Quiver [Kindle Edition]

Peter Leonard (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Leonard begins his short debut novel with several disparate sequences that, being exposition, don't give reader Scott Sowers much to work with. A new widow recalls telling her husband of her violent escape from eastern Guatemala. A convict gets an early release from an Arizona prison. The widow's memory shifts to her son accidentally killing his father with a bow and arrow. Three sociopaths engage in various criminal activities. Not only are these story shards confusing, the characters are not very engaging, the one exception being a jive-talking, ultra-cool villain named Dejuan, whom Sowers smartly mines for all his much-needed sinister dark humor. Eventually the elements coalesce into a tense kidnap thriller that Sowers delivers with effective energy and pacing. The package includes a conversation between the author and his father, Elmore Leonard, who discusses his famous 10 Rules of Good Writing. Peter should have paid more attention to the one about leaving out the parts that readers tend to skip. A St. Martin's Minotaur hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 10). (May)
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From Booklist

This debut thriller by the son of celebrated mystery writer Elmore lacks the elder’s punchy prose, panache, and wit. Michigander Kate McCall is living a wife and mother’s worst nightmare. Her husband, Owen, was killed by the couple’s own son, Luke, in a bow-hunting accident. As she copes with her grief, Kate recalls her first dates with Owen, shortly after she’d returned from Guatemala. (She had been working with the Peace Corps until a confrontation with a powerful and corrupt local lawman prompted the narrowest of escapes.) Soon after Owen’s death, an old boyfriend of Kate’s reenters the picture. He has some decidedly unsavory friends he met at a local chop shop, and Kate begins to regret rekindling the romance. Meanwhile, Luke struggles to cope with the aftermath of his father’s death. From the start, Leonard’s novel suffers from cardboard characters and a predictable plot. Granted, the senior Leonard, a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, is a tough act to follow. Quiver will attract some interest, based on the author’s pedigree, and perhaps with a second novel, the younger Leonard will find his voice. --Allison Block

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 391 KB
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1 edition (May 19, 2008)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0019RDOK6
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,292 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review, September 9, 2008

By 

Cheryl Koch (CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quiver (Hardcover)

Kate McCall's husband dies in an hunting accident. Kate's son, Luke accidentally shots his father with an arrow. As Kate is trying to cope with the loss of her husband and the guilt her son carries, an old friend walks back into her life. Jack is an ex-con. He has a lot of people after him right now, because they think he has lost the heist money. The events that take place will make Kate and her son, Luke's relationship stronger than it has even been in this skillfully plotted strongline of a book called Quiver.

I thought Quiver was a good first book for Mr. Peter Leonard. It moved very quickly and easily. The ending was a surprise to me. I enjoyed this fact, when the unexpected happens in a book. It shows that author's writing style to be so amazing that Mr. Leonard can take the reader all the way through a story without the reader knowing or figuring out what is going to happen next. It makes me want to read more novels by this author. If Quiver is any indication of what's to come from Peter Leonard than readers are in for a treat. So make sure to check out Quiver to see what people are talking about and make sure to add Mr. Leonard to your list of favorite authors. You won't be sorry you did.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars FINELY DRAWN CHARACTERS AND ESCALATING SUSPENSE, May 22, 2008

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quiver (Audio CD)

Some might say "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" is a tried and true expression. Most definitely true in the case of this debut novel by Peter Leonard, son of acclaimed thriller writer Elmore Leonard. While the elder Leonard is still practicing his lifelong diligence and turning out bestsellers at the age of 82, it took Leonard the younger quite a while to turn his hand to authorship. In fact, he spent the majority of his professional life to date in another field. Nonetheless when he did write a novel he has said that he found the experience both satisfying and exciting. Listeners will have the same feelings when they hear his tale as read by accomplished actor Scott Sowers.

In addition to his stage roles many will remember Sowers from his frequent TV appearances on Law & Order and All My Children. His crystal clear diction and persuasive delivery make listening a pleasure.

Quiver begins innocently enough but the author quickly ratchets up tension. Kate is shopping when her cart collides with one belonging to Owen, a race car driver. He asks her out and it's fast forward into marriage.

Years pass and Owen takes their teenage son, Luke, hunting - with bow and arrow. The unthinkable happens when one of Luke's arrows pierces a deer and goes straight into Owen's chest. The death of his father spirals Luke into serious depression.

It's not long before Jack, Kate's old boyfriend, turns up. He's been released from prison after serving over three years of a five year sentence for armed robbery. Along with Jack comes trouble. The stolen money has never been found and his pals want it. Owen left Kate with a good deal of money which is now also at risk.

Crisp dialogue, finely drawn characters, and escalating suspense make standout listening. We look forward to Peter Leonard's next, and hope he doesn't wait so long this time around.

- Gail Cooke

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing - not a keeper, October 6, 2008

By 

Canal Girl "Book addict" (Cheshire UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quiver (Hardcover)

It has taken longer for me to post this review than intended, the main reason being I wanted to read something by Elmore Leonard before actually writing this so that I could justifiably add my opinion on any comparisons between father and son.

Firstly I would like to say that I don't believe that the book lives up to the cover hype - unless he improves with each new book his father shouldn't worry about any competition in the quality of writing stakes. 52 Pickup shows how a book of this kind should be written, Quiver is a version for those with very little ability to concentrate.

The novel lasted one train journey (around an hour!), I found I couldn't really warm to the character's, Kate excepted. Some of them seemed so stereotypical to my English eyes - the red neck with hygiene and brain power problems, the ex-boyfriend, weak of will when it came to temptation of the pecuniary kind.

The overall plot seemed a tad trite and obvious and the writing a bit simplistic, dare I say reminiscent of advertising blurb.

So to sum up, I probably wouldn't buy a Peter Leonard book, but I'll be quite keen to read more Elmore Leonard.