Hard-ass Palm Beach County judge Bob Isom Gibbs enjoys sending even petty offenders away to do hard time -- which has made the list of miscreant... read full description
reviews
Jan 25, 2012
Kemper
rated it: 
Treasure of the Rubbermaids 15: See Ya Later, Alligator!
The on-going discoveries of priceless books and comics found in a stack of Rubbermaid containers previously stored and forgotten at my parent’s house and untouched for almost 20 years. Thanks to my father dumping them back on me, I now spend my spare time unearthing lost treasures from their plastic depths.
This is not the Elmore Leonard book I wanted to be reading. I thought I was going to be able to achieve a Rayla More...
The on-going discoveries of priceless books and comics found in a stack of Rubbermaid containers previously stored and forgotten at my parent’s house and untouched for almost 20 years. Thanks to my father dumping them back on me, I now spend my spare time unearthing lost treasures from their plastic depths.
This is not the Elmore Leonard book I wanted to be reading. I thought I was going to be able to achieve a Rayla More...
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Sep 25, 2011
Shazza
rated it: 
Way back when, I was one of the handful of people who watched the television series based off this novel. I liked it. The story centers around Kathy Baker, formerly Diaz, a probation officer in southern Florida. She gets involved with a client in her caseload, Dale Crowe, a young man of a certain family of ne'er do wells. Crowe is going into court before Judge Bob Gibbs, aka "Big", who's known for having a short temper when it comes to the cases he tries. Bob takes an interest in Kathy
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Sep 06, 2009
E.
rated it: 
'The minute she appeared in his courtroom charged with indecent exposure, jogging topless in John D. MacArthur Park, he knew this big redheaded girl would fit the bill. She'd said to him in court, "Your Honor, I was doing nothing lewd or indecent." No, but he'd bet she would if given the chance, a woman he decided then and there had to be full of fun. He fined her two hundred dollars, had to, waited a week, phoned her and said, "How about a couple of hundred dollar dinners to make
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Nov 20, 2010
Jrobertus
rated it:
Maximum Bob is a fun, fun read, like most Leonard stories. Kathy is a probation officer and her work links her to the Crowe family. The title character is a no nonsense judge. He has made a lot of enemies with his tough sentences, and despite his age, he is a lady’s man who takes a fancy to Kathy when she appears in his court. He coerces her to visit his house to explain how his wife doesn’t understand him. His wife is gorgeous, but a real new age fruit loop. The Crowe’s are a family of mis
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Dec 28, 2009
Jim
rated it:
The story of this book revolves around a Florida judge with the nick-name "Maximum Bob" or sometimes "Big". As the name implies, he hands out tough sentences. It's also about a young, attractive probation officer, Kathy Baker, who is the object of several character's affection or lust as the case may be.
There are a lot of twists and turns in the story as the police try to figure out if someone or many people want to kill Maximum Bob. Counter to this is Bob's More...
There are a lot of twists and turns in the story as the police try to figure out if someone or many people want to kill Maximum Bob. Counter to this is Bob's More...
Jul 03, 2011
Pf87
rated it: 
It's all talk. The judge talks about guys he put in prison. The ex-con talks about guys he knew in prison. The probation officer talks about people she wanted to help stay out of prison. They talk and when they're done they get in cars and talk on the way to their destinations where they will talk some more. When the characters can shut up for a page there's some decent action/suspense writing but that's maybe three or four scenes in a 300 page book. I'm fine with commercial fiction being repeti
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Jan 09, 2012
Jacob
rated it:
It kills me to rate a Leonard book so low (this would be 2.5) but I just was not feeling this one at all. His plots are like poker games, everyone is trying to figure out their hand and their opponent's hands. You, the reader, know the cards they've been dealt so you're interest is in how it all plays out. This one was just far too predictable for my taste. Also, for a book supposedly centered around a tight-fisted judge, one would think you'd see more of him and his extreme rulings throughout.
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Sep 19, 2011
Sam
rated it:
Judge Bob Gibbs gives out the maximum penalty in all of his cases earning him the nickname "Maximum Bob". Unfortunately, his zeal for hard time in all instances earns him a number of enemies. When a plan to rid his wife by having a trapper plant an alligator in his backyard goes wrong, Bob finds there's an ex-con out to shoot him, a drugged out former doctor now under house arrest putting out contracts on him, and the alligator trapper is blackmailing him. And all he wanted was a date
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Mar 27, 2011
Mark
rated it:
While by no means his best novel, MAXIMUM BOB features a typically Leonardesque cast of creeps, losers, con artists, and whack-jobs, all swirling around in a plot whose twists stay just this side of impossible. Highlights include a horny hanging judge, a hopped-up doctor on house arrest, a tough female parole officer, the channeled spirit of a young slave girl, and of course the alligator the whole story hinges on. Every Florida crime novel needs an alligator. Perfect reading for a cross-coun
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Aug 01, 2007
Joey
rated it:
I don't read much mainstream populuar fiction, so perhaps I'm not the best reviewer for this book. I went into reading Maximum Bob thinking that it would be pretty God-awful yet hard to put down, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Leonard isn't a great writer, and most of his characters are drawn pretty broadly. We have a lecherous good ol' boy judge, his dippy new-age wife, a handful of two-bit white trash criminals, a no-nonsense female probation officer, and her love interest, an More...
