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Raylan Givens #3
Raylan
“Elmore Leonard can write circles around almost anybody active in the crime novel today.”
—New York Times Book Review
With more than forty novels to his credit and still going strong, the legendary Elmore Leonard has well earned the title, “America’s greatest crime writer” (Newsweek). And U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole) is one of Leonard’s most popular creations, thanks in part to the phenomenal success of the hit TV series “Justified.” Leonard’s Raylan shines a spotlight once again on the dedicated, if somewhat trigger-happy lawman, this time in his familiar but not particularly cozy milieu of Harlan County, Kentucky, where the drug dealing Crowe brothers are branching out into the human body parts business. Suspenseful, darkly wry and riveting, and crackling with Leonard’s trademark electric dialogue, Raylan is prime Grand Master Leonard as you have always loved him and always will.
—New York Times Book Review
With more than forty novels to his credit and still going strong, the legendary Elmore Leonard has well earned the title, “America’s greatest crime writer” (Newsweek). And U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole) is one of Leonard’s most popular creations, thanks in part to the phenomenal success of the hit TV series “Justified.” Leonard’s Raylan shines a spotlight once again on the dedicated, if somewhat trigger-happy lawman, this time in his familiar but not particularly cozy milieu of Harlan County, Kentucky, where the drug dealing Crowe brothers are branching out into the human body parts business. Suspenseful, darkly wry and riveting, and crackling with Leonard’s trademark electric dialogue, Raylan is prime Grand Master Leonard as you have always loved him and always will.
263 pages, Hardcover
First published January 17, 2012
1258 people are currently reading
5756 people want to read
About the author
Elmore Leonard
211 books3,702 followersElmore John Leonard lived in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Memphis before settling in Detroit in 1935. After serving in the navy, he studied English literature at the University of Detroit where he entered a short story competition. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.
Father of Peter Leonard.
Father of Peter Leonard.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,423 reviews
February 9, 2012
US Marshal Raylan Givens investigates a kidney stealing ring, acts as a bodyguard to a beautiful coal mining executive, and tracks down a missing college girl named Jackie Nevada who is a poker player and possibly a bank robber.
Bad Pun Alert: I've only seen the first season of the show starring Timothy Olyphant but I felt reading this book was Justified since I was already aware of Raylan from having read Pronto years ago.
Raylan purports to be a novel but it feels more like three linked novellas. The three cases aren't directly connected but do reference each other and feature some of the same characters. As near as I can tell, only a few characters from Justified are prominently featured: Boyd Crowder, Dewey Crowe, and Art. Ava and Winona have cameo appearances but don't do a whole lot.
Of the three cases, I'd say the first was my favorite. Kidneys being stolen seemed kind of hokey until I got into the story and Raylan did his thing. Layla was a pretty interesting foil to our lawman. The second case, Raylan acting as a bodyguard to Carol Conlan, was pretty good but did more to flesh out Harlan than it did anything else. Boyd Crowder was good in it, of course. The third case was almost as good as the first and it did manage to tie together a couple plot threads from the other two. Funny how everyone but Delroy Lewis knew how that was going to turn out.
From what I've read, Elmore Leonard gave an ARC of Raylan to the writers of Justified and told them to mine it for parts. If they use the parts I think they will, the next couple seasons of Justified are going to be pretty spectacular.
So, how do I justify giving this a four? It felt a little stiff in places compared to the earlier Elmore Leonards I've recently read, Swag and 52 Pickup. It's also a little short at less than 270 pages. I also caught a couple editing mistakes, like maybe this was rushed out to coincide with the third season of Justified. All in all, I've got no big complaints. Raylan should appeal to fans of Justified and Elmore Leonard alike.
Post-Justified Season 2 Edit: While nursing a hangover, I managed to watch the bulk of Justified Season 2. The Carol Conlan case clearly was the source for a lot of the Black Pike storyline in season two. Lots of lines of dialogue and some characters were borrowed from the other stories.
Bad Pun Alert: I've only seen the first season of the show starring Timothy Olyphant but I felt reading this book was Justified since I was already aware of Raylan from having read Pronto years ago.
Raylan purports to be a novel but it feels more like three linked novellas. The three cases aren't directly connected but do reference each other and feature some of the same characters. As near as I can tell, only a few characters from Justified are prominently featured: Boyd Crowder, Dewey Crowe, and Art. Ava and Winona have cameo appearances but don't do a whole lot.
Of the three cases, I'd say the first was my favorite. Kidneys being stolen seemed kind of hokey until I got into the story and Raylan did his thing. Layla was a pretty interesting foil to our lawman. The second case, Raylan acting as a bodyguard to Carol Conlan, was pretty good but did more to flesh out Harlan than it did anything else. Boyd Crowder was good in it, of course. The third case was almost as good as the first and it did manage to tie together a couple plot threads from the other two. Funny how everyone but Delroy Lewis knew how that was going to turn out.
From what I've read, Elmore Leonard gave an ARC of Raylan to the writers of Justified and told them to mine it for parts. If they use the parts I think they will, the next couple seasons of Justified are going to be pretty spectacular.
So, how do I justify giving this a four? It felt a little stiff in places compared to the earlier Elmore Leonards I've recently read, Swag and 52 Pickup. It's also a little short at less than 270 pages. I also caught a couple editing mistakes, like maybe this was rushed out to coincide with the third season of Justified. All in all, I've got no big complaints. Raylan should appeal to fans of Justified and Elmore Leonard alike.
Post-Justified Season 2 Edit: While nursing a hangover, I managed to watch the bulk of Justified Season 2. The Carol Conlan case clearly was the source for a lot of the Black Pike storyline in season two. Lots of lines of dialogue and some characters were borrowed from the other stories.
April 27, 2012
I see them long hard times to come…
Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens became infamous for giving a gangster 24 hours to get out of Miami and then shooting him when he failed to leave before the deadline. As punishment for his Wyatt Earp act, Raylan has been reassigned to a small office in Kentucky not far from where he grew up. Raylan isn’t thrilled to be back home where he frequently finds himself entangled with people from his past while trying to do his job.
There’s a lot of TV shows adapted from books these days, but I think FX’s Justified based on the character created by Elmore Leonard is unique. Leonard hadn’t done a helluva lot of writing with Raylan. He was part of a larger cast in two books and featured in one short story. The producers of the show took Leonard’s core idea of a former coal miner turned marshal with a fondness for his cowboy hat and a knack for baiting bad guys into drawing on him so he can legally shoot them, and they’ve developed that character into a complex guy with anger issues who has been pulled back into a past he desperately tried to escape.
The results of that first season so impressed Leonard that he decided to write this book and to set it in the world that the tv show had built on from his original work. Then Leonard shared his ideas with the writers of the show and invited them to ‘strip it for parts’. This is essentially what they had done with the other writing about Raylan. While the short story Fire in the Hole was adapted into the pilot episode, they used individual scenes from the books and worked them into their own original stories.
The joint development of the book and the show makes for a weird but fun dynamic here. In the book, Raylan pursues organ thieves, protects a tough female coal mining executive, gets mixed up with a pack of female bank robbers and deals with a couple of rednecks named Dickie and Coover. If you’ve seen the second and third season of the show, that will all sound familiar, and there are scenes that are recreated faithfully, but there are also pretty big differences. Dan noted that’s it’s almost like an alternate universe, and that’s exactly what it seems like. It’s very much like the show, but things play out in a different fashion.
While the book’s pretty entertaining and this will sound like blasphemy when talking about a crime writing legend like Elmore Leonard, I have to say that I actually prefer what the TV version is doing at this point. The novel doesn’t have some of the more memorable characters the show has created like Mags Bennett, Elston Limehouse or Robert Quarles, and the book could have used some of their menace . While Raylan is still doing his thing, he just doesn’t seem to have the same kind of depth that Timothy Olyphant and the writers are bringing to the character at this point.
Plus, one of the strongest characters on the show is Boyd Crowder, a former friend and sometime enemy of Raylan’s. I think Leonard may have written this before seeing how Boyd was fleshed out on the show because he comes across more as a petty schemer than the smooth talking criminal leader with a plan that he’s become in the TV version.
