Bandits

A sexy ex-nun in an Elmore Leonard novel--need I say more? Sure, BANDITS has the usual great dialogue, colorful characters, and gritty situations, but it also has a sexy ex-nun. If you went to Catholic school or just have a thing for nuns (and I know you're out there, guys), BANDITS is the book for you. All kidding aside, this book is yet another winner from the master of modern crime fiction.

I enjoyed this quick little read; Jack Delaney, out of Angola for 3 years and working as a mortuary assistant, longs for something more. He meets an interesting woman, who turns out to have formerly been a nun in Niceragua. She doesn't necessarily come out and say she supports the Sandinistas, but she is DEFINITELY opposed to the contras, who recently attacked and destroyed the leper colony she was working in (well, more of a leper hospital, but same idea, I suppose), killing many of the patients in the meantime. The attack was precipitated because she has helped a young woman, who came there to be treated, to escape from the Dagoberta something (I can't remember his name without looking it up, sorry), who is a general with the contras and wants the young woman dead because she has leprosy and he is afraid she has given it to him. Lucy (the nun) takes the young woman to America, but is followed by the general, who is also taking the chance to raise money for the contras. People with memories of the 80s will definitely understand all the politics that goes on; I certainly did, but then I was raised by a rabid anti-Communist father, so he made sure all of us kept up on the actions in any countries who were under that terrible reign (<--- Irony). At any rate, I enjoyed this as I have enjoyed all of Elmore Leonard's books to date. It is dense, but short and an easy read with enjoyable characters (my favorite was Franklin de Dios, a native of Niceragua/Honduras). Give it a try.

Every Elmore Lenard book is great, but this takes the cake. The use of Lucy and Jack, one being a ex-nun and the other an ex-con, shows that with one goal in mind something could get done. Even if the motives are different between them. Best one by Lenard. A must read!!!!

While not his best work, it did have my favorite ending of his. The only real problem I had with the book was the pacing. The number of pages should have been shortened considerably.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It happened to be the first EL book I read, and maybe that's part of the reason I liked it so much. An introduction to an author such as this was a real treat! And I also happen to be a fan of New Orleans, so this book was a lot of fun.