Customer Reviews

Unknown Man #89 (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)

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Written in the '70s, "Unknown Man" established a template that has endured into the new century: super cool male lead, troubled but likeable damsel in distress and a couple of black guys with baggage. Jack Ryan, Detroit process server with a street smart, easy going manner that lets him rise above the ugliness of his business, is a character from whom Rayland Givens and Chili Palmer will naturally evolve.

Jay Wilt, one of Jack's sleazier clients, hires him to find Robert Leary, Jr. with a last known Detroit address from 1941. Robert is not at all what the early description suggests, and Jack is not the only one looking for him. A hardened street dude named Virgil took the rap for a robbery he and "Bobby" committed, and he's determined to het his money or get even.

Along the way Jack finds Lee, a hopelessly drunk bar fly. Jack is a recovering alcoholic who has slipped more than once. When he reaches out to pull Lee out of the gutter, the darkness and reality of what they both are going through contrast with the otherwise too cool to be true plot, but it doesn't weigh the story down. Lee cleans up just fine becoming Denise. Jack is saving her, falling for her and either hiding her from or finding her for the man from New Orleans who wants to share Robert Leary's lost inheritance with her.

The story builds to a climax of unusual alliances, great street action and an Elmore Leonard good guy facing off with a bad guy who might be just as cool under pressure. You won't guess the ending, you don't need to - but if you're an Elmore Leonard fan, you won't be surprised by it.

The most pleasant surprise upon reading "Unknown Man #89" was the subtlety with which it it was composed. The story doesn't force itself upon you, it occurs naturally, and takes you with it. But the best aspect of the novel (not surprising if you are an Elmore Leonard fan) is that the simple, yet highly entertaining and very unique plot takes a backseat to the characters. Moreso than most other (let us be honest) pulp fiction you not only care for the characters, you also really care for their plight. Another special note must be made of the realistic depiction of alcoholism, which is as important an antagonist as the other (very memorable) "villains" involved. A perfect page turner for lazy days, or just those boring lunchbreaks.

I stumbled upon 'Unknown Man #89' while looking for something else. I've read over two dozen Leonard novels, so at first, I thought it had to be new. Checking the back of the title page, I noticed it was copyrighted in 1977. So, I wondered why I had never heard of it?

And I'm still wondering. 'Unknown Man #89' (UM89) is fantastic. The protagonist is Jack Ryan, who was featured in 'The Big Bounce', an earlier Leonard novel. UM89 is a superior novel though. The stakes are higher and the characters more real than in 'The Big Bounce'.

Opening in Detroit, Ryan is a process server. He thinks he has finally stumbled on his calling. He is also a recovering alcoholic who attends AA meetings. An acquaintance, Jay Walt, sets him up with Frank Perez, who is trying to locate a Mr. Robert Leary with a business proposal. Before he knows it, Ryan is siding with Leary's widow in an attempt to get her dead husband's property while dodging shotgun blasts from Perez's associate Raymond Guidre.

The novel has a strong beginning that lets the reader learn who Ryan is up front: how he acts, what he believes, and what he does. The search for Leary brings in the rest of the characters and draws the reader into the plot quite well. The middle of the novel bogs down with events that lead to a key AA meeting, but then the action picks up and sprints towards the conclusion.

Overall, the novel is well paced. The characters are some of Leonard's most believable and interesting to the point you can picture what actors you would cast for the movie version, if there ever was one. I'd recommend this to any crime fiction fan, and as a must read for any Leonard fan. I still don't know why this novel was so obscure.

Leonard is an experienced writer who knows precisely how to sketch the human frailties of his characters. Jack Ryan is the process-server so good at finding people that he's approached by some shady businessmen to locate a woman with a ruinous drinking problem. What's at stake is the money and maybe a chance for something that can pass for love, but the gallery of crooks includes a violent ex-con and an amoral wheeler-dealer. The text reads truer than life; this is surely an Elmore Leonard classic

This is the kind of writing that made Elmore Leonard famous. Shady characters hanging around Detroit, mingling with hardened criminals. As always, Leonard's characters are interesting and unique, and his dialogue is fantastic. He has a talent for describing characters and settings without over-describing them that fuels the imagination, making the reading that much more interesting.

Jack Ryan is a process server who has taken a strange (yet lucrative) job offer, looking for a man who is hard to find. What he finds is a scary guy whose associations both attract and endager Ryan. He meets a girl who he starts to like, a boss he starts to dislike, and an ex-con who he's just trying to get rid of. The resulting action is a series of crosses and double-crosses that never stops entertaining the reader.

