Mr. Paradise

Leonard is at his snappy, not-a-word-wasted best in this crime-gone-wrong page-turner. The crime is the murder of the title character, a rich, elderly Detroit crime boss. His resentful assistant, Montez Taylor, who has been written out of the old man's will, organized the hit. When he learns that Mr. Paradiso's "girlfriend," high-priced call girl Chloe, is making an unexpected visit, Montez tries to call it off, but fails.Chloe brings along her friend Kelly, a model, who agrees to help out with a titillating cheerleading routine, and Kelly is upstairs when two gunmen burst in, killing both Chloe and Paradiso. Montez intimidates Kelly into pretending to be Chloe - there's a safety deposit box scam involved - but the nice policeman on the scene, quickly smitten Frank Desla, sees through that pretty quickly.That's the set-up and from there it's just one thing after another in turn after subplot after switchback after double cross in gritty Detroit. Tightly plotted, but character driven, this is as zany, comic and smart as we've come to expect.

Elmore Leonard seems to run hot and cold in my eyes. But with "Mr. Paradise," he is definitely hot. Frank Delsa, acting lieutenant of Squad Seven, Homicide Section, Detroit Police Department has a couple of new murders to handle. An old rich guy with a penchant for young female playmates - and one of those very playmates who had the misfortune to be right there when Mr. Paradise was on the receiving end of a bullet. She gets one too for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whodunnit? Well, Delsa first has to figure out who got it. The young hired girlfriend? Or her lookalike friend who came to the house that night and just happened to be upstairs at the time of Mr. Paradise's accelerated exit from this world. It's a good police story. Characters drift in and out, each adding a little bit of necessary information to the story. None of them will ever win a Nobel Prize, but they kind of remind me of Daman Runyon's people; the dumb folks who think they are smart and wind up wearing orange jumpsuits or buying the Brooklyn Bridge. The story moves nicely; the few loose ends don't rattle too much and there's a pleasant ending, at least for Frank Delsa. It's a fun read, a good story.Jerry

What do these reviewers expect? This is the story.A high-end former Detroit call girl, asks her lingerie model roommate to help her entertain a wealthy octogenarian trial lawyer. By entertain, read she dons a cheerleader's skimpy skirt, but goes topless, while performing pom-pom routines beside a TV set while the lawyer watches videotaped University of Michigan football games. The plot, to say the least, is imaginative. The characters are unique and unforgettable. The dialogue is snappy and realistic. The story moves and is entertaining.What did these reviewers expect - a Detroit-based Hamlet? Elmore Leonard is a gifted novelist and Mr. Paradise will add to his reputation as a skilled character crafter.

Shady characters, brilliant dialogue, irony, masterful writing and a lively and humorous story line are what we expect from Elmore Leonard. "Mr. Paradise," a Runyonesque tale, has all this and more...it does not disappoint.Eighty-four year old retired mob lawyer Tony Paradisio's favorite pastime is watching tapes of classic Michigan football victories with an escort or two cheering topless in ways not athletically encouraging.After learning that he has been eliminated from Mr. Paradise's will, Montez (Mr. P's main man) arranges a hit that is supposed to look like a home invasion gone wrong.The perps and Montez are members of the criminal mindless.Throw in two corpses, a Victoria Secret model witness, an identity switch, assorted lowlifes, a safe deposit box full of loot, the hitmen's "agent" and Frank Delsa (a resourceful Detroit homicide detective)---and the chase is on.The bad guys feel a sense of entitlement---leading to their demise. Getting caught being the real crime. Double-crosses, scams and deceptions propel the plot.The tight prose is filled with accurate conversation in the colorful vernacular of the urban scene."Mr. Paradise" is a stylistic, unforgettable, witty, fast-paced read. Elmore Leonard is a consistently entertaining writer---do not under rate him just because you like him.

Anthony Paradiso, Sr. octogenarian trial lawyer and U of M alumnus, meets his maker after a session with Chloe, his $900 an hour call girl. Chloe once tried to buy an actual cheerleader's outfit to help Mr. Paradise get his rocks off. Chloe's efforts at customer service were totally rebuffed by the girls who wear the blue and maize to cheer on the champions of the West and not for the purpose of titillating elderly athletic supporters. But even if you can't buy one, you can have one made which is why Chloe was wearing her pleated skirt sans panties in death.Dutch Leonard takes us on another wild ride through the world of dumb ex-cons, high class hookers, wannabe C.I.s, smarmy defense lawyers, and horny homicide cops to get to the bottom of the perfect crime that wasn't. As always, it's the dialogue that drives the action. No one has a better ear for cop and wise-guy talk than Leonard, who weaves these snippets of conversation into an engrossing tale of perfidy and stupidity.