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Roommates Kelly and Chloe are enjoying their lives and their downtown Detroit loft just fine. At Chloe's 84-year old boyfriend's house, they hang out one night. But things go awry and before the end of the evening there will be two corpses, two angry hit men, one switch of identity, a safe-deposit box full of loot up for grabs, and fast on the scene, detective Frank Delsa, who now has another double homicide-- and this one with a beautiful, willful witness-- to add to his already heavy caseload.
Audio CD: 6 pages
Publisher: Recorded Books (2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402574665
ISBN-13: 978-1402574665
Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 6.2 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,692,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #6 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( L ) > Leonard, Elmore #12872 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Police Procedurals
Leonard is at his snappy, not-a-word-wasted best in this crime-gone-wrong page-turner. The crime is the murder of the title character, a rich, elderly Detroit crime boss. His resentful assistant, Montez Taylor, who has been written out of the old man's will, organized the hit. When he learns that Mr. Paradiso's "girlfriend," high-priced call girl Chloe, is making an unexpected visit, Montez tries to call it off, but fails.Chloe brings along her friend Kelly, a model, who agrees to help out with a titillating cheerleading routine, and Kelly is upstairs when two gunmen burst in, killing both Chloe and Paradiso. Montez intimidates Kelly into pretending to be Chloe - there's a safety deposit box scam involved - but the nice policeman on the scene, quickly smitten Frank Desla, sees through that pretty quickly.That's the set-up and from there it's just one thing after another in turn after subplot after switchback after double cross in gritty Detroit. Tightly plotted, but character driven, this is as zany, comic and smart as we've come to expect.
Shady characters, brilliant dialogue, irony, masterful writing and a lively and humorous story line are what we expect from Elmore Leonard. "Mr. Paradise," a Runyonesque tale, has all this and more...it does not disappoint.Eighty-four year old retired mob lawyer Tony Paradisio's favorite pastime is watching tapes of classic Michigan football victories with an escort or two cheering topless in ways not athletically encouraging.After learning that he has been eliminated from Mr. Paradise's will, Montez (Mr. P's main man) arranges a hit that is supposed to look like a home invasion gone wrong.The perps and Montez are members of the criminal mindless.Throw in two corpses, a Victoria Secret model witness, an identity switch, assorted lowlifes, a safe deposit box full of loot, the hitmen's "agent" and Frank Delsa (a resourceful Detroit homicide detective)---and the chase is on.The bad guys feel a sense of entitlement---leading to their demise. Getting caught being the real crime. Double-crosses, scams and deceptions propel the plot.The tight prose is filled with accurate conversation in the colorful vernacular of the urban scene."Mr. Paradise" is a stylistic, unforgettable, witty, fast-paced read. Elmore Leonard is a consistently entertaining writer---do not under rate him just because you like him.
What do these reviewers expect? This is the story.A high-end former Detroit call girl, asks her lingerie model roommate to help her entertain a wealthy octogenarian trial lawyer. By entertain, read she dons a cheerleader's skimpy skirt, but goes topless, while performing pom-pom routines beside a TV set while the lawyer watches videotaped University of Michigan football games.The plot, to say the least, is imaginative. The characters are unique and unforgettable. The dialogue is snappy and realistic. The story moves and is entertaining.What did these reviewers expect - a Detroit-based Hamlet? Elmore Leonard is a gifted novelist and Mr. Paradise will add to his reputation as a skilled character crafter.
Elmore Leonard is simple the best author I've ever read, it's hard to believe he could be so consistent writing one great book after another for so many years, but he did, not a dud in the bunch, everything he wrote was a great read. You want an example of how good he was. Years ago the hollywood movie people purchased the rights to every book Mr. Leonard wrote and any book he might write in the future, he's the only one Hollywood ever did that with, that's how well written his books are. It's just a shame I can't look forward to his next book because there won't be any more. It was a sad day for me when Mr. Leonard passed away.
When you listen to Mr. Leonard's dialogue, you smell cigarette smoke, hear rap music from young 'gangstas' as they drive by, see slippery lawyers with too much old fashioned Brilliantine on their receding scalps, hear the double entendres and lies people tell eachother, and also, in sparing doses, hope, innocence and dreams.Sometimes he is criticized for the plot, as in 'not much of a plot.' This seems to be a missed point; I don't read for the plot. I think that Elmore Leonard is a master of how people speak. The real people. Not television people. People like you and me. Or at least the people like you and I hear speaking.Interestingly enough, Mr. Paradise does have an interesting plot with two young women who find themselves in a gig with an old lawyer (read mob figure), Tony Paradiso ("Mr. Paradise.") Tony is offed and one of the girls with him. The other faces a substantial fortune . . . if she can assume her dead friend's identity.But then the Detective in charge, the handsome and widowed Frank Delsa, falls in love with her and she, perhaps . . . seems to . . . maybe . . . falls in love with him.Great action, kind of sexy, and excellent dialogue. And it's Detroit, too, my city. 5 stars. Larry Scantlebury
Elmore Leonard seems to run hot and cold in my eyes. But with "Mr. Paradise," he is definitely hot. Frank Delsa, acting lieutenant of Squad Seven, Homicide Section, Detroit Police Department has a couple of new murders to handle. An old rich guy with a penchant for young female playmates - and one of those very playmates who had the misfortune to be right there when Mr. Paradise was on the receiving end of a bullet. She gets one too for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whodunnit? Well, Delsa first has to figure out who got it. The young hired girlfriend? Or her lookalike friend who came to the house that night and just happened to be upstairs at the time of Mr. Paradise's accelerated exit from this world. It's a good police story. Characters drift in and out, each adding a little bit of necessary information to the story. None of them will ever win a Nobel Prize, but they kind of remind me of Daman Runyon's people; the dumb folks who think they are smart and wind up wearing orange jumpsuits or buying the Brooklyn Bridge. The story moves nicely; the few loose ends don't rattle too much and there's a pleasant ending, at least for Frank Delsa. It's a fun read, a good story.Jerry
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