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Read Mr. Paradise (2005)

Mr. Paradise (2005)

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Rating
3.49 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
014100987X (ISBN13: 9780141009872)
Language
English
Publisher
penguin books

Mr. Paradise (2005) - Plot & Excerpts

Here's the situation: An old man having fun in his fancy room with a young hooker on his lap. Suddenly two guys called Carl and Art storm into the house, heavily armed. The old man and the girl are unimpressed"She said to the old man, "Friends of yours?"The old man squinted at them like he was thinking. Are they? […]Carl pointed his Smith at the old man, shot him in the chest and shot him in the head. It caused the blond girl to suck in her breath, a hard gasp, and sit rigid, her painted eyes wide open […] now her mouth opened and she was touching the tip of her tongue to her lips, reached down to bring her skirt up, exposing herself […] and said, "You fellas aren't mad at me, are you?"How badass is that?? Maaaan, the characters in this novel are completely amazing. I already knew that Elmore Leonard was supposed to be really good at dialogue but my oh my… was I impressed!! It is very rare that you find an author who has a very unique and clear voice, a very distinct and creative style. Elmore Leonard had those qualities. I had to grin and laugh because of the badassery of those lively and vivid characters so often. Especially the two young girls, Chloe and Kelly. They were so well written that I just couldn't wait to read more scenes with them. Unfortunately you only get glimpses of the author's real skills because this novel has some flaws. Some of the plot lines were quite boring, the two girls and the main character Delsa overshadowed all the others in my opinion. Really, I couldn't wait to read what was going to happen to them so I was a little bit disappointed that so many pages were "wasted" on the other guys. In the end I even skipped some pages because I couldn't be bothered with that stuff anymore. Basically I can say that I am really excited to read more from Elmore Leonard. I suppose this is not one of his best works so I will probably soon read one of his works where he's on top of his game.

This was an interesting read - mainly because I was able to figure out where they were all the time, since it's based in Detroit, Michigan. I think it helps me a lot to be able to read something and know where they are.The story started out well enough, but seemed to divert as it moved along. The romance that evolved seemed somewhat forced and really unneeded. I don't really know why it was there, it really drew me off the story, since I couldn't figure out why someone would risk their job doing what they did. (I don't want to give things away, so am going to be vague.)The whole story was quite plausible, though, and would make for a good movie. There was enough going on that you were at least entertained. If you're looking for a mystery where you get to help figure things out, then this book is definitely NOT for you. There's nothing to figure out, as you know who did it from the very beginning.In some ways, I feel like the author tried to hard. It's a decent read, though, if you have some free time and don't want to think too hard.

What do You think about Mr. Paradise (2005)?

Elmore Leonard has written 40 novels. Mr Paradise will not disappoint his fans.The author of Get Shorty is in fine form with this offering. We’re in Detroit where the ageing mega-wealthy Mr Tony Paradise mixes with Victoria's Secret models and hit men. He’s a fan of University of Michigan football and he hires these models to play the role of "cheerleaders", bare-chested while he watches videos of Michigan games. Two hit men show up, killing the old man and one of the women. The surviving ‘cheerleader’ ends up falling in love with Delsa, the detective who investigates the murders. Only Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen can come up with a story like this and make it work. Leonard is the master of the crime caper. Part farce and part police-procedural, Mr Paradise will keep you reading for a night or two. If Quinton Tarantino wrote books, he’d write like this. Highly recommended.
—Amanda Patterson

Kelly and Chloe are roommates. Kelly is a model and Chloe was a hooker until she gave it all up to become the "girlfriend" of Anthony Paradiso Sr. an 85 year old retired lawyer and extremely wealthy man. Chloe talks Kelly into helping out with a cheerleader thing (don't ask). Unfortunately during the festivities, "Mr Paradise" and one of the girls are murdered and it falls to Detroit Homicide investigator Frank Delsa to unravel the mystery and find the killers.If you have ever read any of my Elmore Leonard reviews then you already know this; Leonard is one of the best at dialogue I hae ever read. Right up there with George Higgins. Leonard's dialogue is so good that the plot is almost immaterial. In the case of Mr Paradise, the plot was more simple than I am used to from Leonard. His characters were not as amazing as they usually are, though they are still damned good. Overall this is a solid, workmanlike novel with Leonard's characteristic excellent dialogue.I love Elmore Leonard and I will read anything he writes. This is still a good book but it does not reach the high levels of other Leonard offerings.
—Ed [Redacted]

Elmore Leonard might have the best dialogue in the game. It's real, it's gritty, it's amusing, it's wacky in the most honest sense of human nature. This book was delightful, but it was lacking the one character I wanted to know more about. In Leonard's best books, he has at least one character, and sometimes it's a few, that I want to read an entire biography about. Get Shorty had Chili Palmer and Out Of Sight had Jack Foley. He also needs to put them in situations for them to grow and get weird. I can't ever tell if he comes up with the plot or the characters first. They all slither around and move and shake until they're in each other's stories and then it's one linear big show. There's always a beautiful babe, a good cop, some gangsters and one or two guys who think they're gangsters. it's madcap without the screwball quality. It's just people being people in the slums of Detroit. His style is street without being too much or too little. It's perfect. His range, to me, is mostly good and great. This was good, but not great.
—Jake

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