Modern Classics, ISBN: 9780241755419 (June, 2025), 240 p., £10.99, eBook £5.99.

Elmore Leonard: Swag (USA 2013)

From the Publisher:
The smallest of small-time criminals, Ernest Stickley Jr. figures his luck's about to change when Detroit used car salesman Frank Ryan catches him trying to boost a ride from Ryan's lot. Frank's got some surefire schemes for getting rich quick -- all of them involving guns -- and all Stickley has to do is follow "Ryan's Rules" to share the wealth. But sometimes rules need to be bent, maybe even broken, if one is to succeed in the world of crime, especially if the "brains" of the operation knows less than nothing.

"An electrifying novel... with a murderous, well-timed suspenseful finale." -- Publishers Weekly

ELMORE LEONARD has written more than forty books during his highly successful writing career, including the bestsellers Road Dogs, Up in Honey's Room, The Hot Kid, Mr. Paradise, Tishomingo Blues, and the critically acclaimed collection of short stories When the Women Come Out to Dance. Many of his books have been made into movies, including Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Be Cool. He is the recipient of the National Book Foundation's medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the Lifetime Achievement Award from PEN USA, and the Grand Master Award of the Mystery Writers of America. He lives in Bloomfield Village, Michigan.

Elmore Leonard: Swag. William Morrow Paperbacks, ISBN: 9780062227867 (December, 2012), 245 p., $14.99.

Elmore Leonard: Swag (UK 2011)

From the Publisher:
Elmore Leonard is 'the man other crime writers call the Boss' DAILY TELEGRAPH. There aren't any textbooks on armed robbery. The only way to learn is through experience, and small-time crooks Frank and Stick are determined to do as much learning on the job as possible.

In 1970s' Detroit they embark on a crime spree, holding up liquor stores and supermarkets. They invent their ‘Ten Golden Rules for Successful Armed Robbery' and for a short time the cash is rolling in. But then they bend their own rules, and it looks like trouble is heading their way...

Elmore Leonard: Swag. Orion Books, ISBN: 9780753819647 (October, 2011), 215 p., £7.99.

Elmore Leonard: Swag (USA 2009)

From the Publisher:
The smallest of small-time criminals, Ernest Stickley Jr. figures his luck's about to change when Detroit used-car salesman Frank Ryan catches him trying to boost a ride from Ryan's lot. Frank's got some surefire schemes for getting rich quick -- all of them involving guns -- and all Stickley has to do is follow "Ryan's Rules" to share the wealth. But sometimes rules need to be bent, maybe even broken, if one is to succeed in the world of crime, especially if the "brains" of the operation knows less than nothing.

Elmore Leonard: Swag. Harper Paperbacks, ISBN: 9780061741364 (April, 2009), 272 p., $14.99.

Elmore Leonard: Swag (UK 2004)

From the Publisher:
There aren't any textbooks on armed robbery. The only way to learn is through experience, and small-time crooks Frank and Stick are determined to do as much learning on the job as possible.

In 1970s' Detroit they embark on a crime spree, holding up liquor stores and supermarkets. They invent their 'Ten Golden Rules For Successful Armed Robbery' and for a short time the cash is rolling in. But then they bend their own rules, and it looks like trouble is heading their way.

Elmore Leonard: Swag. Phoenix, ISBN: 0753819643 (December, 2004), 215 p., £6.99.

Elmore Leonard: Ryan's Rules (USA 1978)

From the Publisher:
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF ARMED ROBBERY
Frank, a used-car salesman, and Stick, a retired auto thief, had devised ten efficient ways to take the risk out of heist work and get the most for the least.

They were proud of their rules, and pleased with the take.
But Frank was ambitious. And Hudson's -- the largest department store in the state -- looked like such a sweet piece of cake.

"A BRUTALLY UP-TO-DATE CRIME NOVEL, AND A GOOD ONE!" -- The New Yorker
"WILL HAVE CRITICS MENTIONING CHANDLER AND HIGGINS -- IT'S THAT GOOD." -- The New York Times
"A STREETWISE, ELECTRIFYING NOVEL built on desperate characters and the psychology of crime, with a murderous, well-timed, suspenseful finale." -- Publishers Weekly

Elmore Leonard: Ryan's Rules. Originally published under the title "Swag". Dell, ISBN: 0440183936 (July, 1978), 224 p., $1.50.

Elmore Leonard: Swag (USA 1976)

From the Publisher:
Take a couple of well-meaning guys in Detroit, give 'em guns and a foolproof set of rules for success in armed robbery, and you end up with the cleverest, toughest suspense caper since "The Sting."

Frank Ryan had come up the hard way. A tough, unscrupulous child of the streets, he wasn't about to spend the rest of his life as a used-car salesman. Ernest Stickley was a more gentle fellow, but his life behind the wheel of a cement truck quickly palled when Frank offered him a surefire ticket to easy swag (that's loot); so they shook, it was a deal, and the fun (and the danger) began.

From humble beginnings (like gas stations and liquor stores) to the grand finale (Hudsons, the biggest department store in the state), Motown would never forget this dynamic duo, and the notorious inner-city underworld would never be the same.

ELMORE LEONARD
is a novelist and a screen writer who makes his home in Birmingham, Michigan.

Elmore Leonard: Swag. A Novel. Delacorte Press, ISBN: 0440084490 (March, 1976), 229 p., $7.95.