Riding the Rap

Elmore Leonard was born in New Orleans in 1925. He wrote forty-five books during his phenomenal career, including the bestsellers MR PARADISE, TISHOMINGO BLUES, BE COOL and THE HOT KID. Many have been made into successful movies, including GET SHORTY with John Travolta, OUT OF SIGHT with George Clooney and RUM PUNCH, which became Tarantino's JACKIE BROWN. He is the recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award and the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award. He died in 2013 in Detroit.

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.