Still, it’s a fun and fast read for fans of Leonard, and it’s a good dose of Raylan to help hold us over until the fourth season of Justified begins.
Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens became infamous for giving a gangster 24 hours to get out of Miami and then shooting him when he failed to leave before the deadline. As punishment for his Wyatt Earp act, Raylan has been reassigned to a small office in Kentucky not far from where he grew up. Raylan isn’t thrilled to be back home where he frequently finds himself entangled with people from his past while trying to do his job.
There’s a lot of TV shows adapted from books these days, but I think FX’s Justified based on the character created by Elmore Leonard is unique. Leonard hadn’t done a helluva lot of writing with Raylan. He was part of a larger cast in two books and featured in one short story. The producers of the show took Leonard’s core idea of a former coal miner turned marshal with a fondness for his cowboy hat and a knack for baiting bad guys into drawing on him so he can legally shoot them, and they’ve developed that character into a complex guy with anger issues who has been pulled back into a past he desperately tried to escape.
The results of that first season so impressed Leonard that he decided to write this book and to set it in the world that the tv show had built on from his original work. Then Leonard shared his ideas with the writers of the show and invited them to ‘strip it for parts’. This is essentially what they had done with the other writing about Raylan. While the short story Fire in the Hole was adapted into the pilot episode, they used individual scenes from the books and worked them into their own original stories.
The joint development of the book and the show makes for a weird but fun dynamic here. In the book, Raylan pursues organ thieves, protects a tough female coal mining executive, gets mixed up with a pack of female bank robbers and deals with a couple of rednecks named Dickie and Coover. If you’ve seen the second and third season of the show, that will all sound familiar, and there are scenes that are recreated faithfully, but there are also pretty big differences. Dan noted that’s it’s almost like an alternate universe, and that’s exactly what it seems like. It’s very much like the show, but things play out in a different fashion.
While the book’s pretty entertaining and this will sound like blasphemy when talking about a crime writing legend like Elmore Leonard, I have to say that I actually prefer what the TV version is doing at this point. The novel doesn’t have some of the more memorable characters the show has created like Mags Bennett, Elston Limehouse or Robert Quarles, and the book could have used some of their menace . While Raylan is still doing his thing, he just doesn’t seem to have the same kind of depth that Timothy Olyphant and the writers are bringing to the character at this point.
Plus, one of the strongest characters on the show is Boyd Crowder, a former friend and sometime enemy of Raylan’s. I think Leonard may have written this before seeing how Boyd was fleshed out on the show because he comes across more as a petty schemer than the smooth talking criminal leader with a plan that he’s become in the TV version.
Still, it’s a fun and fast read for fans of Leonard, and it’s a good dose of Raylan to help hold us over until the fourth season of Justified begins.
January 2, 2025
I've long been a huge fan of the books of Elmore Leonard, and I've also really enjoyed the television series, "Justified," which is based on Leonard's excellent short story, "Fire in the Hole." Given that, I was really anxious to finally have the chance to pull Raylan off my giant stack of Books-to-Read and have at it. I'm sorry to say, though, that the book did not live up to my (perhaps exaggerated) expectations of it.
Reading the book, it felt to me like Leonard might have decided to sit down over a long weekend and sketch out a few plot ideas that the writers could then use in the TV show or, less charitably, that he might have just decided to whip out a quick book and capitalize on the popularity of the show.
While I've not read a lot of his westerns, I've read every one of Leonard's crime novels and, strange at it might seem to say, this book did not feel to me like a real Elmore Leonard novel. Most of the characters who populate the book are drawn from the television show, but they seem thin, without the usual depth of Leonard's characters. Instead of seeming genuinely quirky, the way so many of Leonard's great characters do, these characters often feel like they're straining for quirky but falling short of liftoff. And perhaps most disappointing of all, the dialogue, which has always been one of the great entertaining strengths of an EL novel, here seems labored and not nearly as sharp as usual.
The book itself involves several subplots, all taking place in Kentucky and revolving around U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. In one, two dope-dealing Crowe brothers step up their game and hook up with a transplant nurse to steal human kidneys and sell them off. Another involves the efforts of a murderous female mining executive to clear the path for the destruction of a mountain allegedly full of coal, in spite of the environmental and human consequences of the action. In yet another, Raylan crosses paths with an attractive young college student who is attempting to make her fortune by playing high stakes poker.
Inevitably all of the women are bright and sexy and anxious to get it on with Raylan. Raylan, in turn, is quick on the draw and the body count in the book is fairly high. Upon completing the book, Leonard told the people involved with the TV show to strip out of it anything that they might like to use, and a couple of these plot lines did ultimately turn up in the show.
All of this is not to say that this is a bad book; in fact, it's a perfectly pleasant way to while away an evening, and if anyone else's name had been on the cover, one might put it down thinking it was a pretty damn good read. But when the name on the cover is Elmore Leonard, his long-time readers might have legitimately expected something a bit better. Readers who have not yet discovered Leonard's work might be better advised to begin with some of his earlier books like Get Shorty, or even Pronto, the book that first introduced Marshall Raylan Givens.
Reading the book, it felt to me like Leonard might have decided to sit down over a long weekend and sketch out a few plot ideas that the writers could then use in the TV show or, less charitably, that he might have just decided to whip out a quick book and capitalize on the popularity of the show.
While I've not read a lot of his westerns, I've read every one of Leonard's crime novels and, strange at it might seem to say, this book did not feel to me like a real Elmore Leonard novel. Most of the characters who populate the book are drawn from the television show, but they seem thin, without the usual depth of Leonard's characters. Instead of seeming genuinely quirky, the way so many of Leonard's great characters do, these characters often feel like they're straining for quirky but falling short of liftoff. And perhaps most disappointing of all, the dialogue, which has always been one of the great entertaining strengths of an EL novel, here seems labored and not nearly as sharp as usual.
The book itself involves several subplots, all taking place in Kentucky and revolving around U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. In one, two dope-dealing Crowe brothers step up their game and hook up with a transplant nurse to steal human kidneys and sell them off. Another involves the efforts of a murderous female mining executive to clear the path for the destruction of a mountain allegedly full of coal, in spite of the environmental and human consequences of the action. In yet another, Raylan crosses paths with an attractive young college student who is attempting to make her fortune by playing high stakes poker.
Inevitably all of the women are bright and sexy and anxious to get it on with Raylan. Raylan, in turn, is quick on the draw and the body count in the book is fairly high. Upon completing the book, Leonard told the people involved with the TV show to strip out of it anything that they might like to use, and a couple of these plot lines did ultimately turn up in the show.
All of this is not to say that this is a bad book; in fact, it's a perfectly pleasant way to while away an evening, and if anyone else's name had been on the cover, one might put it down thinking it was a pretty damn good read. But when the name on the cover is Elmore Leonard, his long-time readers might have legitimately expected something a bit better. Readers who have not yet discovered Leonard's work might be better advised to begin with some of his earlier books like Get Shorty, or even Pronto, the book that first introduced Marshall Raylan Givens.
June 3, 2018
I am a big fan of the regretfully finished series Justified and this is just one of the wonderful Elmore Leonard stories in this collection.
February 26, 2022
I've been a fan of Elmore Leonard going back to the 1980's when I read several of his crime novels. In recent years, I became a big fan of the TV show JUSTIFIED which is based on Elmore's character Raylan Givens...I really hated to see it end! This is the third novel in which Givens appears and it was written by Leonard after JUSTIFIED was already a hit TV series. For me, this novel was just okay. It was actually three different stories strung together in one novel. The first had the Crowe brothers getting involved with a transplant nurse who is out to steal kidneys for a profit with Raylan becoming one of her victims. Then there is a woman lawyer who works for a mining company out to get the rights to surface mine a mountain that may be full of coal. Nothing gets in her way and she is not afraid to kill for what she wants. And then finally Raylan gets involved with a young woman who is also a high-stakes poker player and may also be involved in bank robbery.
