Saturday, January 10, 2015

MR. PARADISE by Elmore Leonard

Finished Sa 1/10/15

From my collection and I first read this and finished it on Fr 4/21/06.

Easily one of Leonard's best. Reminded me of RUM PUNCH (film JACKIE BROWN) in that both novels are love stories concerning two complex and morally ambiguous people.

Storyline-

Mr. Paradise is a rich,  old man who has a black and sleazy man-servant, Montez Taylor. Part of his job is to provide the old man with female companionship. Chloe gets five grand a week for her services and one night she asks her friend and roommate, Kelly to tag along. However, on this particular night Montez has contracted two white hit-men, Art and Carl, to kill Mr. Paradise, but he was unaware of the sex party in progress. The hitmen arrive, take out Mr. Paradise and also Chloe who is sitting on his lap naked. Kelly is upstairs at the time of the killings.

Montez makes Kelly tell the cops that she is Chloe because Montex thinks that Chloe is going to receive over a hundred thousand dollars in stocks and he can use Kelly to get the money.

Frank Delsa is on the case and during the investigation he falls for Kelly. It's an intricate dance to express his feelings of lust/love for Kelly, and not compromise the legal situation as the chief investigator on a murder case. Is Kelly involved in the plot? No, she really isn't.

A couple of subplots involve a drug killing in which a man is cut with a chain saw into 'six parts'. (everyone assumes it would be five, but they forget to count the trunk as the sixth part), and the CI, Orlando who is trying to find the killer of these drug dealers ( 3-Jay). Also, the story of Lloyd who is the butler for Mr. Paradise. He kind of looks and acts like an 'uncle Tom', but really is a wily and crafty old-time gangster. He inherits the house in the end.

A short and easy read and no one has a better ear for dialog than Elmore Leonard. Makes me want to scour the collection for more of his novels.

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