52 Pick Up [Paperback]

Elmore Leonard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2005

Detroit businessman Harry Mitchell is a self-made man, happily married for over twenty-two years and a pillar of the community. But then he slips - he meets a young 'model' and begins an affair. One night he arrives at his girlfriend's apartment and finds more than he bargained for. Two masked men have caught his misdemeanours on camera and now they want a cool hundred grand. But they've picked the wrong man, because Harry Mitchell doesn't get mad - he gets even.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Probably no one knows this nation's rogues, bent cops, and sleazebags better than Elmore Leonard."
-- Newsday --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Elmore Leonard has written more than three dozen books during his highly successful career, and many of his novels have been made into bestselling films. He has been named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and lives in Bloomfield Village, Michigan, with his wife Christine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix Paperbacks (March 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753819627
• ISBN-13: 978-0753819623
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,429,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elmore Leonard has written more than forty novels, including bestsellers Up in Honey's Room, The Hot Kid, Mr. Paradise, Tishomingo Blues, Pagan Babies, and Glitz. Many of his books have been made into movies, including Get Shorty and Out of Sight. He lives with his wife, Christine, in Bloomfield Village, Michigan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun novel that falls apart at the end, June 10, 2003

By 

The Gooch (Temecula, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 52 Pickup (Mass Market Paperback)

How does one go about judging a suspense novel? The easiest criteria is probably the level of difficulty you have in putting the book down because of how heavily you get hooked into the plot. By this standard, Elmore Leonard's '52 Pickup' was a great novel. I read the entire 300+ pages in two sittings, which could have easily been condensed into one had I not forced myself to put it down the first time knowing I needed something to read on a 4-hour flight the next day. Leonard writes great characters, even better dialogue, and creates a thrilling cat-and-mouse game where the hero and villains are constantly gaining and losing the upper hand against each other. Watching the hero of this novel, Harry Mitchell, struggle to balance running his successful business amidst the threat of a union slowdown, reconciling his marriage after confessing to his ill-advised affair, and dealing with three thugs who are trying to extort large sums of money from him, made for some very entertaining reading.

There is another standard for judging a suspense novel that I found '52 Pickup' wasn't as successful at, which is the level of believability. The problem I had with this novel was that for the ending to work required that the respective IQ's of the three main villains had to abruptly drop about 100 points each. I just found it odd that three guys who so expertly planned their crimes in the early portion of the novel would suddenly become so gullible later in the same book. I'm not saying that Mitchell's method of dealing with his extortionists was completely unrealistic, just that I thought everything sort of fell into place too easily. In particular, I found it hard to believe that a criminal as intelligent as Alan Raimy would have been so careless in the final scene of the book. Also, while Leonard wisely made Mitchell a former war hero to make his grace under pressure a bit more realistic, I did find it to be a bit much how he seemingly never felt fear, no matter how grave his situation became.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well Written, but the Story Falls Apart in the Second Half, March 25, 2007

By 

Thriller Lover (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: 52 Pick Up (Paperback)

52 PICK UP is, like all of Elmore Leonard's novels, very well written. This book was originally written in the early 1970s, but holds up very well. With a few minor adjustments, it could take place in modern times.

The story essentially deals with a blackmail plot against an adulterous businessman in Detroit. The first half, which is very strong, shows how the businessman is blackmailed, and how he initially responds. The second half, which is far weaker, deals with how the businessman decides to strike back and take justice into his own hands.

The second half of 52-PICK UP is something of a letdown, because it is not particularly believable. Leonard sets up a great, realistic story in the first half, only to resolve the story with an "action movie" type conclusion that requires a major suspension of disbelief.

This novel is further hampered by the absence of any likable characters, with the exception of the wife of the protagonist. Many of the players in this book act in a venal, brutal manner toward one another. I understand that Leonard is trying to be dark and gritty, but the non-stop nastiness does get repetitious and tiresome after a while. This novel lacks the humor of Elmore Leonard's later work.

52 PICK UP is a decent early effort, but I'd recommend trying some of Leonard's later crime books first, or one of his westerns.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'd rather be reading Elmore Leonard, August 31, 2010

By 

Anthony Bruno (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 52 Pickup (Mass Market Paperback)

You know how some guys put an "I'd rather be fishing" bumper sticker on their cars? I should put an "I'd rather be reading Elmore Leonard" sticker on mine. Sure, 52 PICKUP isn't among his very best, but even mediocre EL is miles above most other crime novels, including the guys and gals who sell gazillions of copies. Whenever I breakdown and try one of those books, I always think, "What's so great about this?" and feel cheated. Anyway, 52PU is one of his early crime books, and he was still fiddling with the knobs, getting his groove down. But that's no reason to ignore it. The classic EL elements are all there.