World-class gentleman felon Jack Foley is busting out of Florida's Glades Prison when he runs head on into a shotgun-wielding Karen Sisco. Suddenly he's sharing a cramped car trunk with the classy, disarmed federal marshal and the chemistry is working overtime—and as soon as she escapes, he's already missing her. But there are bad men and a major score waiting for Jack in Motown. And the next time his path crosses Karen's, chances are she's going to be there for business, not pleasure.
Out of Sight
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
When Jack Foley, a career bank robber, surfaces after tunneling out of a medium-security penitentiary in Florida, he comes face to face with Karen Sisco, a beautiful federal marshal. Though the barrel of her shotgun is pointed right at his face, she doesn't shoot, and Foley's accomplice, Buddy, overpowers her and puts her in the trunk of a car. Foley gets in with her and the car takes off, the escapee seemingly home free. In the cramped darkness of the trunk, the criminal and marshal find they have much in common and by the time the car reaches its destination, the two have become infatuated with each other. After Karen manages to escape, she and Foley try to reconnect outside the confining roles of kidnapper and victim.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Meanwhile, three other Leonard books, Last Stand at Saber River, Touch and Pronto, are in film or TV production.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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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
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
If you have never read Elmore Leonard, this is a good place to start. A bank robber named Jack Foley escapes from prison with the help of his longtime partner Buddy. Federal marshall Karen Sisco attempts to stop the escape, but Buddy thwarts her attempt and forces her into the trunk of the getaway car with Foley. In the trunk, Foley and Sisco make a connection talking about things like robbing banks and movies. Soon, Sisco gets away, and the remaining story centers on Foley attempting one last job and Sisco trying to catch him (all the while dealing with the romantic and emotional connection that she shares with Foley).
The story is pretty darn good. And there is a wide range of characters with well drawn criminals ranging from silly, all talk screw-ups like a stoner named Glenn to a real violent, psychotic bad guy named Maurice. The dialogue is funny, and the very quick, clever twists of story/plot make the story a pretty good, engaging read.
This novel was later made into a movie by Steven Soderbergh. Even though the book is good, the movie is much better. While the tone and story are pretty similar, Soderbergh makes some welcome changes. First of all, the Leonard novel is told pretty straightforward. Soderbergh, however, mixes up the narrative using flashbacks that allow Soderbergh to develop the characters. Also, Soderbergh enhances certain scenes by adding suspense and humor (such as the climax that is really suspenseful and hilarious in the movie but by-the-numbers in the book). Finally, the film is shot well and features one great performance after another (George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle, Steve Zahn, Ving Rhames, Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks, Catherine Keener, Luis Guzman).
The story is pretty darn good. And there is a wide range of characters with well drawn criminals ranging from silly, all talk screw-ups like a stoner named Glenn to a real violent, psychotic bad guy named Maurice. The dialogue is funny, and the very quick, clever twists of story/plot make the story a pretty good, engaging read.
This novel was later made into a movie by Steven Soderbergh. Even though the book is good, the movie is much better. While the tone and story are pretty similar, Soderbergh makes some welcome changes. First of all, the Leonard novel is told pretty straightforward. Soderbergh, however, mixes up the narrative using flashbacks that allow Soderbergh to develop the characters. Also, Soderbergh enhances certain scenes by adding suspense and humor (such as the climax that is really suspenseful and hilarious in the movie but by-the-numbers in the book). Finally, the film is shot well and features one great performance after another (George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle, Steve Zahn, Ving Rhames, Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks, Catherine Keener, Luis Guzman).
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By Untouchable
Format:Hardcover
Starting in a Florida prison, the opening few chapters of OUT OF SIGHT are set as a frenetic pace as bank robber extraordinaire, Jack Foley plans and executes a daring escape. Helping him in his bid for freedom is his former partner in crime, Buddy who is waiting with a car in the prison car park. Also waiting in the car park happens to be US Marshall Karen Sisco who is sitting in her car, preparing to enter the facility when Foley makes his unexpected appearance. Quickly overpowering her, they stuff her in the trunk of her car with Foley climbing in behind her and Buddy slipping behind the wheel to affect the getaway.
Unbelievably cool in the crisis involved in the jail break, Foley attempts to engage Karen in conversation, even wondering aloud whether it might be possible, if circumstances were different, for the two of them to become attracted to one another. Karen of course is incredulous and wants nothing to do with the escaped prisoner, apart from capturing him and delivering him back to prison. Thinking on the events later, after escaping from Buddy and Foley, she does find herself impressed with Foley's cool head under pressure.
There is a brief lull in the action as we recover from the excitement of the opening scenes and the thought of the next score is placed in Foley's head. This takes the form of a robbery target in Detroit, supposedly a low-risk venture made easier by some local help. After narrowly escaping capture from the US Marshalls that includes another run-in with Karen Sisco, he decides that it's time for a change of scenery and he and Buddy heads north.