Overall, I felt the characters in the book were not as well developed as in the TV show. Especially Boyd Crowder who in the TV series always seemed to be in charge and was always coming up with another criminal enterprise. While in this novel, he seemed to be almost a side character acting as a runner for the woman mining executive. I really do miss the JUSTIFIED TV series but I have heard that more of Raylan is in the works. That makes me and Raylan smile!
Overall, I felt the characters in the book were not as well developed as in the TV show. Especially Boyd Crowder who in the TV series always seemed to be in charge and was always coming up with another criminal enterprise. While in this novel, he seemed to be almost a side character acting as a runner for the woman mining executive. I really do miss the JUSTIFIED TV series but I have heard that more of Raylan is in the works. That makes me and Raylan smile!
April 12, 2019
The character Raylan Givens is well know for his TV show Justified and as it happens I have only seen season 1 and have never been able to catch up with the rest of the seasons, our Dutch Netflix does not seem to carry it, or Longmire for that matter.
This short book about Marshall Givens is divided in three stories one about organ robbery, one about the mining industry in Kentucky and the last one about a girl who plays professional poker who might be involved in a series of bank robberies. While they seem to be separate tales Leonard has made it in one story in which the stories seem to flow into the next part of the story.
If you do not like this laidback policeman and his view on the world and crime who does seem to takes his time to see matters resolved than you are missing something in your live. While the Raylan Givens stories might be about a serious business Elmore Leonard does seem to be able to create a comedy feeling to it, even if it is a far more tragical comedy.
While this might not be his best book it does not matter as it is an entertaining novel that perhaps for the Justified watcher has nothing new to offer. Like I said I have never been beyond season 1 so I found the book plenty entertaining.
A book that is great company when you have nowhere else to go or fancy some light reading. Well worth your time.
This short book about Marshall Givens is divided in three stories one about organ robbery, one about the mining industry in Kentucky and the last one about a girl who plays professional poker who might be involved in a series of bank robberies. While they seem to be separate tales Leonard has made it in one story in which the stories seem to flow into the next part of the story.
If you do not like this laidback policeman and his view on the world and crime who does seem to takes his time to see matters resolved than you are missing something in your live. While the Raylan Givens stories might be about a serious business Elmore Leonard does seem to be able to create a comedy feeling to it, even if it is a far more tragical comedy.
While this might not be his best book it does not matter as it is an entertaining novel that perhaps for the Justified watcher has nothing new to offer. Like I said I have never been beyond season 1 so I found the book plenty entertaining.
A book that is great company when you have nowhere else to go or fancy some light reading. Well worth your time.
October 1, 2017
I read this 5 years ago in paper, but found it in audio at the library. Oh yeah! Raylan's the man. A lot of scenes were used in "Justified", although there are some differences in the story line. Leonard's terse prose perfectly captures the characters & situations. There are certainly some situations. Raylan manages to get in half a dozen & handles them with a country-wise aplomb. He knows when to push, when to back off, & how to make the law work for people according to his own code. Love it!
June 4, 2019
This is a cautionary review for fans of the show Justified. Raylan by Elmore Leonard just doesn't reach the great depths and joy the show managed to pull off for six seasons for a variety of reasons. There are many difficulties to consider when analysing this book. Firstly, it feels like a very loose collection of novellas that happen to overlap with no rhyme or reason to them, resulting in quite a few plot-holes, underdeveloped characters and storylines that aren't as interesting as should be, and the mere fact the audio book is portrayed with cringeworthy southern accents. While Elmore Leonard laid down the foundation for this world, it's a credit to show runner Graham Yost and actors Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, and the rest of the incredible team that created a show that stood apart from other crime shows and westerns with it's sweet-as -bourbon dialogue and delivery that felt like pure poetry on stage. This book does nothing to that effect. It feels so poorly executed.
The book follows U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens as he tries to stop an illegal human transplant operation, protect a coal-mining executive, and track down a group of female bank robbers somehow connected with a young poker player. Anyone will recognise these plots from seasons 2, 3, and 4 of Justified, and all have word for word dialogue of those scenes and storylines with certain tweaks to them, like the character of Mags Bennett (played superbly by the great Margo Martindale) changed to Purvis Crowe, a stereotypical old southern hillbilly. This is where the choice of audiobook comes into poor play, as most of the dialogue offers cheap imitations of various southern accents, with small breaks in dialogue that feel poorly put together. What was great about Olyphant, Goggins, Martindale, Jeremy Davies, and almost every cast member playing the role of a southern character was the authenticity of their mannerisms, accent, and general state of being. We as an audience felt we were in for a treat, watching poetry unfold in motion. This has nearly nothing of that; none of those small character moments. It reads like the first draft script written for a show, sometimes literally. There's none of the wit the show provided either, just arbitrary characters talking about arbitrary things, none of it with any real meaning. No real standouts. And one of the greatest crimes of all is the treatment of Boyd Crowder himself, something Goggins played so well that this version is a total letdown of the character. The book needs for depth, more polish, more umpth to it. Regardless of the audio narration, what is written feels like a very bare-bones draft in need of several rewrites. Fans should just stick to the show, as this version is a poor execution.
Rating: 1.5/5
The book follows U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens as he tries to stop an illegal human transplant operation, protect a coal-mining executive, and track down a group of female bank robbers somehow connected with a young poker player. Anyone will recognise these plots from seasons 2, 3, and 4 of Justified, and all have word for word dialogue of those scenes and storylines with certain tweaks to them, like the character of Mags Bennett (played superbly by the great Margo Martindale) changed to Purvis Crowe, a stereotypical old southern hillbilly. This is where the choice of audiobook comes into poor play, as most of the dialogue offers cheap imitations of various southern accents, with small breaks in dialogue that feel poorly put together. What was great about Olyphant, Goggins, Martindale, Jeremy Davies, and almost every cast member playing the role of a southern character was the authenticity of their mannerisms, accent, and general state of being. We as an audience felt we were in for a treat, watching poetry unfold in motion. This has nearly nothing of that; none of those small character moments. It reads like the first draft script written for a show, sometimes literally. There's none of the wit the show provided either, just arbitrary characters talking about arbitrary things, none of it with any real meaning. No real standouts. And one of the greatest crimes of all is the treatment of Boyd Crowder himself, something Goggins played so well that this version is a total letdown of the character. The book needs for depth, more polish, more umpth to it. Regardless of the audio narration, what is written feels like a very bare-bones draft in need of several rewrites. Fans should just stick to the show, as this version is a poor execution.
Rating: 1.5/5
May 17, 2024
Elmore Leonard In Harlan
Elmore Leonard's (1925 -- 1913) long career as a writer of westerns and crime fiction ended with his 2012 novel, "Raylan". Part of a series, the novel is set in the coal country of Harlan, Kentucky, and features as its main character U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens. Raylan is a throwback to old western sheriffs; he wears a broad-brimmed Stetson, is a man of few words, and is not at all hesitant about dispensing justice through the barrel of a gun.
The book has a contemporary setting and consists of three interrelated tales, in each of which Raylan is pitted against and comes close to romantic involvement with a woman. The first tale involves a criminal gang in the gruesome business of selling body parts, particularly kidneys, by removing them from their victims. Raylan's chief antagonist is a nurse Layla, who is worked in the operating room with surgeons for years and who knows how to remove kidneys from the body.
The second story, which makes the most of the sense of place in Harlan, involves the exploitation of the community by a coal company engaged in strip mining. Raylan becomes involved with a vice-president of the company, a femme fatale with a law degree, Carol Conlan. The story centers on the murder of a coal miner after his life and property have been ruined by the company.
The third story explores Raylan's relationship with a 23 year old college student, Jackie Nevada, who is a prodigy at poker but who has got herself mixed up with robbery and contempt of court. Her ample skills at poker are fully on display in this story as is the relationship which develops with Raylan.
