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Elmore Leonard

(1925 - 2013)
Father of Peter Leonard

Elmore Leonard has written more than three dozen books including Cuba Libre, Rum Punch, and Get Shorty, and numerous screenplays. He has an unparalleled reputation among lovers of mayhem, suspense, and just plain wonderful writing. A Grand Master Award winner of the Mystery Writers of America, he has been likened to everyone from Balzac to Dostoevsky to Dickens to Dashiell Hammett -- but he is, in fact, entirely and entertainingly sui generis.

Genres: Western, Mystery

Series

Jack Ryan
The Big Bounce (1969)
Unknown Man No. 89 (1977)

Frank Ryan
   1. Swag (1976)
     aka Ryan's Rules
   2. Stick (1983)

Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara
1. The Switch (1978)
2. Rum Punch (1992)

Chili Palmer
1. Get Shorty (1990)
Be Cool (1999)

Raylan Givens
   1. Pronto (1993)
   2. Riding the Rap (1995)
   3. Raylan (2012)
   Pronto / Riding the Rap / Fire in the Hole (2012)

Carl Webster
   1. The Hot Kid (2005)
   2. Up in Honey's Room (2006)
   Comfort To The Enemy (2009)

Novels

   The Bounty Hunters (1953)
   The Law At Randado (1954)
   Escape from Five Shadows (1956)
   Last Stand At Saber River (1959)
   Hombre (1961)
   The Moonshine War (1969)
   Valdez Is Coming (1969)
   Forty Lashes Less One (1972)
   Mr. Majestyk (1974)
   Fifty-Two Pickup (1974)
   Three-Ten to Yuma (1975)
   The Hunted (1978)
   Gold Coast (1979)
   Gun Sights (1979)
   City Primeval (1980)
   Split Images (1982)
   Cat Chaser (1982)
   La Brava (1983)
   Glitz (1985)
   Bandits (1986)
   Touch (1987)
   Freaky Deaky (1988)
   Killshot (1989)
   Maximum Bob (1991)
   Out of Sight (1996)
   Naked Came the Manatee (1997) (with Brian Antoni, Dave Barry, Edna Buchanan, Tananarive Due, James W Hall, Vicki Hendricks, Carl Hiaasen, Paul Levine, Evelyn W Mayerson and Edna Standiford)
   Jackie Brown (1997)
   Cuba Libre (1998)
   Pagan Babies (2000)
   Tishomingo Blues (2002)
   Mr. Paradise (2004)
   A Coyote's in the House (2004)
   Road Dogs (2009)
   Djibouti (2010)
   Blue Dreams (2014)

Omnibus

   Double Dutch Treat (1985)
   Three Complete Novels (1992)
   Elmore Leonard Classic 3-Book Collection (2012)
   Four Novels of the 1970s (2014)
   Gunsights / Forty Lashes Less One (2018)
   Last Stand at Saber River / The Law at Randado (2018)

Collections

Non fiction

Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing (2007)

Awards

Edgar Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : La Brava

Elmore Leonard recommends

High Priest of California (1953)
Charles Willeford
"I'm proud to say I knew the man who wrote this book. Willeford writes with quiet authority, has the ability to make his situations, scenes, dialogue, sound absolutely real."

The Sour Lemon Score (1969)
(Parker, book 12)
Richard Stark
"Whatever Stark writes, I read. He's a stylist, a pro, and I thoroughly enjoy his attitude."

The High Rocks (1979)
(Page Murdock, book 1)
Loren D Estleman
"I smelled the horses in Loren Estleman's westerns - they're that realistic and alive."

Tapping the Source (1984)
Kem Nunn
"[A writer] who is one of a rare breed, who isn't afraid to plot and tell a story."

Rusty Irons (1984)
Dan Cushman
"Nobody writes a better Western than Dan Cushman."

The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1988)
Barry Gifford
"Gifford knows his noir. The essays are better than some of the films he writes about."

The Homesman (1988)
Glendon Swarthout
"I tell friends what The Homesman is about and their eyes open wide and they can't wait to read it. And that's just the plot. Swarthout puts you there, in time and place. I love the way he writes."

Soul/Mate (1989)
Rosamond Smith (Joyce Carol Oates)
"A hair-raiser."

Brules (1992)
Harry Combs
"Vivid, panoramic, authentic, Harry Combs has done a superb job of capturing the sights, the sounds, the smells, the feel of the american west."

Bait (1994)
Kenneth Abel
"A gripper all the way."

Jump (1995)
Mike Lupica
"A fast ride uptown full of authentic sounds, great sports-guy dialogue, and a plot that does flips."

Prism (1996)
Austin Bay
"A techno-thriller that gets up and runs."

Tie My Bones to Her Back (1996)
Robert F Jones
"I kept saying â€˜wowâ€™ with awe and respect as I read it. Tie My Bones to Her Back is a terrific book. Exciting, fascinating, beautifully written."

Marker (1997)
Lowell Cauffiel
"Cauffiel knows how to make it sound real."

The Agent (1998)
George V Higgins
"Higgins is my favorite....No, he doesn't learn from me, I learn from him."

Big Trouble (1999)
Dave Barry
"The funniest book I've read in fifty years."

Sweet Dream Baby (2002)
Sterling Watson
"I can't remember a book that sneaked up and grabbed me the way Sweet Dream Baby did. It's a real shocker by a very good writer."

Scavenger Hunt (2003)
(Jimmy Gage, book 2)
Robert Ferrigno
"An awesomely good writer."

Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You (2004)
Laurie Lynn Drummond
"Astonishing."

Handsome Harry (2004)
James Carlos Blake
"Blake brings 1930s bank robbers and their molls to life. I especially like his easy style."

Dirty South (2004)
(Nick Travers Mystery, book 4)
Ace Atkins
"Ace Atkins is an ace of a writer."

Walking Money (2004)
(Bill Tasker, book 1)
James O Born
"Jim Born is the real thing."

Bad Traffic (2008)
(Inspector Jian, book 1)
Simon Lewis
"Following Chinese points of view in a thriller set in the UK is inspired writing. Bad Traffic is a honey: suspense that never loses its grip."

The Reserve (2008)
Russell Banks
"If you've never read Russell Banks it's time you acquired the habit."

The Leisure Seeker (2009)
Michael Zadoorian
"Come to the end and you'll say 'Oh my God'."

The Perfect Prey (2011)
(John Stallings, book 2)
James Andrus
"An insider's view of how a true police investigation unfolds. It's as close a look at police work as you can get."

Seven Ways to Die (2012)
Kenneth John Atchity and William Diehl
"Bill Diehl gives you more story, more sustained entertainment than anyone else around."

Founders' Keeper (2015)
(David and Martin Yerxa, book 1)
Ed Markham
"A natural storyteller."

Sinner Man (2016)
Lawrence Block
"Block grabs you...and never lets go."

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