Title: Road Dogs
Author: Elmore Leonard
Cover Artist: Mary Schuck
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: William Morrow, a Harper Collins imprint
Publication Date: May 12, 2009
Some folks bitch about Elmore Leonard’s last decade or so of work. Fuck, full disclosure and all that happy horseshit, the Nerd has been known to be one of those detractors. But when you look back at it, for every lame book there’s a rock-fucking solid one. I’ll bitch about Cuba Libre being practically unreadable and then pick up its follow-up The Hot Kid and declare it a fucking hoot-and-a-half. I’ll hate on Up In Honey’s Room then remember he wrote Mr. Paradise just a few years prior to that – and I believe Mr. Paradise may be one of his all-time best. I thought Be Cool was too cute and coy while Tishomingo Blues – though also a little precious – rocked my fucking balls.
Road Dogs is most definitely one of the good ‘uns, dear reader. It’s dripping with that un-forced cool that only Leonard can convincingly convey. Plus, it’s a treat (god do I hate that fucking word) for the die-hards, too, featuring characters from all across his vast criminal Leonardverse (okay, that sentence was about as cute as it gets. I’d edit it but I’m keeping it for the sake of horrible, shitty posterity).
The story follows Jack Foley (Out of Sight), who we last saw being sent back to prison thanks to his time-out buddy Karen Sisco, as he befriends Cundo Rey (LaBrava) in the joint. Cundo’s getting out of jail soon and thinks Jack probably could too, that is if he had a little help from Cundo’s high-price lawyer. Cundo pays for the lawyer to take on the appeal and Jack actually gets out of prison before Cundo by a good week. Cundo sets Jack up in one of his houses out in Venice Beach, a house right across the way from Cundo’s hot fortune teller mistress Dawn Navarro (Riding the Rap).
Jack knows that Cundo’s kindness probably isn’t for free, figures the guy wants to pull a score with him. He also knows that Dawn wants a piece of him, a feeling that you better believe is mutual. And if she’s willing to cheat on Cundo – a known murderer – maybe she’d be willing to rip off Cundo as well. And then there’s Federal Agent Lou Adams, a tenacious little fucker who wants to be the Melvin Purvis to Jack Foley’s John Dillinger…
When I’d first heard about the book, I figured it was a straight-up sequel to Out of Sight, like Rum Punch was to The Switch or Be Cool was to Get Shorty or Up in Honey’s Room was to The Hot Kid. But happily, this shit is not just some re-tread of the Sisco/Foley romance but a whole new story, a whole new scam with a bunch of different characters. I mean, it’s good for marketing reasons to call it a sequel to Out of Sight, seeing how that’s a recognizable title to even the most casual of readers/movie-goers, but it’s not necessary to have read any of the books I’ve mentioned (and Jesus fucking Christ have I mentioned a ton of Leonard titles thus far). Shit, Karen Sisco shows up for like a second at the beginning of the book and Buddy is a complete no-show altogether. And that’s fucking peaches and cream for the Nerd because it’s a fucking blast to see all these greatest hits hanging out with one another, like a super-group album that doesn’t suck ass (I’m lookin’ at you, Traveling Wilburys).
But aside from the thrill of another go-round with some old favorites, what makes it all work is what any asshole can say about an Elmore Leonard novel: The dialogue is sharp, the prose free of shit you don’t wanna read, and the whole thing is covered in coolness. Leonard’s not reinventing the wheel with this motherfucker, he’s keeping it light and fun and giving the reader the expected laid-back good time. There are no big shoot-outs or action sequences – which he handled quite brilliantly in The Hot Kid, surprisingly – but like Mr Paradise, the real tension and action happens in the conversations (and if you’ve read any Leonard, you know I’m not talking out my pretentious ass like some douche talking about My Dinner With Andre). That said, sometimes I wish Leonard would just have a crazy violent scene in one of his books, something just completely appalling and intense like an Allan Guthrie novel.
And so this ends my fucking tutorial on the recent works of Elmore Leonard. And what should you have learned from the Nerd master class, dear reader? Why this, of course: That you should pick up Road Dogs toot-fucking-sweet and enjoy the “cool” breeze (yeah, I just punned right in your face. What’re you gonna do about it?).
Didn’t Buddy die in Out of Sight? Just lived in the movie…
Foley mentions in the book that Buddy is somewhere out of the country with his sister.
Also, Cundo Rey clearly dies in LaBrava but Leonard said it was okay to bring him back because LaBrava didn’t check his vitals or some shit.
The time line is completely fucked in this too – it is clearly present day but everybody is just like five years older than what they were in their previous books (La Brava set in the 80′s, Out of Sight and Riding the Rap in the 90′s). So he cheats in a lot of ways.
Dude, Uncle Elmore consistently kicks huge ass! I may not be as educated or well read as “The Nerd” but, big thumbs up for Elmore Leonard and mostly all of his books. I’ve read them all except for this latest entry Road Dogs. I’m also very recently new to modern computers. I say this tongue in cheek because “I used to be somebody GOD DAMMIT!” The last computer I owned was an Amiga system complete with it’s own built-in hard drive if you can imagine! (circa 1990). I just bought myself a new MacBookPro three days ago so please exercise understanding if my on-line protocol is a bit base. You might say I spent the last 20 or so years reading awesome novels. Check out J.A.Konrath in you are a fan Leonard. Hiassen (spelling?) is a kick in the pants too. Thanks for indulging me.