Although some of the crimes and people in this book are evil in the extreme, the overall tone is one of lightness. The book moves along with Leonard's masterful dialogue and quick repartee among the characters. In the midst of violence, Leonard offers laugh-aloud humor. It is an accomplishment to combine humor with all pervasive violence. Raylan and his cohorts who shoot often and who shoot to kill emerge as sympathetic figures for all their violence. I was interested in the Harlan setting of this book because I visited Harlan and the coal country of eastern Kentucky years ago. The part of the book dealing with the coal company and the executive are place-specific to Harlan, the remainder of the book less so.
The writing style of this book lifts it beyond the level of a mere thriller. The book is a highly enjoyable diversion from more pretentious works. "Raylan" is part of a series of Leonard books about his character and also formed the basis of a long-running television series called "Justified" which I haven't seen. Thus, I read the book on its own without relating it to the television show. I noticed allusions in the book to earlier Leonard novels, particularly his western "Valdez is Coming".
"Raylan", a novel of Leonard's old age, is a fitting capstone to his literary career.
Robin Friedman
Elmore Leonard's (1925 -- 1913) long career as a writer of westerns and crime fiction ended with his 2012 novel, "Raylan". Part of a series, the novel is set in the coal country of Harlan, Kentucky, and features as its main character U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens. Raylan is a throwback to old western sheriffs; he wears a broad-brimmed Stetson, is a man of few words, and is not at all hesitant about dispensing justice through the barrel of a gun.
The book has a contemporary setting and consists of three interrelated tales, in each of which Raylan is pitted against and comes close to romantic involvement with a woman. The first tale involves a criminal gang in the gruesome business of selling body parts, particularly kidneys, by removing them from their victims. Raylan's chief antagonist is a nurse Layla, who is worked in the operating room with surgeons for years and who knows how to remove kidneys from the body.
The second story, which makes the most of the sense of place in Harlan, involves the exploitation of the community by a coal company engaged in strip mining. Raylan becomes involved with a vice-president of the company, a femme fatale with a law degree, Carol Conlan. The story centers on the murder of a coal miner after his life and property have been ruined by the company.
The third story explores Raylan's relationship with a 23 year old college student, Jackie Nevada, who is a prodigy at poker but who has got herself mixed up with robbery and contempt of court. Her ample skills at poker are fully on display in this story as is the relationship which develops with Raylan.
Although some of the crimes and people in this book are evil in the extreme, the overall tone is one of lightness. The book moves along with Leonard's masterful dialogue and quick repartee among the characters. In the midst of violence, Leonard offers laugh-aloud humor. It is an accomplishment to combine humor with all pervasive violence. Raylan and his cohorts who shoot often and who shoot to kill emerge as sympathetic figures for all their violence. I was interested in the Harlan setting of this book because I visited Harlan and the coal country of eastern Kentucky years ago. The part of the book dealing with the coal company and the executive are place-specific to Harlan, the remainder of the book less so.
The writing style of this book lifts it beyond the level of a mere thriller. The book is a highly enjoyable diversion from more pretentious works. "Raylan" is part of a series of Leonard books about his character and also formed the basis of a long-running television series called "Justified" which I haven't seen. Thus, I read the book on its own without relating it to the television show. I noticed allusions in the book to earlier Leonard novels, particularly his western "Valdez is Coming".
"Raylan", a novel of Leonard's old age, is a fitting capstone to his literary career.
Robin Friedman
May 30, 2020
After Raylan’s disappointing performance in Riding the Rap, I’m pleased to see him return to form in Raylan. I mean, what a guy! Never wastes a shot, mixes justice with compassion, never lets himself worry too much over procedural niceties. Raylan, you’re a great all-American guy to read about — at least as long as you’re a fan of white, Christian, southern guys — but I hope that no idiots out there take you seriously.
Features Elmore Leonard’s usual great writing, and his good ol’ boy juvenile fun. Perfect reading to escape grim times and forboding futures.
Features Elmore Leonard’s usual great writing, and his good ol’ boy juvenile fun. Perfect reading to escape grim times and forboding futures.
August 26, 2013
Raylan Givens, US Marshal, looks up a weed dealer in a hotel room only to find him sat in a tub with ice and his kidneys missing. From there a twisting trail of murder, blackmail, land dispute, and cards unfolds taking in everyone from an elderly drug baron operating out of a food stamps store to a disgruntled nurse who decides to strike out on her own, to a band of bank robbing gals, and a poker playing girl called Jackie Nevada with her ace in the hole. Elmore Leonard's back and he's packing heat.
I loved this book. I thought he was going to spin out the organ trafficking storyline for the full 260 pages but he finished it at page 100, without introducing any new characters, making me wonder where he was going to take the story next. From there he goes into a murder story concerning a coal mining exec and an old man who happened to live nearby whose house was flattened by the coal company. Then from there Leonard introduces a new story of a trio of bank robbing girls and then another story of a poker playing 23 year old student on the lam.
Elmore Leonard does some amazing storytelling weaving these fascinating individuals into a single storyline. It's masterful and incredible to see these disparate elements prove to be part of a larger whole. More amazing still is the way he creates characters. Each one had its own voice and seemed completely real. Leonard writes femme fatales like no other, making them sexy and deadly and smart and witty too, from the organ harvesting nurse to the ice queen coal mining exec to the smart and resourceful poker player to the drugged out bank robbing gals.
The dialogue is the star, something Leonard is famous for and what everybody says about his books, but it's so true. Honestly, I was blown away by some of the scenes, particularly when the poker girl and the horse breeder rich guy have that exchange about playing cards - the dialogue is fast, musical, hits the ear perfectly, and is unlike dialogue in any other novel. Are you a first time reader of Elmore Leonard? Pick up this book and see why people praise his characters' speech like no other.
Putting aside the technical majestic on display throughout the book, Leonard knows why people read and particularly why people read his books - to have fun. To relax, unwind, and be entertained. And for no other reason than entertainment, this book excels. Murders, kidnappings, shootouts, high stakes poker games, this book has it all and no-one reading this novel will come away feeling short-changed of entertainment value. Even the characters seem to be having a good time, Raylan moving from crime scene to shootout to bars and finally to bed with a good looking girl, I got the feeling his eyes were wide, his heart was beating, and a smile lay beneath his face the entire time.
This is my favourite novel of 2012 so far. It's got everything from fine storytelling, superb writing, one of a kind dialogue from the man who sets the gold standard for dialogue, an array of excellent characters and some utterly brilliant setups, this is a novel that readers will rocket through with a big grin on their faces. You're looking for a good read? Stop reading this and pick up "Raylan" - he'll sort you out.
I loved this book. I thought he was going to spin out the organ trafficking storyline for the full 260 pages but he finished it at page 100, without introducing any new characters, making me wonder where he was going to take the story next. From there he goes into a murder story concerning a coal mining exec and an old man who happened to live nearby whose house was flattened by the coal company. Then from there Leonard introduces a new story of a trio of bank robbing girls and then another story of a poker playing 23 year old student on the lam.
Elmore Leonard does some amazing storytelling weaving these fascinating individuals into a single storyline. It's masterful and incredible to see these disparate elements prove to be part of a larger whole. More amazing still is the way he creates characters. Each one had its own voice and seemed completely real. Leonard writes femme fatales like no other, making them sexy and deadly and smart and witty too, from the organ harvesting nurse to the ice queen coal mining exec to the smart and resourceful poker player to the drugged out bank robbing gals.
The dialogue is the star, something Leonard is famous for and what everybody says about his books, but it's so true. Honestly, I was blown away by some of the scenes, particularly when the poker girl and the horse breeder rich guy have that exchange about playing cards - the dialogue is fast, musical, hits the ear perfectly, and is unlike dialogue in any other novel. Are you a first time reader of Elmore Leonard? Pick up this book and see why people praise his characters' speech like no other.
Putting aside the technical majestic on display throughout the book, Leonard knows why people read and particularly why people read his books - to have fun. To relax, unwind, and be entertained. And for no other reason than entertainment, this book excels. Murders, kidnappings, shootouts, high stakes poker games, this book has it all and no-one reading this novel will come away feeling short-changed of entertainment value. Even the characters seem to be having a good time, Raylan moving from crime scene to shootout to bars and finally to bed with a good looking girl, I got the feeling his eyes were wide, his heart was beating, and a smile lay beneath his face the entire time.