Though there were a couple of plot elements that fell into place a little too easily (disposing of one love interest and the final showdown between all the bad guys), I really enjoyed this book. Just when you think that there's nowhere left for the characters to go, Leonard twists the plot a little, making for some very entertaining reading from the very beginning. For fans of Leonard, or even those unfamiliar with Leonard's work, this is a great read.

As with most of the other amazon.com reviewers before me I am a loyal Elmore Leonard fan. And it is likely only Elmore Leonard fans would pick up the (relatively obscure) 'Unknown Man #89'. This is unfortunate because most of the world will miss out on this compact jewel.

'Unknown Man #89' is one of those stories hard to describe without giving the plot away. Broadly speaking we have con artists trying to make a fast buck off folks whom they thought would be total suckers. Wrong. Frustration and violence ensue. While not winning any awards for originality 'Unknown Man #89' is very well written. Elmore Leonard does a brilliant job on the characterizations, and the prose is very slick. There is also some humour, albeit rather rude and crude.

Bottom line: certainly among Leonard's better efforts. Recommended.

I love Elmore Leonard's novels and the books that he set in Detroit around the late-1970s are his best work. 1977's Unknown Man #89 is one of those novels.

The novel stars Jack Ryan (who also appeared in Leonard's 1969 novel, The Big Bounce). In Unknown Man, Ryan is working as a process server in Detroit when a contact sets him up with a mysterious man from Louisiana named Mr. Perez. Perez makes Ryan an offer he can't refuse - find the missing owner of an unspecified asset and receive a large some of money. Of course, things aren't quite as they seem.

Leonard has always excelled at creating vivid characters and Unknown Man has a great cast. The missing man of the title is connected to a woman named Denise - who has her own share of secrets. Other characters are Raymond Gidre (Mr. Perez's henchman) and Virgil Royal and Tunafish (two tough guys from inner city Detroit). Predictably, everyone ends up vying for the same fortune - and double-crossing everyone else.

Leonard is a recovering alcoholic, and alcoholism plays a prominent part in the character development in Unknown Man. A lesser writer would have struggled to make this serious theme work in a crime novel, but Leonard handles it well; the "alcohol" material meshes well with the rest of the novel.

As in Leonard's best novels, the dialogue and settings are excellent. The characters have distinct voices that entertain the reader while also "ringing true." Also, Leonard makes gritty, industrial Detroit come alive for the reader.

I won't give anything away, but the ending of the book is unconventional. Readers will have to decide for themselves how well it works.

In short, Unknown Man #89 is a terrific, hardboiled novel.

When you're in the mood for an Elmore Leonard book, I recommend reading this one. It definately satisfies, because, A: it's a page turner, and B: the characters are top-notch and the setting is Detroit (mostly). Why do we read Elmore

Leonard? Because he is a master of his craft. And nowhere is that more evident than in Unknown Man #89. It's not deep, or life-changing, or life-affirming, but it is a good read. Especially if you hanker to get lost in the world of a seedy 1970's Detroit.

I think this is my fourth E.L. book, and I haven't yet read anything he's written past 1979. There seem to be heavy similarities in his books from this era. You always know what you're going to get, kind of like when you buy a Slayer albumn. But, much like Slayer, Leonard rarely disappoints.

Isn`t it about time this brilliant thriller was back in print ? Jack Ryan from "The Big Bounce" is now one of the best process servers in Detroit ,hired to find the heir to some stock his target ,the worst kind of lowlife ,turns up dead .However he has a wife and other people are interested in the stock which passes to her and it just gets better .One of Leonards best its impossible to put it down once you start .SO HOW ABOUT IT GUYS ?

The Unkown Man #89, first Elmore Leonard book. Though it turns out i have heard of him & some of his books through rare, but interesting small conversations at bars, probably.

Drew me in right away - vivid and alive. Set in Detroit, in the late 70's i pressume.

The process server is bit of a factotum. Knows his way around, though this job is new. Has his own way of thinking, habits, as well as, his own moral code. His words are that of a man whose been around a while, lived life differently. There's of course a woman, quite an arousing, challening female. A man to be served, Perez, then sends our hero to find another man. Things begin to get a bit tricky at this point, but then they always were.

Leonard's so at ease with the way each character puts forth their manner, way of speaking; apparent immediately, as though you are watching film. Spatterings of highly charged coversation that's as realistic, razor sharp, or as relaxed and sluggish as a bored drunk with worrying thoughts and needs.

Taunting and provacative: An unkown man knocking on another's door. What are his intentions? Should you... answer? How do you want to answer that knock? Casually, with a sandwich in your robe and dirty underwear? How do you knock on a stranger's door with bad news that maybe they'll blame you for or maybe blame you. How do you protect yorself?

Great writer, glad to have stumbled on it.