The blurb says “Dark and droll” and that’s about right.

73. Raylan – Elmore Leonard

Timothy Olyphant’s influence on the Raylan character is definitely at play in the first Raylan-focused novel published after Justified hit the screen. It’s fair – Olyphant’s Raylan is exactly who I want to picture as Raylan Givens. When reading Raylan, it’s interesting to see the differences in how Leonard deals with his characters after the show, including those who barely got much time on Justified (like Jackie Nevada), and how he deals with the changes in the timeline. It’s a good thing Justified was such a damn good show – would’ve been hard to live up to Elmore Leonard’s legacy otherwise. The saga of Dewey Crowe-take on the kidney theft storyline from this book is one of my favorite things Justified has done. Dewey fucking Crowe.

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Reading about Raylan Givens is like Horace settling in to his willow bridge with a nice, comfy blanket and a friendly squirrel to lie on – comfortable, enjoyable, worth it.