Customer Reviews

The Hot Kid: A Novel

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Leonard's 42nd novel lacks his trademark convoluted double- and triple-cross among the bad guys, the law, and the good guys acting just to the side of the law. Instead we get a down-home good guy with some trademark lines and a bunch of rascals throughout his career in the law. Is it worth it? You bet! Leonard proves his mastery as a storyteller by taking on a totally new setting for this latest crime novel--1930s Oklahoma. The man who perfectly captures Miami gangsters, Hollywood film wanna-bes, high-class urban strippers, and cops everywhere proves that he can do it all again, in new territory, that of the Dust Bowl, bank robbers, speakeasies, US Marshals, Prohibition, and farm girls trying to make their name in Midwest cities.

As I said, there is no masterful all-encompassing crime plot to carry the entire novel, but the reading is engaging nonetheless. The Hot Kid is a series of vignettes in the life of oil-well boy Carl, who witnesses a crime as a child and grows up to become the most respected (and feared) marshal in the state. Carl has run-ins with bank robbers, with crime journalists, with gun molls, with speakeasy owners, and with downright ruthless cold-blooded killers. His nemesis is Jack Belmont, a wanna-be criminal rebelling against his millionaire dad, and the two cross paths repeatedly throughout the novel. Leonard develops a rich cast of characters (as usual, some are on the right side, others on the wrong side, and still others just to the edge of the law) whose lives intersect again and again during US Marshal Carl Webster's career.

The dialogue, as one would expect in a Leonard novel, is outstanding. The characters leap off the page and the reader is transported to another time and place. This is a true winner of a crime novel, and a shining entry in Elmore Leonard's long-standing career at the top of the genre.

There are writers. There are novelists. There are storytellers. And there is Elmore Leonard who seeming transcends classification.

Leonard is at his lyrical, mythmaking best here as he tells the story of a little Oklahoma boy who is robbed of his ice cream cone by a two-bit bank robber, an event that shapes his future.

Carl Webster grows to be a man and becomes a Deputy United States Marshall during the heyday of bank robbers. Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonny and Clyde capture the nation's attention, while J. Edgar Hoover, Melvin Purvis and - of course - Carl Webster seek their own headlines.

In a millieu of dirt-poor farmers become millionaires through the Oklahoma oil boom, whores with good hearts, a rich man's son turned bad and the muse of Tony Antonelli, crime reporter, all the stories mix and blend thanks to Leonard's gifted pen.

Each of the characters is rich and full-blooded. The scent of Oklahonma's backroads and Kansas City's opulent brothels and their denizens is strong as the trails of bandits, lawmen, rich men, demented mothers, prostitutes and demented sons cross and re-cross.

Elmore Leonard has crafted many a fine tale: but "The Hot Kid" is undoubtedly one of his best and a thoroughly satisfying read.

Jerry

I'm not into westerns so I was a little worried when I heard Mr. Leonard's new novel was set in Oklahoma, especially when I knew that Mr. Leonard starting in the writing biz writting hack westerns. Have no fear, this is a crime novel just set in 1930's Oklahoma -- think "Oh Brother where art thou" mixed with "Mixed with Get Shorty" well, not exactly but lets just say the book still has a certain hipness even though it is set 70 years ago. Mr Leonards trademark is his ability to develop real characters that jump from the page, and this is the case in the HOT KID. Both ends, and the middle, of the good/evil spectrum are explored here against the rough and tumble times of depression era Oklahoma.

I generally like Elmore Leonard, this is the twelfth book of his I've read, ranging from his Detroit crime capers, to his L.A.-set Chili Palmer stuff, to some of his Westerns. Other than the terrible "Be Cool", this is probably my least favorite of his books so far. Set in the years between the end of World War I and 1934, the story follows Carlos "Carl" Webster from boyhood to manhood as the son of a wealthy pecan farmer rises to became a hotshot U.S. Marshall. The story takes place in the dusty Midwest, mainly around Tulsa and Oklahoma City, as Carl faces off with various wanna-be desperados seeking to make a name for themselves.

Carl is a somewhat vain, cocky lawman, with a keen sense of what kind of quote will get him in the papers. His main foe is the son of a wealthy oil man, a no account young man who has everything he needs, but whose selfish nature and appetite for stirring things up leads him into Carl's path. Mixed into this are kinds of period details, from prohibition to Will Rogers shows to Klansmen vigilantes to "True Detective" writers to striking miners to mentions of various real-life bank robbers Pretty Boy Floyd, John Dillinger, and Bonnie and Clyde Barrow.

