Be Cool

Chili Palmer is a former loan shark who has now relocated to Hollywood and is a player in the movie business, because he'd been successful with his first movie, "Get Leo," but the sequel tanked. He's trolling for new ideas with former crime associate, Tommy Athens, when Athens is murdered in cold blood - a mob hit, apparently. Chili has seen the killer and is very likely next on his list.When he gets home he finds a man shot to death in his apartment, he realizes that both the dead man and the murderer were there to get him. The second hit man shot the first thinking he was Chili.Much of the enjoyment in this story is the way Leonard uses events in Chili's life to give his hero material for his screenplay. The characters function both as themselves and actors in the film. Fiction within fiction.And some of them are very funny: A black record producer who wants respect; a gigantic gay black bodyguard, who says he's Samoan; a bunch of Russian Mafia types and a streetwise collection of gangsta rappers known as Ropa Dope. From this rough material, Chilli must put together the movie that will save his career.It's been said before and I'll say it again. Elmore Leonard is a genius. He can do no wrong. Like GET SHORTY, BE COOL is a keeper, a book you'll want to read again and again.

If you are a fan of movies like Jackie Brown, Get Shorty and Out of Sight, then you are already a Leonard fan. Be Cool ranks right up there with the best of his work. I highly recommend the book.

This is my first Elmore Leonard and I thouroughly enjoyed it. The story rolls fluently in its almost script like format. This will become a film. The characters are very real and believable and Chili, well his confidence doesn't border on arrogance, it's invaded and ransacked it. Highly recommended.

First of all, for those music critics who have given the book a bad review because it doesn't go deep enough into the real psyche of the industry - PAY ATTENTION- this is not a book about the music industry - it's a book about Chili Palmer. This is a great read - the dialogue shows Leonard at his very best - and the very real depictions of the music industry (Palmer says "I have a hunch there aren't any rules, you just see how much you can get away with") are right on - He takes some of the real-life experiences of The Stone Coyotes (an amazing band - check out stonecoyotes.com) and makes them fodder for the heroine Linda Moon's own music career. Can't wait for the movie

The delivery of the story is tight and well crafted, but like a 12 year old's summer vacation, you dread the end because it comes too soon and you know you'll have to wait a year for another. In what seems to be a metaphor for Leonard's creation process we're treated to more Chili Palmer. Due to a bookstore's error in shelving the book too early, I was able to beat the rush and feel truly priviledged. The book is truly outstanding, enjoy!