Riding the Rap [Abridged] [Audio Cassette]

Elmore Leonard (Author), Joe Mantegna (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1995

U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens is out to pasture in Palm Beach County, cooling his heels after shooting a wiseguy in a Miami restaurant. Boss' orders are to keep Raylan out of the U.S. Attorney's sight for awhile. But when old acquaintance Harry Arno disappears, it's strictly personal when Raylan sets out to find the missing bookie and satisfy the implacable Joyce, a woman with Harry on her mind and Raylan in her bed.

Riding the Rap

Harry is closing his books after being shut down by the feds. The master manipulator who had scammed the wiseguys and got away with it is officially Out of Business. But first he has to collect an overdue debt, and calls in "retired" bounty hunter and Latin Lover Bobby Deo, aka Bobby the Gardener, best-known for pruning plants and people. If anybody can find his man -- and collect -- it's Bobby. But Harry's salad days are over when Bobby digs up the Debtor, who offers him a slice of a really big score: a foolproof hostage-taking scheme, kidnapping big-bucks losers on the wrong side of the law. Beginning with Harry.

Elmore Leonard scores again in Riding the Rap, with dead-eye wit, razor-edged dialogue and heart-stopping suspense that has earned him bestselling popularity and critical acclaim as "the greatest living writer of crime fiction." -- The New York Times

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this sequel to Pronto, Harry Arno has retired from bookmaking but is still closing out some of his outstanding debts. But then his collection agent, an ex-con by the name of Bobby Deo, goes to pick up $1,800 from Chip Ganz and ends up getting hired for a hostage-taking operation (like kidnapping "in a way," Chip tells him, "only different. A lot different.") When Harry's taken by his own man, it's up to United States Marshal Raylan Givens to track him down, in the same methodically relentless fashion he tracked Harry that time he ran off to Italy. Throw in a henchman named Louis Lewis with plans of his own and an attractive young psychic named Reverend Dawn, and you've got yet another crime story that'll keep you on the edge of your seat--occasionally chuckling to yourself--straight through to the finish. (And bonus points to loyal Leonard fans who can spot the crossover elements from Rum Punch and Maximum Bob.) --Ron Hogan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Simple scams usually turn complex in Leonard land, where the author can doubtless choreograph his scammers' moves in his sleep by now; indeed, much of Rap appears to be riding on automatic pilot. Nevertheless, even middling Leonard is as good as anyone else gets on a good day. This darkly witty page-turner returns to the vexed, triangular relationship of Florida marshal Raylan Givens, his girlfriend, Joyce, and her ex-lover, the aging bookie Harry Arno (all seen previously in Pronto). When Harry disappears while chasing down a tardy debtor named Chip Ganz, Joyce admonishes Raylan to investigate. It turns out Chip is a middle-aged pothead living in his mother's seedy beach mansion, whose stoned analysis of televised hostage situations has fueled a baroque kidnapping scheme, into which Harry has stumbled. Like many a Leonard bad guy, Ganz only talks a good game. It falls upon an ex-con and his preening psychotic cohort to execute the caper, with help from an alluring psychic. Raylan's probe takes him into a shadowy New Age subculture of Tarot readings and Hugger conventions, which Leonard limns with characteristic grit and black humor. Ultimately, however, the story lacks the high voltage of Leonard's best work.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553473565
• ISBN-13: 978-0553473568
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,874,696 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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars God bless Elmore Leonard, November 3, 2003

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Riding the Rap (Mass Market Paperback)

There's hardly ever a truly good guy in Leonard's books. Even the best of his protagonists who ride in on white horses to slay evil dragons have a dark side, a dark secret, or a dark sin. And the worst of the baddies all have some marvelous redeeming or hilarious quality that makes you root for them now and then.
There should be, instead of Murphy's Law, a Leonard's Law, in which some seemingly simple scheme will inevitably turn complex and twisted when this master of his genre gets hold of it.
In Riding the Rap, we get to revisit Florida Marshall Raylan Givins as he investigates the disappearance of his girlfriend's ex-lover. Don't ask. It's too complicated to go into details in a short book review. Just trust me: it's filled with the usual Leonard people-stew of weirdos, strange scams, superb dialogue full of lingo and slang, and and and and...
Not his very best, but very good stuff.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great, April 26, 2008

By 

lostboy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Riding the Rap (Mass Market Paperback)

Ellmore Leonard can't be beat for character development and pacing, but he's asleep at the wheel on this one. Good to see Raylan Givens in action again. He's even more confident in this book. The bad guy, Chip Ganz, wasn't completely believable, but his no good sidekicks were. Lots of cross/double cross action. I'm ambiguous about the psychic character (which is probably how the author meant her to be).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Riding the Rap - Leonard, October 25, 2002

By 

Chris MB "CMB" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Riding the Rap (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm not quite sure what I missed when I read Riding the Rap but I obviously missed something. I'm afraid that I can't honestly continue the string of rave reviews. Every character in the novel was flat and few were likable. While the intent of the writing style might have been realism, it was just plain irritating. Leonard has probably written some great books but it'll be a while before I go back to the bookstore to try another.