This is my favourite novel of 2012 so far. It's got everything from fine storytelling, superb writing, one of a kind dialogue from the man who sets the gold standard for dialogue, an array of excellent characters and some utterly brilliant setups, this is a novel that readers will rocket through with a big grin on their faces. You're looking for a good read? Stop reading this and pick up "Raylan" - he'll sort you out.
June 16, 2020
realistic dialogue?
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Raylan: A Novel (Raylan Givens Book 3) (Kindle Edition)
Mr. Leonard's books are gritty and seem realistic based on my life and law enforcement experience. However, I have often wondered if the vernacular used by Leonard is truly realistic. A review by OH Packerfan addresses this issue and points out how much alike all the characters talk despite their different backgrounds. No matter how much I enjoy Leonard's writing, I have to agree with OH Packerfan.
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Raylan: A Novel (Raylan Givens Book 3) (Kindle Edition)
Mr. Leonard's books are gritty and seem realistic based on my life and law enforcement experience. However, I have often wondered if the vernacular used by Leonard is truly realistic. A review by OH Packerfan addresses this issue and points out how much alike all the characters talk despite their different backgrounds. No matter how much I enjoy Leonard's writing, I have to agree with OH Packerfan.
May 21, 2012
If you've seen "Justified" this review contains minimal spoilers. If you have not, there are substantially more of them. Either way, here there be spoilers:
Whether you first discovered Raylan Givens through FX's Justified or have known him since Leonard first published "Fire in the Hole," you are no doubt hoping for an all-new adventure from the man who first introduced the world to the US Marshal from Harlan, Kentucky. If you are watcher of "Justified," you will be sorely disappointed.
Raylan isn't so much a novel as a collection of interconnected short stories that really have very little to do with one another but have nonetheless been cut together to form a longer work. It is a fast and easy read that most people should be able to burn through in one or two sittings. Nevertheless, I almost filed this one under my "didn't finish" pile. It felt too much like watching a rerun, as a good 60-75% of this novel is comprised of things most of its readers will have seen before.
I am highly curious to know if the show took its season 2 and 3 ideas from Leonard when Raylan was still a work-in-progress, or whether Leonard started this novel when seasons 2 and 3 had already been written and/or were in production. Because, honestly, if you have seen season 2 and what has aired of season 3 (I am writing this just before the 7th episode makes its debut), there is little new material to be found here.
The novel opens with the kidney theft arc of Season 3, following the shows so closely that huge chunks of the dialogue sync verbatim between the show and the novel. We then backtrack to Carol Conlan and the strip mining fiasco of Season 2, except this time, the wonderful Mags Bennett has been replaced with a Crowe patriarch and distant relative of Dewey. As for Dickie and Coover, Mags's inept good ol' boy sons? They are now Dickie and Coover Crowe, Pervis Crowe's inept gool ol' boy sons.
This second arc does deviate a bit from what we saw in season 2, especially in regards to Miss Conlan and her own story but, again, it is largely a rehash of the show, right down to the exact same dialogue.
The only new material (as of this writing) comes in the final third of the book and pertains largely to a young poker player named Jackie Nevada who crosses paths with Raylan. Though Jackie is herself an interesting character, I found her wholly improbable in relation to Marshal Givens, and I hope sincerely that the show deviates from the novel in terms of their intersecting storyline. She is completely wrong for Raylan, and their relationship made me cringe from the moment it became evident they were moving beyond the Marshal/fugitive association.
Leonard is a writer who knows how to evoke real chemistry in his characters. Anyone who's read or seen Out of Sight can attest to that, but there is nothing about Jackie and Raylan that makes me buy them as a couple, even if the relationship ends up being much more brief than hinted at in the novel.
Jackie's arc also involvs a trio of female bank robbers and their "mastermind," a story which has tremendous potential but ends up taking a turn for the beyond farcical. When two of the girls turn up dead, rather than investigate Raylan and Boyd spend three or four of the novel's closing chapters watching Jackie play poker. Poker, it should be noted, is not that interesting to watch. It is even less interesting to read about. Especially when there are criminals who need to be caught and enormous, dangling, unresolved chunks of plot that need attention.
With this book, Leonard has simply lost his way. I have greatly enjoyed his earlier works, which feature full characterizations, snappy dialogue and move the plot along at a breakneck pace. Leonard is not a writer who wastes words. He gets in, gets the job done, and gets out. Raylan , however, suffers from a fatal abruptness. Some of the sentences are so short they are barely fragments which leave way too much room for mixed meanings, and it took several rereads of them to even figure out what he was trying to say. Raylan is too short, too abrupt, and has a generally jumpy feel to it that derails the narrative every time it builds up steam.
I expected more from Leonard, and his audience deserves better.
Whether you first discovered Raylan Givens through FX's Justified or have known him since Leonard first published "Fire in the Hole," you are no doubt hoping for an all-new adventure from the man who first introduced the world to the US Marshal from Harlan, Kentucky. If you are watcher of "Justified," you will be sorely disappointed.
Raylan isn't so much a novel as a collection of interconnected short stories that really have very little to do with one another but have nonetheless been cut together to form a longer work. It is a fast and easy read that most people should be able to burn through in one or two sittings. Nevertheless, I almost filed this one under my "didn't finish" pile. It felt too much like watching a rerun, as a good 60-75% of this novel is comprised of things most of its readers will have seen before.
I am highly curious to know if the show took its season 2 and 3 ideas from Leonard when Raylan was still a work-in-progress, or whether Leonard started this novel when seasons 2 and 3 had already been written and/or were in production. Because, honestly, if you have seen season 2 and what has aired of season 3 (I am writing this just before the 7th episode makes its debut), there is little new material to be found here.
The novel opens with the kidney theft arc of Season 3, following the shows so closely that huge chunks of the dialogue sync verbatim between the show and the novel. We then backtrack to Carol Conlan and the strip mining fiasco of Season 2, except this time, the wonderful Mags Bennett has been replaced with a Crowe patriarch and distant relative of Dewey. As for Dickie and Coover, Mags's inept good ol' boy sons? They are now Dickie and Coover Crowe, Pervis Crowe's inept gool ol' boy sons.
This second arc does deviate a bit from what we saw in season 2, especially in regards to Miss Conlan and her own story but, again, it is largely a rehash of the show, right down to the exact same dialogue.
The only new material (as of this writing) comes in the final third of the book and pertains largely to a young poker player named Jackie Nevada who crosses paths with Raylan. Though Jackie is herself an interesting character, I found her wholly improbable in relation to Marshal Givens, and I hope sincerely that the show deviates from the novel in terms of their intersecting storyline. She is completely wrong for Raylan, and their relationship made me cringe from the moment it became evident they were moving beyond the Marshal/fugitive association.
Leonard is a writer who knows how to evoke real chemistry in his characters. Anyone who's read or seen Out of Sight can attest to that, but there is nothing about Jackie and Raylan that makes me buy them as a couple, even if the relationship ends up being much more brief than hinted at in the novel.
Jackie's arc also involvs a trio of female bank robbers and their "mastermind," a story which has tremendous potential but ends up taking a turn for the beyond farcical. When two of the girls turn up dead, rather than investigate Raylan and Boyd spend three or four of the novel's closing chapters watching Jackie play poker. Poker, it should be noted, is not that interesting to watch. It is even less interesting to read about. Especially when there are criminals who need to be caught and enormous, dangling, unresolved chunks of plot that need attention.
With this book, Leonard has simply lost his way. I have greatly enjoyed his earlier works, which feature full characterizations, snappy dialogue and move the plot along at a breakneck pace. Leonard is not a writer who wastes words. He gets in, gets the job done, and gets out. Raylan , however, suffers from a fatal abruptness. Some of the sentences are so short they are barely fragments which leave way too much room for mixed meanings, and it took several rereads of them to even figure out what he was trying to say. Raylan is too short, too abrupt, and has a generally jumpy feel to it that derails the narrative every time it builds up steam.