Despite all this background detail, the story itself failed to engage me. There are none of the clever twists and turns that characterize Leonard's best work. There's a good guy, a bad guy, and an inextricable outcome whose resolution is surprisingly undramatic. In fact, about halfway through the book I realized that the "real story" wasn't going to kick in -- I was in it! And unlike many Leonard books, the supporting cast of characters isn't particularly memorable. Even Leonard's trademark strong dialogue is mostly missing, subsumed by his attempt to stick to period speech. Ultimately, one gets the feeling that Leonard was most interested in capturing the vibe of the period, and perhaps didn't spend nearly the same amount of effort on the actual story. That said, the Depression and its effects are surprisingly absent from the story, given the time and place. All in all, unless you're really really into the whole '30s gangster thing, not worth the time.

I have come to the conclusion that there is no reliable measure by which the magnitude of Elmore Leonard's ability can be gauged. He was at one point referred to, with some accuracy, as America's most popular unknown author. He is no longer unknown; he has, in fact, created his own subgenre of sorts, inhabited by tough guys, clever guys, and tender and tougher women. One can never predict what is going to happen in an Elmore Leonard novel, or even what he will pick as subject matter from one work to the next. At a point when an author of his stature, of his talent, could phone in a reliably entertaining work, Leonard continues to test, and stretch, the boundaries that he previously marked off.

So now Leonard favors us with THE HOT KID, a work set in the Oklahoma of the 1930s. It is Leonard's most ambitious, and arguably best, work to date, rich in dialogue, characters, and subtle contrasts. Leonard focuses primarily on Carl Webster and Jack Belmont, two men of not-dissimilar backgrounds with divergent career paths. Webster's father is a career Oklahoma pecan farmer who became wealthy quite by accident when oil was discovered on his land. Belmont's father deliberately sought oil and found it, becoming a millionaire by arduous and dangerous trial and error.

Both men seem to have their respective courses set in their teen years --- Webster's through a chance encounter with an outlaw, Belmont's through a family tragedy that he precipitates out of misfeasance at best and malfeasance at worst. They each fashion a rebellion of sorts against their fathers. Webster rejects his father's gentle entreaties to continue the family pecan farm business by becoming a U.S. Marshal. He quickly grows famous for his killing of a notorious bank robber, as well as his code of honor. Belmont, for his part, also rejects his father but in a more heinous manner. He blows up one of his father's oil derricks, then by turns attempting to blackmail him and kidnapping his paramour, before embarking on a bankrobbing spree throughout Oklahoma and Kansas.

It isn't long before Webster is on Belmont's trail. Belmont, however, wants to be Public Enemy Number One, and the quickest way for him to acquire that title is to hunt Webster.

Part of Leonard's appeal always has been his ability to breathe characters upon the printed page, and he never has done so more sharply than on the pages of THE HOT KID, etching good and evil in bas relief and highlighting where the boundaries meet and blur. Leonard also subtly paints the rise and fall of fortunes in Oklahoma --- a trajectory that played itself out over the course of a decade --- against the backdrop of a tale of easy money, easier women, and rough justice. This is a masterful tale, told by The Master.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Coming from one who has read all forty of Mr. Leonard's novels, The Hot Kid ranks up there with Tishomingo Blues, Get Shorty, and City Primeval my all-time favorites. As usual, the prose is lean and spare, Leonard's characters never, like Chili Palmer, saying more than they have to, if that. Capturing the essence of the 1930s in a hip and entertaining way was certainly an ambitious goal -- and Leonard nails it. As I read the book, necessarily in one sitting, I found myself reading passages out loud just to savor the dialogue. After the lackluster but still readable Mr. Paradise, it was wonderful to see the master is back in top form. I loved this book.

Carlos (Carl) Webster sees his first murder at fifteen. A year later, he kills his first man--a cattle rustler trying to steal his herd. When he turns eighteen, he joins the marshall's service. Carl gains a reputation as a man who keeps his cool, but who shoots to kill. Jack Belmont is just a bad guy. When he was a kid, he let his sister nearly drown. Later, he tried to blackmail his father, kidnapped his father's girlfriend, and blew up one of his father's oil storage tanks. Louly Brown had a crush on Pretty Boy Floyd, but he never paid much attention to her. Her brief career as a gun moll doesn't last long when the police, led by Carl Webster, track down the man she's running with.

Set in prohibition America and the depression, THE HOT KID explores a period of American history when Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, and Pretty Boy Floyd were active, when gangsters were romantic, and when mobs ruled cities. Author Elmore Leonard spins a deceptively involving story about men who don't say much, who live larger than life, and who keep their cool.

In Leonard's stories, no one is completely good and conventional morality is badly bent. While no one is good, there are those who are completely bad. It is a compelling and disturbing world. Leonard ups the emotional intensity as Jack increasingly disorganizes in his attempt to carve out a place for himself in a world where criminals glory in becoming America's Most Wanted.

Warning: THE HOT KID is hard to put down. I sat down to read it and pretty much didn't do anything else all day.

