false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172680196m/206553.jpg 206553 16 After 30-odd novels, one might think that Elmore Leonard has nothing left to prove. But <I>Pagan Babies</I>, a novel filled with his signatures (tight plotting, scathing wit, and that grittily realistic dialogue), shows once again why he sets the standard against which other crime novels are measured. In fact, Leonard has raised the bar. How many authors would dare use the Rwandan genocide as backdrop for a story that moves gaily between romantic comedy and a massive, labyrinthine con? More to the point, how many of them would pull it off? <p> Father Terry Dunn doesn't have qualms about substituting punishment for penance. If that means killing four Hutu murderers who slaughtered his Tutsi congregation, so be it. Being an instrument of divine wrath has certain disadvantages, however, so Dunn breaks camp and heads for Detroit, where he's welcomed by family, a five-year-old federal indictment for tax fraud, and a fast-talking fireball named Debbie Dewey. Fresh from a stint in prison for assaulting her former fiancé, Randy, with a Ford Escort, Debbie is out for revenge: <blockquote>"I still can't believe I fell for it. He tells me he's retired from Merrill Lynch, one of their top traders, and I believed him. Did I check? No, not till it was too late. But you know what did me in, besides the hair and the tan? Greed. He said if I had a savings account that wasn't doing much and would like to put it to work... He shows me his phony portfolio, stock worth millions, and like a dummy I said, 'Well, I've got fifty grand not doing too much.' I signed it over and that's the last I saw of my money."</blockquote> It's only a matter of time before Debbie's desire for cold, hard cash and Dunn's fundraising for Rwandan orphans join forces in a carefully plotted financial assault on Randy's benefactor, Tony Amilia, who just happens to be the last of the old-school Detroit Mafia. Throw in a couple of hit men to whom <i>loyalty</i> is a foreign word, and you've got vintage Leonard: a fast-paced, roller-coaster ride of a novel where <i>deceiver</i> and <i>deceived</i> are gloriously shifty signifiers. <I>--Kelly Flynn</I> 2625921 2000 Pagan Babies total:576|5:69|4:192|3:243|2:63|1:9| 576 1977 706 41 4 1 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 14 17:37:14 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 14 17:37:19 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Mon Jan 21 07:21:28 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 21 07:23:44 -0800 2008 3 1 true false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 09:08:11 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 09:08:15 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Wed Sep 23 19:48:46 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 19:51:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jul 03 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Feb 08 08:17:34 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 08:18:02 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jun 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 23:14:18 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 22 15:05:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 31 04:06:41 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 04:07:50 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 05:50:49 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 06:39:44 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Wed Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 19 12:43:47 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 20 18:55:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Jun 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 09:14:41 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 09:15:38 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Jul 16 20:23:21 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 20:24:47 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 14 11:06:02 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 11:06:02 -0700 2009 http://steelbrassnwood.livejournal.com/1...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Mar 02 17:52:02 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 17:52:30 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sun Nov 30 11:14:18 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 11:14:43 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Sun Jun 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 23:40:56 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 23:40:56 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri May 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 15:13:06 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 07:22:28 -0700 2009
After reading the first 20 pages I had to search the ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 15:37:31 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 07:20:39 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jul 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 08:26:21 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 06:36:05 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Thu Aug 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 17:15:25 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 17:51:41 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Feb 27 08:21:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 27 08:21:00 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=206553