The best of the dozen Leonard books I have read.

What he does well: little pointless chatter and all scenes contribute to the story. Characterizations are vivid and motives make sense.

What he does poorly: more than half-way through the book a character not previously met walks in with a file that has the answers to several crucial questions. This characer is seen again, but barely. This is a cheat and bad plotting. Some scenes are told out of sequence, which is usually a red flag and is here. Tell the story in order and it would be less interesting. It is a kind of fake suspense. The book could have easily and more satisfyingly if it ended 50 pages earlier.

A mostly fun book that delivers good value, but the mistakes keep it from being truly satisfying.