credit: Delacorte Press
Mr. Leonard had a phrase he used a lot, "if it seems like writing, I rewrite it." My personal theory is he came up with that while writing this book, Unknown Man #89. The man began to play low jazz here, shifting into a steady gear and focusing on his characters and language unlike he has before while the plot becomes more "what are they going to do" rather than "What's going to happen next?"
The bad guy's scheme and the main character's motives are both so full of bullshit you will swear you're reading The Sun Also Rises. Everyone wants money, and it seems the villains of the piece are the only ones wanting to come out and say it. Jack Ryan, our hero, was breaking into houses the last time we saw him in The Big Bounce (1969). Here he's serving papers and having very little of a life. Then he gets hired to find a guy and everything goes sideways.
As a crime book, it's a little all over the place. But as literature, it's a complex narrative about dubious people finding truth and meaning in their lives. It's also got some cool scenes of people talking real cool and doing cool shit.
Check it out.
Plot Summary
Jack Ryan gets hired to find a criminal who is both owed a lot of money and owes a lot of money. The people who hired Jack and the criminal's old associates make life interesting. And there's a romance of sorts.
Characters
Jack Ryan - our hero, previously in Big Bounce (1969), a process server and former house robber
Dick Speed - Detroit police officer and friends with Jack
Robert "Bobby" Leary, Jr. - the titular Unknown Man #89, a career criminal who stole some money and does not know he has a small fortune in stocks
Mr. Perez - a southern businessman who knows Bobby has a small fortune in stocks and is looking to take a large percentage as a finder's fee.
Tunafish - low level Detroit hood that knows people
Virgil Royal - mid-level Detroit hood that knows people and got robbed by Bobby during a job
Denise (Lee) - Bobby's ex-wife and alcoholic
Raymond Guidre - Mr. Perez's righthand man who is fast with a gun and is always looking for good southern cooking
Setting
1970s Detroit, around April
Pontchartrain Hotel - Where Perez sets up shop in a suite
Good Times Bar - Random bar where a few of our regulars hang out
Sporttree's Bar - Used previously in Swag, a local black bar
1970s Florida - a nice vacation spot to get away from the Detroit and the heat
Favorite Scenes
General conversations - It's Elmore Leonard, so the dialog is electric and alive. People exist in his books because they talk to one another. Otherwise, they often get shot by the author's own words. The conversations flow and crash and have a strong connection to place and personality. Each word feels off the cuff as a general conversation rather than planned words someone would write while at the same time being utterly cool and likeable. Hell, the bad guys get the most to say, often walking and talking towards a gun.
Virgil tracks down Lonnie - Virgil comes off as a criminal scumbag, which he is, but he's methodical about it. Having learned to chill out and think while serving time in prison for an action he did rashly, Virgil gets hired to take care of Lonnie so he takes his time. Has his underling Tunafish set up a meeting, and when Lonnie can't make the meeting Virgil knows Lonnie will be at a hair appointment. Just making sure. Then he goes to the salon and shoots the guy.
Virgil visits Bobby and has a weewee - One of the best scenes in crime fiction. Virgil has found Bobby who stole money from him. He predicts Bobby will say he never had any money, so before going in he climbs up the fire escape and hides a shotgun out the window. Goes in, Bobby searches him, then Bobby lies. Virgil says it's not a problem, goes to the bathroom, gets the shotgun off the fire escape, and comes out. No more Bobby. An ode to the Godfather that came out just a few years before this book, it's a slick scene that shows our criminals are not all stupid yet are violent.
Jack and Denise get together - "They smiled as they made love." - It's a quiet little romance that blossoms out of desperation. Jack is looking for something more in his life and finds it, throwing his whole self into it. Jack and Denise even take a time out from the book, going to Florida to have some alone time while the trouble in Detroit brews. An interesting side story forged from character rather than plot.
Virgil and Tunafish meet Raymond - We listen as Virgil calmly lays out what's gonna happen when they meet Raymond to hand over the treasure. Tunafish will sit alone with the treasure while Virgil watches at the bar. Virgil stakes out the place, reasons his way through the best positions for Tunafish and himself in this public place. Then his methodical plans are thrown out when Raymond walks into the bar and shoots Tunafish twice in the face. Cue the theme of the book, best laid plans going awry, as everyone scrambles to survive while all that thinking vanishes like a cold beer on a hot day.
Discussion Questions
Have you ever had a plan to frame a criminal go haywire? What was the fallout?
What's a time when you put your life on pause to have sex in Florida?
If someone said your ex had left you hundreds of thousands of dollars after they died, would you put your life on pause to have sex in Florida?
Think about a time when you hid a shotgun to ambush your enemy. What kind of shotgun did you use? Do you feel like you could do it better next time?
Have you ever had a professional relationship with a cop while doing illegal activities and still hung out with them? What's your policy on "snitches get stitches?"
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