By this time, it becomes obvious that there's some sort of weird fascination between Jack Foley and Karen Sisco taking place. They're somehow drawn to one another, even though they are on directly opposite sides of the law.
In Detroit, Foley and Buddy are out of their comfort zones. They don't know the city, they don't know the people and it's just started to snow. They hook up with a truly dangerous fellow ex-con named Maurice. He is their aforementioned local help, but they realise that the low-risk operation is shaping up as anything but. With nothing better on offer and against their better judgement, they go ahead with the plan but are extremely wary.
Meanwhile Karen Sisco has tracked Foley to Detroit after some very slick detective work, and after talking her way onto the Foley case. The inevitability of their meeting is obvious. What remains up in the air is what will happen after they meet and when it comes to plots created by Elmore Leonard, this means that the story could lead anywhere from here.
On the surface this is told in a light, breezy tone thanks mainly to the cool behaviour of Foley in times of crisis backed up by Buddy's comical acceptance of Foley's decisions, no matter how unusual they seemed. When the setting changed to the colder wintry city of Detroit, the tone darkened considerably to reflect the dangerous Maurice, with whom they have to deal. You get a definite sense that the significant scenes are going to take place in Detroit thanks to these strong mood changes.
Elmore Leonard mixes an easy conversational tone with tight, tough dialogue. He manages to give each of his characters their own distinctive voice thanks to his clever use of phraseology. Even though Foley and Buddy are ex-cons, in this book they can be considered the good guys and their language reflects this through a minimum of swearing and slang. In glaring comparison, we find that the Detroit "bad guys" such as Maurice, although also ex-cons, litter their dialogue with constant and extreme profanities. It's a simple but effective way to differentiate the difference between bad and downright evil.
Ultimately, OUT OF SIGHT is a love story. Sure it's an unusual love story in the extreme, but a love story just the same. With plenty of action taking place on the periphery of the Foley and Sisco mating dance, it's an absorbing book that provided me with an unexpected ending.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I've read about half of Elmore Leonard's novels and still think this is his best. Get Shorty may be his most entertaining and funny, but Out of Sight combines all of Leonard's best features in one novel. His dialog, one of his strongest points, crackles at his best. His cast of characters includes the usual misfits and freaks, but here they range from pathetically funny to unusually scary. Jack and Karen, his lead characters, are well developed and believable, and you root for them both from their first appearance. The plot moves at a steady pace; not breakneck, but it builds to a perfect crescendo. And Leonard's toolkit to fold in backstory to develop his characters is never more effective. If you've never read Leonard, this is the one to try first. If you like Leonard and haven't read this one, do yourself a favor and buy it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Its Elmore Leonard, what more needs to be said ??
Fans of Elmore Leonard will love this book, but so will anyone who has seen the movie. His words paint such vivid pictures that the book is a movie by itself. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Joe H. Dial
4.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive story telling
When a group of inmates from a medium security prison decide they have had enough of life on the inside and break out, they step away from confinement and back into the world of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Greggorio :-)
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 ˝ stars. I smiled a lot during this book. I've never read anything...
OUT OF SIGHT by Elmore Leonard.
STORY BRIEF:
Jack has robbed hundreds of banks. He's smooth, charming, and likeable when talking to the tellers he's robbing. Read more
STORY BRIEF:
Jack has robbed hundreds of banks. He's smooth, charming, and likeable when talking to the tellers he's robbing. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Jane
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Leonard
GET SHORTY's Chili Palmer might be just a little bit cooler than this book's hero, bank robber Jack Foley, but Foley is still pretty damn cool. Read more
Published on August 30, 2010 by Anthony Bruno
4.0 out of 5 stars
I'll be reading more Elmore
Good one. Although this is the first book I've read by Leonard, I'll def be doing another! Great characters and development of place. Good pace and no bull. Read more
Published on July 20, 2010 by Moey Face
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Round of the Good Old Stuff
It's been several years since anyone posted a new review of "Out of Sight." Well, I just read it for the first time, and it is vintage Elmore Leonard. Read more
Published on April 7, 2010 by F. Hollister
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Winner
In typical Leonard fashion, this is a book you can't put down. The two main characters are so meant for each other and so evenly matched--and so destined to a face-off at the... Read more
Published on November 20, 2009 by TA
2.0 out of 5 stars
WASTE OF TIME---
This was one of those books that fizzled out causing me to feel I wasted my time. By the end, I could not care less what happened to whom or why.
Published on September 19, 2009 by SJ
4.0 out of 5 stars
A rare instance in which the movie is better than the book
Don't let that stopnyou, though, from reading the book. There are insights that make the book well worth reading whether or not you've seen the movie. Read more
Published on August 4, 2009 by Neal C. Reynolds
3.0 out of 5 stars
Low grade Elmore Leonard
After reading many Elmore Leonard stories over the years, I was disappointed with the plotting of this one particularly the treatment of the Jack Foley character and the poor... Read more
Published on January 13, 2009 by Brooklyn Browser
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