Elmore Leonard's Criminal Sense

HIGH NOON IN DETROIT 

"There was a photograph of Frank in an ad that ran in the Detroit Free Press and showed all the friendly salesmen at Red Bowers Chevrolet." — Swag

I've been reading the work of Elmore Leonard for several years now. Not long enough that I was able to go see him speak when he was part of the National Writer Series in Traverse City in 2011. I started reading Leonard's work not long after that appearance and I had wished that I had attended. I first heard of Leonard in the late '80s when I read his name as a comparison to the writer Tom Kakonis as I was reading his debut novel, Michigan Roll. 

Leonard wrote about Detroit, especially during his '70s heyday. His crime novels in the 1970s were incredible. The way he developed character and delivered dialogue is awesome. As a reader, I often found myself routing for the underdog dirtbags, who were often the secret stars of his work. Leonard had a way. 

Leonard started as a writer of Westerns; however, as the sixties turned to the seventies, he began writing about another type of cowboy, the criminal. He dabbled in crime novels in the late sixties, but turned completely as the seventies got going. Even though he was publishing about a novel a year, Leonard didn't take off until the eighties, around the time Get Shorty took off as a movie. Leonard was anything but an overnight sensation. 

As I continue to read and learn about Leonard, I have a great appreciation for this Michigan writer. If I'd only had the opportunity to see him speak in 2011, just before becoming a fan. That would have been a spectacular night!