Wednesday January 12, 2005 Mr. Paradise
Mr. Paradise - Elmore Leonard (2004)
** 1/2 (out of 5)
Mr.Paradise is another "smart cop, dumb criminal' offering from Elmore Leonard. The primary "dumb criminal" in the novel is Montez Taylor, the right-hand man of Anthony Paradiso, an octogenarian pervert that enjoys having his high-priced Playboy bunny mistress, Chloe, perform topless cheerleader routines while he watches old Michigan football games. Taylor contracts a hit on Paradiso after an incident that leaves him feeling slighted by the old man. He intends to cash in by 'convincing' Chloe to split the inheritance left to her in Paradiso's will. The hit is carried out on a night when Chloe and Kelly, her Victoria's Secret model roommate, are performing for Paradiso. The hit goes wrong and Chloe is killed along with Paradiso. Taylor revises his plan and decides to force Kelly to assume Chloe's identity until the inheritance is claimed. All that stands in the way of this plan - besides its obvious inanity - is the novel's "smart cop", Frank Delsa.
The only good things I can say about this novel are that it has a fast moving plot and can be easily consumed in a couple of hours. I found the plot to be thin, the characters to be vapid and uninteresting, and the dialogue to be forced and annoying. I found myself wincing frequently while reading this wholly unforgettable book. 'Lowlights' include: the cliche and unmotivated romance between Delsa and Kelly, the gratuitous overuse of ghetto slang, and the lack of a single antagonist with an iota of intelligence.
I recommend avoiding this novel unless you are a die-hard Leonard fan intent on working through his entire repertoire.
( Jan 12 2005, 03:16:08 PM PST )
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