Pronto

Book: Pronto
Author: Elmore Leonard

I did not want to read more Elmore Leonard, but I came across a deal and the first few lines made this one a no-brainer. Damn you, Leonard. No matter how implausible the story, it is peopled by real characters and he’s capable of making the most reticent of them seem quite chatty. This one is no exception. In fact, Harry Arno, one of the players, is more than disagreeable and reminded me of someone very close. Arno here is a bookie, and he’s been skimming from his boss, and the boss before that going back forty years. When he is about to retire, he gets set up and they are out to get him. Will he survive? There’s a detour to Italy, memories of Ezra Pound during World War II, and a stetson wearing marshal tailing him. Not bad ingredients that make for a not bad novel. Interestingly enough, the two books I have read of “The Dickens of Detroit” are primarily set in Florida. Two others that I want to read, Get Shorty and Rum Punch, are also set - for most part - in Los Angeles and Florida.