Leonard isn't a great writer, and most of his characters are drawn pretty broadly. We have a lecherous good ol' boy judge, his dippy new-age wife, a handful of two-bit white trash criminals, a no-nonsense female probation officer, and her love interest, an More...
Sep 16, 2011
Sufferingbruin
rated it:
As unofficial fanboy #1 of Elmore Leonard here on GoodReads, this hurts. I wanted to like this more than I did. Leonard has written some memorable bad guys but here, the creepy factor gets turned up to 11 and overcomes anything resembling humor. I didn't connect to Elvin or his crew, had a helluva time working up interest in the two lovers and the title character becomes a minor character awfully fast. I will say that LeeAnne--Bob's wife--is someone I wouldn't mind seeing future works. Overall,
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Oct 29, 2009
Ben
rated it:
more fun than funny, tightly plotted but never tense, this book was the definition of pure entertainment... until the end. which hit with a serious and unforeseen force which i'm still having a hard time understanding. it was like sucking on a lollipop and then the second it's gone you realize it had come to you from heaven and you missed it.
people make do with the world and who they are. is i believe the theory behind the product.
good book. would've preferred it about 10 More...
people make do with the world and who they are. is i believe the theory behind the product.
good book. would've preferred it about 10 More...
Apr 15, 2010
Dave
rated it:
Got turned onto Elmore Leonard after watching "Justified," Fox's new series. I found this book to be more about characters than plot, which is okay when the characters are interesting or at least humorous. Having seen "Get Shorty" and "Justified," I expected more humor. Alas, none of the folks here come close to either Chili Palmer or Raylan Givens. I kept turning the pages expecting some laughs, and all I got were a couple of snickers. Get it at the library.
Mar 31, 2010
THOMAS
rated it:
my dad was like, "you can read some of those leonards in a day." and he's right. they're the breeziest kind of crime confection you can get. i mean, violence happens...shit gets tuff...but in a completely relaxing way. nice antidote for matt scudder running round figuring out who chopped up a brooklyn housewife and left her in a trunk, you know? some liteness.
Sep 05, 2011
Bryson
rated it:
Not his best, but not his worst novel either. Typical Leonard story with could use a little less talk and a lot more action. Still, very cool characters and I see why they tried (but failed) at making a TV series out of it about 10 years ago. Judge Gibbs is great and I would love to see more of him in some of the novels. Good for fans, but for the casual Leonard reader, maybe a more established title is better suited.
Jan 23, 2011
Percy
rated it:
Elmore Leonard shows how style alone can't carry an entire novel. Pretty disappointed in the broad character sketches and total lack of substance to the overall story. What the book does have is a dark sense of humor throughout, although not too dark. Looking for an easy rip through, light as fat free ranch dressing, pop read...Maximum Bob might do you poolside. I'll be turning to some of Leonard's earlier works next to try to get closer to his essential thoughts/writing. I suppose a good writer
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Jul 27, 2010
Readaway
rated it:
This book was funny, a page turner. Not thought provoking, or deep. Classic Leonard. While I can't read many Elmore Leonards back to back, they are certainly fun every once in a while. Like a Hiaasen, a little goes a long way.
Oct 22, 2011
John
rated it:
Not among Leonard's best. It has the usual gritty characters, each with their own motivations, but they were more 2-dimensional than his characters usually are and the tension never quite built to the breaking point.
Feb 25, 2011
Karen
rated it:
This was the first book by Elmore Leonard that I read and I was hooked! It seems like every book I read by him, I find one or two characters that make me say, "Hey that sounds just like so and so!"
Oct 08, 2009
Ross
rated it:
I was on vacation and took this off the shelf of free lending books at the resort where we stayed. It is the sort of thing that is fine for reading at the beach. Kind of like watching a TV cop show.
Jan 28, 2012
Dmehringer
rated it:
Read it in a day... love the way Elmore Leonard writes dialog. Each character has his own voice and rhythm. How have I never read this book, written in 1991?
Mar 14, 2009
truly my favorite quirky characters of all time . . . you have to have grown up around wiki wachi springs to truly enjoy this read
Sep 24, 2011
Jim
rated it:
Funny but Carl Hiaasen does this kind of fiction better in my opinion. Too much of this novel is talk.
Aug 23, 2009
Tom
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He's the king of crime fiction. He writes the best seedy characters. This is as good as any of them.
Dec 20, 2011
Remy
rated it:
Leonard is pretty much my favorite living writer, but I wasn't quite in the mood for this one.