I've read - and loved - a lot of Mr. Leonard's books. This is one of his best. No one can write dialogue like he does. Early in the book, the title character and his father sit on thier front porch, having a quiet talk. In less than a page of spare, understated conversation, Leonard tells us all there is to know about each man.

I was glad to discover that the above-mentioned father appeared as a supporting character in one of Leonard's earlier works, "Cuba Libre". Meeting the engaging young Indian sharpshooter again as a seasoned, contented middle-aged rancher was just like having an unexpected reunion with a long-lost friend. I'm grateful to Mr. Leonard for bringing Virgil back.

This book about Depression-era Oklahoma, with the requisite speakeasies, shoot-outs, and whorehouses gives us a hell-roaring trip through the era. His cast of characters - stalwart, sexy Federal marshalls, sharpshooting gun molls with hearts of gold, and a truly evil bad guy - are wonderfully written.

I give Elmore Leonard a tip of my panama hat (with the slightly curving rim) for his latest book.

Elmore Leonard has been writing fiction for well over forty years, turning out such successful novels as Out of Sight, Get Shorty, Be Cool, Rum Punch, Stick, and 52 Pick-up. Many of his books have been turned into movies because they're so visual, entertaining, and character driven. A reader seldom goes wrong with a novel by this world famous author.

Mr. Leonard's latest novel is The Hot Kid, which is another winner for the writer who made Detroit more famous than the auto industry did. His newest endeavor takes place in the mid-west during the Twenties and early Thirties. The title of the book could refer to either Carlos (aka Carl) Webster, who grows up to be one of the top U.S. Marshals in Oklahoma, or to Jack Belmont, who comes from a rich family and wants to be just like John Dillinger--the country's greatest bank robber and Public Enemy Number One. Both men get set in their ways at an early age. Carl's only fifteen when he witnesses a robbery and killing at a local drugstore by an up-and-coming bank robber. A few months later, Carl has to shoot a rustler who's trying to steal his cows. Jack Belmont's only eighteen when he tries to unsuccessfully blackmail his millionaire father, threatening to tell his mother about dad's mistress. This isn't the first time Jack's been in trouble with his family, either. A few years earlier, he tried to kill his little sister in what was called a swimming pool accident. His father thought it was because the boy wasn't getting the attention he desired, but it was more than that. Though Jack's a talker and can be quite charming when he's in the mood, the guy's also a sociopath with no conscious about right or wrong. This will eventually lead Jack on a path of petty crime, until he finally works his way up to robbing banks and killing people. Carl Webster's the new kid on the block with the U.S. Marshals, but quickly making a name for himself as an officer of the law who won't pull his Colt .38, unless he intends to shoot to kill. This becomes Webster's motto after he kills several culprits. The newspapers and magazines write stories about him, making the young man famous as a quick-drawn, shoot-to-kill deputy Marshal. Of course, the paths of both Jack Belmont and Carl Webster are intertwined and eventually there will be a final showdown between the two young men. As a friend tells Belmont, "Carl Webster isn't the type of guy you can take in a face-to-face confrontation. You want to wait till he's asleep, then fill him full of lead." Unfortunately, Jack's never been one to take advice!

The Hot Kid is smooth reading with strong character development of all the main players. You'll find yourself living in the first half of the century for a short while, not to mention laughing at loud at some of the wild antics that go on between the different characters in the book. The women here are just as tough as the men when it comes to shooting and sex, and both of the lead male characters sure love the ladies. The thing with Jack Belmont is that you can't help but like him even though he's a cold-hearted murderer. That's what attracts the women to him. The guy does have charm. It's Carl Webster, however, who steals the show by always remaining calm and polite under the most stressful conditions, then shooting to kill like a sheriff out of the Old West. Few authors can put together a novel that's filled with so much fun as well as Elmore Leonard, and I always find it to be an extreme pleasure whenever a new book by him hits the market. I've been reading Leonard's fiction for over twenty years, and I hope to God he'll still be writing for at least another decade. In my opinion, Elmore Leonard is one of our country's national treasures and shouldn't be missed under any circumstances! Highly recommended.

It's hard not to give Elmore Leonard's THE HOT KID five stars. There is hardly a missed beat by Mr. Leonard as we follow the remarkable career of Carl Webster, FBI agent extraordinaire, as he deals with killers and bank robbers and molls who are drawn to them. Perhaps there is a little richness of character missing from THE HOT KID compared to some of Mr. Leonard's other novels, but nevertheless this is a crackerjack prize right out of the box. We have gun fights, bank robberies, oil wells gushing, father-son rivalry, gun moll sex, white-sheeted clan attacks and much bumping about on dirt roads in a 1930 Essex, two-door, green and other hot cars. Above all, THE HOT KID evokes very well a time and place: 1930's Oklahoma. That's the real star of this book. It's an era gone forever but Mr. Leonard has caught the flavor of it in THE HOT KID. Each Elmore Leonard book is a prize and this one is no exception.