I expected more from Leonard, and his audience deserves better.
June 13, 2016
“I always felt, you don’t have a good time doin crime, you may as well find a job.”
― Elmore Leonard, Raylan
I'm just going to review this really quick. Raylan is built on three main stories/episodes that are all loosely tied together. It wasn't the best Elmore Leonard out there, and in some ways this novel seems destined to suffer from the success of the Raylan Givens franchise (see F/X series). The novel almost seemed written with the guarantee of options that the book would get used in the existing series. It holds no surprises and few major disappointments. Most risks taken by Elmore Leonard were taken years earlier. This is a safe novel sold to safe readers.
― Elmore Leonard, Raylan
I'm just going to review this really quick. Raylan is built on three main stories/episodes that are all loosely tied together. It wasn't the best Elmore Leonard out there, and in some ways this novel seems destined to suffer from the success of the Raylan Givens franchise (see F/X series). The novel almost seemed written with the guarantee of options that the book would get used in the existing series. It holds no surprises and few major disappointments. Most risks taken by Elmore Leonard were taken years earlier. This is a safe novel sold to safe readers.
August 20, 2020
3.5 Stars
Pretty good, but uneven. This is really three short stories end-to-end, with an overlap in some characters.
As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.
I very much enjoyed the first two stories, but the third was a bit clogged with pointless dialogue and an unsatisfying, "too cute" ending.
Jackie Nevada was a delight, and it's nice to see and hear Raylan and her together throughout the final story.
Full size image here
Notes and Quotes:
Plenty of down-home colour and humour, but not nearly as fully fledged as the superb Justified tv series.
He handed his license to Rachel.
She looked at it and said, “How you work here and live in Memphis?"
“It’s my home. I get time off, I go see my mama.”
“I’d go to Memphis,” Raylan said, “for the ribs.”
“Now you talkin,” Cuba said. “Best bar-b-que in the world’s at the Germantown rib joint.”
“The Germantown Commissary,” Raylan said. “Corky’s is good."
“I love Corky’s,” Rachel said. “They serve that pulled pork shoulder. Best anyplace.”
... in my rarely humble opinion ... Corky's has become a victim of it's own success, with huge automobile queues and sub-excellent BBQ.
-
“We started laughing,” Layla said, “I think with relief. Remember?"
“It was funny,” Cuba said. “We laughin in our rubber masks cause it was funny. I always felt, you don’t have a good time doin crime, you may as well find a job.”
-
“Honey ... ?”
“Yeah ... ?”
“You know you got a coffeepot on the stove has a gun in it?"
“For varmints,” Pervis said. “It’s a .38.”
“For big varmints.”
The late Elmore Leonard with Timothy Olyphant
Full size image here
Pretty good, but uneven. This is really three short stories end-to-end, with an overlap in some characters.
As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.
I very much enjoyed the first two stories, but the third was a bit clogged with pointless dialogue and an unsatisfying, "too cute" ending.
Jackie Nevada was a delight, and it's nice to see and hear Raylan and her together throughout the final story.
Full size image here
Notes and Quotes:
Plenty of down-home colour and humour, but not nearly as fully fledged as the superb Justified tv series.
He handed his license to Rachel.
She looked at it and said, “How you work here and live in Memphis?"
“It’s my home. I get time off, I go see my mama.”
“I’d go to Memphis,” Raylan said, “for the ribs.”
“Now you talkin,” Cuba said. “Best bar-b-que in the world’s at the Germantown rib joint.”
“The Germantown Commissary,” Raylan said. “Corky’s is good."
“I love Corky’s,” Rachel said. “They serve that pulled pork shoulder. Best anyplace.”
... in my rarely humble opinion ... Corky's has become a victim of it's own success, with huge automobile queues and sub-excellent BBQ.
-
“We started laughing,” Layla said, “I think with relief. Remember?"
“It was funny,” Cuba said. “We laughin in our rubber masks cause it was funny. I always felt, you don’t have a good time doin crime, you may as well find a job.”
-
“Honey ... ?”
“Yeah ... ?”
“You know you got a coffeepot on the stove has a gun in it?"
“For varmints,” Pervis said. “It’s a .38.”
“For big varmints.”
The late Elmore Leonard with Timothy Olyphant
Full size image here
February 1, 2012
This novel is three loosely connected vignettes, all tasked to U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens over the course of several days. First he is assigned to investigate a kidney theft, then to bodyguard a mining company's public relations woman, and finally to hunt down a female poker-playing college student suspected to be part of a gang of female bank robbers.
There is a lot of interweaving between the characters in the differing vignettes. While most is seamless, as a tight-knit community of hillfolk would suggest, some seems forced for plot advancements. I found it better not to analyze too much and to just enjoy the ride -- as well as the masterful dialogue, which really makes the book.
Many of the characters, including Art, Dickie, Coover, Boyd, Ava, Winona, Dewey, and Carol, are recognizable from the television show Justified, which is based on Elmore Leonard's short story Fire in the Hole. This will please fans of the show, but know these characters' fates are not necessarily the same as in the show, and I found the most interesting characters in Raylan to be the fresh, new characters anyway.
Raylan feels like Justified, and it is intentional -- not only is Justified star Timothy Olyphant on the cover of the novel, but Leonard sent the show's producers an advanced copy for them to "hang it up and strip it for parts" for the show.
There is a lot of interweaving between the characters in the differing vignettes. While most is seamless, as a tight-knit community of hillfolk would suggest, some seems forced for plot advancements. I found it better not to analyze too much and to just enjoy the ride -- as well as the masterful dialogue, which really makes the book.
Many of the characters, including Art, Dickie, Coover, Boyd, Ava, Winona, Dewey, and Carol, are recognizable from the television show Justified, which is based on Elmore Leonard's short story Fire in the Hole. This will please fans of the show, but know these characters' fates are not necessarily the same as in the show, and I found the most interesting characters in Raylan to be the fresh, new characters anyway.
Raylan feels like Justified, and it is intentional -- not only is Justified star Timothy Olyphant on the cover of the novel, but Leonard sent the show's producers an advanced copy for them to "hang it up and strip it for parts" for the show.
September 18, 2013
What fun! 263 pages worth of daydreaming about Elmore Leonard's character Raylan Givens, aka actor Timothy Oliphant, star of FX's tv series "Justified". I have to state for the record, that I have a soft spot for US Marshall Raylan Givens, the epitome of Kentucky cool. A perfectly shaped cowboy hat, blue jeans and a Glock-along with considerable wit and charm, and a certain level of fearlessness-these are the tools master storyteller Elmore Leonard gives his hero in
Raylan. This novel is the third part in the trilogy, preceded by Riding the Rap, Pronto, and the short story, "Fire in the Hole". Several of the familiar characters are there-Raylan's boss, Art, Raylan's boyhood chum and fellow miner Boyd Crowder, bad guy brothers Dickie and Coover Crowe, and Carol Conlan, the rep for M-T Mines. Throughout the book, casting a threatening and soulless shadow to the point that it feels as if it is a character, is Big Coal, the scourge of all of those Kentuckians who live in the hollers.
Ever popular with the ladies, Raylan investigates three cases all loosely woven together by Leonard. There is the death of mountain owner Otis, whose land is wanted by the mining company, the theft of human kidneys for sale by a transplant team nurse, and a missing college student on the lam for her part in a series of bank heists, by an all-girl trio of bank robbers. What's not to like? There is witty dialogue, considerable action, and plenty of opportunities for Raylan to make observations about the human condition and life in a mining community. It ended much to soon, and left me waiting impatiently for the next season of "Justified". I was also a little sad while reading this book. Mr. Leonard recently passed away, and it saddens me to realize this his genius is gone for good. I read somewhere that there is a sign posted on the "Justified" set that reads, "What would Mr. Leonard do?" No doubt the team of writers will be very much aware of those words as they prepare the next set of story arcs for our Raylan. 'Nuff said!
