The Hot Kid

Elmore Leonard was born in New Orleans on 11 October 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 on 20 August 2013 in Detroit.
www.elmoreleonard.com

Carlos Webster was fifteen in the fall of 1921, the first time he came face-to-face with a nationally known criminal. A few weeks later, he killed his first man—a cattle thief who was rustling his dad's stock. Now Carlos, called Carl, is the hot kid of the U.S. Marshals Service, one of the elite manhunters currently chasing the likes of Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd across America's Depression-ravaged heartland.
Carl wants to be the country's most famous lawman. Jack Belmont, the bent son of an oil millionaire, wants to be public enemy number one. Tony Antonelli of True Detective magazine wants to write about this world of cops and robbers, molls and speakeasies from perilously close up. Then there are the hot dames—Louly and Elodie—hooking their schemes and dreams onto dangerous men. And before the gunsmoke clears, everybody just might end up getting exactly what he or she wished for.

“This is a novel that... is all about style, literary and otherwise.” — New York Times Book Review
“THE HOT KID brims with the sly humor, sparse prose and razor dialogue we expect from the master” — Los Angeles Times Book Review
“The writing is pitch-perfect throughout...it’s all pure Leonard, and that means it’s pure terrific.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Clear, fast-paced and masterfully structured.” — Philadelphia Inquirer
“The HOT KID is Elmore Leonard- a master- at his best.” — Oklahoma City Oklahoman
“...expertly crafted, deftly balanced.” — Houston Chronicle
“...Rips along like a bandit’s getaway car...THE HOT KID is Leonard at his best.” — Tulsa World
“...delivers the goods in a top-notch amalgam of sagebrush western and mob drama.” — Lexington Herald-Leader
“There’s nothing Elmore Leonard doesn’t know about stylish writing, and THE HOT KID is him at his compressed best.” — Detroit Free Press
“Wonderfully funny and hair-raising...THE HOT KID is splendid.” — Providence Sunday Journal
“Elmore Leonard unspools the definitive portrait of 1930s lowlife” — Boston Sunday Globe (Stephen King)
Praise for MR.PARADISE: “The dialogue and the characters crackle ...MR. PARADISE is a perfect crime caper from a master.” — Detroit Free Press
“Smart writing about dumb crooks.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“His 40th crime novel—and he just keeps getting better and better. ” — Deseret News