Raylan. This novel is the third part in the trilogy, preceded by Riding the Rap, Pronto, and the short story, "Fire in the Hole". Several of the familiar characters are there-Raylan's boss, Art, Raylan's boyhood chum and fellow miner Boyd Crowder, bad guy brothers Dickie and Coover Crowe, and Carol Conlan, the rep for M-T Mines. Throughout the book, casting a threatening and soulless shadow to the point that it feels as if it is a character, is Big Coal, the scourge of all of those Kentuckians who live in the hollers.
Ever popular with the ladies, Raylan investigates three cases all loosely woven together by Leonard. There is the death of mountain owner Otis, whose land is wanted by the mining company, the theft of human kidneys for sale by a transplant team nurse, and a missing college student on the lam for her part in a series of bank heists, by an all-girl trio of bank robbers. What's not to like? There is witty dialogue, considerable action, and plenty of opportunities for Raylan to make observations about the human condition and life in a mining community. It ended much to soon, and left me waiting impatiently for the next season of "Justified". I was also a little sad while reading this book. Mr. Leonard recently passed away, and it saddens me to realize this his genius is gone for good. I read somewhere that there is a sign posted on the "Justified" set that reads, "What would Mr. Leonard do?" No doubt the team of writers will be very much aware of those words as they prepare the next set of story arcs for our Raylan. 'Nuff said!
February 23, 2012
Poor planning left me almost without a book to read for the weekend for the second time in a month. Luckily, Timothy Olyphant, I mean, Raylan was sitting on the FT table at work on Saturday, so the day was officially saved. Normally I don't want to have a specific picture of someone in my head while I read a book (I refuse to watch the movie version of The World According to Garp for this reason), but in this case, let me tell you that it was not a problem at all. I'm going to write a review of this book, not Olyphant, but I can't get away with not saying that I think he's a pretty attractive individual and after reading this book, I'm even more convinced that his being cast for this show was an excellent idea. Walton Goggins and Nick Searcy were pretty damn fine choices as well.
Leonard just has such an exquisite way with dialogue (even though he does use the 'Must of' or 'Should of', which drives me insane. Must've!). The story is interesting enough, what with the kidney stealing and the mining company dropping rocks on people's houses and the lady gamblers, but it's the dialogue that makes this a real treat. B stole the book from me so I can't come up with the exact quote, but something about a guy taking Raylan out back to teach him some respect for the mining company, and Raylan says, If I don't show up, practice falling down until I get there. Hilarious. My only qualms are the logistics of the kidney thefts - how long do those things last? Because I was under the impression that once they were removed, they didn't last all that long. Also, the sex scene at the very end was atrocious, even if it did star Timothy Olyphant, I mean, Raylan.
*Edited to add: turns out that my father-in-law taught that "practice falling down until I get there" line to my husband when he was a teenager. Father-in-law's stock has certainly risen around my house.
Leonard just has such an exquisite way with dialogue (even though he does use the 'Must of' or 'Should of', which drives me insane. Must've!). The story is interesting enough, what with the kidney stealing and the mining company dropping rocks on people's houses and the lady gamblers, but it's the dialogue that makes this a real treat. B stole the book from me so I can't come up with the exact quote, but something about a guy taking Raylan out back to teach him some respect for the mining company, and Raylan says, If I don't show up, practice falling down until I get there. Hilarious. My only qualms are the logistics of the kidney thefts - how long do those things last? Because I was under the impression that once they were removed, they didn't last all that long. Also, the sex scene at the very end was atrocious, even if it did star Timothy Olyphant, I mean, Raylan.
*Edited to add: turns out that my father-in-law taught that "practice falling down until I get there" line to my husband when he was a teenager. Father-in-law's stock has certainly risen around my house.
January 20, 2013
I am really not one to quit reading books before I finish them. I understand this can be a bad thing especially if the book sucks. That being said, I quit this book on page 36. I was just looking for an easy read that might have some good silly, yet clever humor in it, and I thought I remembered reading something before from this dude that I really liked. I never even saw the tv series before staring the book. Maybe that was part of the problem. One can only speculate. Everything just seemed so forced and unoriginal right from the start that I figured I better not waste anymore of my life away reading this. This is my very first book review. I hope you enjoyed it.
February 27, 2016
I liked the book quite a bit. However, I'd already seen seasons 2 and 3 of Justified, so I'd already seen one incarnation of many of the actions that took place in the book. The book was written first, and the writers on the show cannibalized portions of it for the show, with some changes. I probably would have enjoyed the book more if I hadn't seen these scenes played out already. I will also say that the cast of Justified did an excellent job of bringing these pieces to life.
August 18, 2018
This was like 3 separate short stories but all loosely tied together, and of course, all of them featuring my man, Raylan. Other than Raylan, the real bad-asses in this story were the women. Involved in everything from blackmarket organ transplanting to gun-thug coal mine bossing to bank robbing to fugitive poker playing. All tied up nicely with Elmores famous gift for dialogue. A take no names Marshal and some hot, gun totin' ladies (hell, even the maid is someone I wouldn't want to cross). What else could you ask for?
February 15, 2012
An interesting hybrid of the literary version of Raylan Givens and the television version from FX's Justified.
Elmore Leonard borrows elements from the second season of the hit series and weaves them here. Raylan is the first time that Givens has taken center stage in a Leonard novel and hopefully won't be the last.
The novel has three distinct sections though each of them do have a bit of connective tissue beyond Raylan's involvement. In the first third, Raylan investigates a human organ trafficking ring, in the second Raylan is assigned to protect a female executive with the mining company and in the third, Raylan looks into a college poker player who may have taken to robbing banks in order to pay-off a huge loss.
As a companion to Justified, this one takes place in an odd parallel universe that is similar in many ways but uniquely different in others. Leonard expertly weaves all the stories together and quickly shifts from witty dialogue and clever writing to suspenseful sections that will have you on the edge of your seat ready to turn the next page. If you're a fan of either version US Marshall Raylan Givens, this is a must read. If you haven't met him yet, this is a good entry point. And then you have to go out and rent the first two seasons of Justified on DVD. Trust me, it's worth every second.
Elmore Leonard borrows elements from the second season of the hit series and weaves them here. Raylan is the first time that Givens has taken center stage in a Leonard novel and hopefully won't be the last.
The novel has three distinct sections though each of them do have a bit of connective tissue beyond Raylan's involvement. In the first third, Raylan investigates a human organ trafficking ring, in the second Raylan is assigned to protect a female executive with the mining company and in the third, Raylan looks into a college poker player who may have taken to robbing banks in order to pay-off a huge loss.
As a companion to Justified, this one takes place in an odd parallel universe that is similar in many ways but uniquely different in others. Leonard expertly weaves all the stories together and quickly shifts from witty dialogue and clever writing to suspenseful sections that will have you on the edge of your seat ready to turn the next page. If you're a fan of either version US Marshall Raylan Givens, this is a must read. If you haven't met him yet, this is a good entry point. And then you have to go out and rent the first two seasons of Justified on DVD. Trust me, it's worth every second.
April 3, 2016
3.5 stars
Oh how I missed these characters. Justified, in my opinion, was one of the best shows on television...ever.
I enjoyed stepping back into the world of Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder and the rest of the crazy characters Elmore Leonard is so adept at creating.
Most of the storylines in this book were familiar to me because they had been incorporated into Justified in some form or another, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment while reading them.
It saddens me to know that with the passing of Elmore Leonard, and the fact that Justified is no longer on television, there will be no new stories for the fantastic character of Raylan Givens.
(2016 reading challenge: a book by a famous author born in the same month as you)
Oh how I missed these characters. Justified, in my opinion, was one of the best shows on television...ever.
I enjoyed stepping back into the world of Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder and the rest of the crazy characters Elmore Leonard is so adept at creating.
Most of the storylines in this book were familiar to me because they had been incorporated into Justified in some form or another, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment while reading them.
It saddens me to know that with the passing of Elmore Leonard, and the fact that Justified is no longer on television, there will be no new stories for the fantastic character of Raylan Givens.
(2016 reading challenge: a book by a famous author born in the same month as you)
October 23, 2014
It was a fun read. "Justified" is a favorite series of ours & this book has 3 episodes from the show, although they were apparently much changed for TV. Enough of the basics were there, but often characters & outcomes were completely different. It made for great reading since Raylan is still Raylan & that's what makes this.
Since I live in Kentucky, the show is local. That makes it even better. They really do capture many of the people in the area well.
Since I live in Kentucky, the show is local. That makes it even better. They really do capture many of the people in the area well.
October 19, 2022
If you’re going to have fanfic, have Elmore Leonard write your fanfic, yes sir.
August 8, 2025
Raylan is the second Raylan Givens novel I've read - the first, Pronto, takes place in Leonard's oft-used Miami, as well as in Italy. Instead of Leonard's familiar settings of Detroit and Miami, in Raylan we are deep in the mining area of eastern Kentucky, with the poor people living and working there. Raylan is pursuing a large marijuana organization when he enters a motel room to arrest a dealer and finds him near death in the bathtub with a fresh surgical incision on his abdomen. It turns out that some criminals have turned to the lucrative business of taking kidneys and selling them on the black market.
One third of the way in, that story ends and Raylan gets involved in a murder that comes about as the result of the extreme tension between poor homeowners and the mining company that is demolishing large parts of their mountains.
Then again at the two-thirds mark we are on to a third case for Raylan involving a young woman who is robbing banks with two of her friends while high on drugs.
In Raylan, Leonard plays Raylan's sex appeal and machismo to the limit. However, I prefer Leonard's usual novel that is one story filling the entire novel. While still written with great style and humor, Raylan is one of my least favorite Leonard books. I do applaud him for stepping a bit out of his comfort zone when he was in his 80's.
One third of the way in, that story ends and Raylan gets involved in a murder that comes about as the result of the extreme tension between poor homeowners and the mining company that is demolishing large parts of their mountains.
Then again at the two-thirds mark we are on to a third case for Raylan involving a young woman who is robbing banks with two of her friends while high on drugs.
In Raylan, Leonard plays Raylan's sex appeal and machismo to the limit. However, I prefer Leonard's usual novel that is one story filling the entire novel. While still written with great style and humor, Raylan is one of my least favorite Leonard books. I do applaud him for stepping a bit out of his comfort zone when he was in his 80's.
March 5, 2012
Like many people I came to know Raylan Givens on the TV show Justified. During the first season I ran down Pronto
, Riding the Rap
, and even When the Women Come Out to Dance
. The Raylan I met there wasn't precisely the Raylan I got to know in Justified (though I did see familiar plotting and even story).
I've followed the program and liked the second season (though not quite so much as I did the first). The third season is so far good, so when
came out I snapped it up.
It's a good read. Fast moving interesting. If (and this is odd for me because I usually cringe at movie and TV adaptions of books...but Justified is pretty good, so far.) all you know is Justified the Raylan here will be a bit more familiar but I didn't find Boyd so much like the guy I know from the program.
And don't worry. While you'll see some plotting the resembles what you've seen on the series, it isn't the same stories. Using some of the same plot jumping off points Mr. Leonard takes us down some different "story roads". Also if you're from the part of the country in question (which I am) the picture (while about the poorer working people) isn't as insulting or condescending as many portrayals are. Good book, fast moving, exciting, page turner. I liked it and if Mr. Leonard decides to publish another Novel about Raylan Givens I'll most likely snap it up.
, Riding the Rap
, and even When the Women Come Out to Dance
. The Raylan I met there wasn't precisely the Raylan I got to know in Justified (though I did see familiar plotting and even story).I've followed the program and liked the second season (though not quite so much as I did the first). The third season is so far good, so when
came out I snapped it up.It's a good read. Fast moving interesting. If (and this is odd for me because I usually cringe at movie and TV adaptions of books...but Justified is pretty good, so far.) all you know is Justified the Raylan here will be a bit more familiar but I didn't find Boyd so much like the guy I know from the program.
And don't worry. While you'll see some plotting the resembles what you've seen on the series, it isn't the same stories. Using some of the same plot jumping off points Mr. Leonard takes us down some different "story roads". Also if you're from the part of the country in question (which I am) the picture (while about the poorer working people) isn't as insulting or condescending as many portrayals are. Good book, fast moving, exciting, page turner. I liked it and if Mr. Leonard decides to publish another Novel about Raylan Givens I'll most likely snap it up.
August 31, 2016
I have a "Justified" obsession. From the very first glimpse of the original TV promos for the FX TV series, "Justified", I was a goner. When I finally got to actually watch the show--have mercy!!! Timothy Olyphant fits the character of Raylan Givens the way that Raylan’s Stetson fits his head! Perfectly! I must say that Timothy looks mighty fine in that hat, and he wears the hat, it doesn’t wear him. “Justified” is just about perfect in every way–an outstanding cast and astounding writing and overall production values. Dark, gritty, and impossible to look away from! Raylan is a dedicated lawman, a deadly crack shot, and his own worst enemy. Having said all that, I must also say that before I finished the first page of "Raylan", by Elmore Leonard, I realized that I was going to have to separate my enjoyment of the series from the very different experience of reading the book. Elmore Leonard is a highly esteemed crime writer who blends quirky characters and bizarre humor with tightly-written suspense story lines. The character of Raylan Givens was first introduced in "Fire in the Hole", which was followed by "Pronto" and "Riding the Rap". Those three books have been on my wish list for some time, and I jumped (jumped really high and hurt myself) at the chance to read and review "Raylan". The book's title lead me to believe that the focus would be more in-depth on the character of Raylan. While there where glimpses of the wry wit, savvy lawman instincts, and self-troublemaking elements that are very much a part of the character, there just isn't enough Raylan in "Raylan". However, there is a uniquely told twisted tale with enough turns to make you feel like you are riding on the back roads of a Kentucky hollow. Watch out for those "pot"-holes! Also, don't mess with Granny! For me one of the most praise-worthy aspects of Elmore Leonard's writing is that anyone can be bodaciously bad. Age and gender don't matter--anyone can be "bad to the bone". Whoo hoo! What a hoot! No wonder I'm obsessed. Thank you, Mr. Leonard!
Review Copy Gratis Amazon Vine
Review Copy Gratis Amazon Vine
February 10, 2014
Fans of the TV Series “Justified” (I am) will recognize all of the plots in this set of short stories tied together only by Raylan’s presence: the nurse selling kidneys, the coal mining VP trying to get contracts signed, etc. (He barely figures in the story about the poker-playing girl.) I regret Leonard won’t be able to write any more, but regretfully this is not one of his better works. Ironically, the TV series holds together better as a novel, especially in its portrayal of the coal-mining areas of Kentucky. This book might have been marketed as a series of short stories.
I don’t know, but have a suspicion that this book was written after, or perhaps simultaneously, with the scripts for the TV series 2nd season as a way to capitalize on the fame of the TV series. No matter, it’s a wonderful modern-day western replete with bad guys and quick-draws. In real life, Raylan would have drowned in paperwork writing up his extravagant use of bullets.
I don’t know, but have a suspicion that this book was written after, or perhaps simultaneously, with the scripts for the TV series 2nd season as a way to capitalize on the fame of the TV series. No matter, it’s a wonderful modern-day western replete with bad guys and quick-draws. In real life, Raylan would have drowned in paperwork writing up his extravagant use of bullets.
June 25, 2016
Loved 'Justified', and this was a great Raylan Givens fix. Definitely a book hunk. Must read more of these. Spent a few years in Kentucky, and this hit the people well. Coal miners losing their jobs, and the way the companies treat them is realistic.
Elmore Leonard was a wonderful writer! Even Stephen King said he was, "the great American writer."
This book was apparently not actually in line with the other two books, but the television show.
'Raylan' was Leonard's last book.
Elmore Leonard was a wonderful writer! Even Stephen King said he was, "the great American writer."
This book was apparently not actually in line with the other two books, but the television show.
'Raylan' was Leonard's last book.
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