Split Images (Mass Market Paperback)

by Elmore Leonard (Author) "IN THE WINTER OF 1981 a multimillionaire by the name of Robinson Daniels shot a Haitian refugee who had broken into his home in Palm..." (more)
Key Phrases: homicide lieutenant, target pistol, two cowboys, Palm Beach, Walter Kouza, Curtis Moore (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A superb craftsman...his writing is pure pleasure." -- -- Los Angeles Book Review

"Brilliant...impressive...superb." -- -- The Washington Post Book World

"Lovely...Skillful...Scarily witty...Leonard is working at the peak of his form." -- -- The Village Voice --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Quintessential Elmore Leonard, Split Images stars Palm Beach playboy Robbie Daniels. He's the kind of guy who gets away with everything -- even murder -- until a vacationing Motown cop, Bryan Hurd, starts asking questions. When this millionaire reptile reveals the psychopath beneath his slippery skin, Hurd finds out this is one helluva way for an out-of-town lawman to spend his vacation.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060089547
• ISBN-13: 978-0060089542
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,329 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shattered Dreams, January 1, 2003

By	DJK ver 2.0 "Reader and Movie Buff" (Richardson, TX) - See all my reviews

I am at a loss to understand why this novel from Leonard does not get more attention. It is quite possibly one of his best. For one thing, it is not as formulaic (if that is a word) as some of his other novels. Sure, the 'hero' is cool, his love interest is likeable, the villain and his sidekick are real characters--all just like they are in Leonard's other novels, but they aren't the same characters.

For one, the arch-bad guy is a millionaire with too much free time on his hands. Robbie Daniels has too much money and is obsessed with crime fiction (kind of like a lot of mystery fans) and the attempted assassination of President Reagan. He is not content to sit on the sidelines and read about murders anymore, he wants to get into the action.

Daniels meets Walter Kouza, a police officer, after an attempted break in at his home. Daniels ends up shooting and slaying the perpetrator, then sits down to have a drink with Kouza. He asks Kouza an interesting question: If you could kill one slime ball, someone nobody in the world would miss, who would it be? Its one of many prepared lines that Daniels has at the ready, and it works. Kouza signs up to help Daniels carry out his fantasy crime.

Kouza is a bit of a stereotypical character. He is an overzealous cop with a few too many shootings in the line of duty under his belt. He can't resist the offer Daniels makes to him, which includes an inflated salary, especially for a cop. Leonard probably does his best writing in this novel with Kouza, who has his act together just enough to be a somewhat successful cop, and a great side-kick for Daniels.

The hero is Bryan Hurd. A detective with Homicide in Detroit. He enters the story as a witness in a wrongful death suit against Kouza in Detroit. At the hearing, he meets Angela Nolan, a freelance reporter. They hit off instantly, trading pickup lines and one liners, most of which make the reader want to groan. They do have several things in common, both are divorced and have a good idea what they want from a new relationship. One other thing, Nolan was working on a story about Daniels, and is Hurd's 'in' into the plot.

This novel has a dark ending, and a bit of a twist, which I was not expecting. Having read two dozen novels by Leonard, there are certain plot elements that I have come to expect. Most were, and somewhat refreshingly, gone or changed. I genuinely felt bad for some of the characters at the end of the novel, and was happy to see others get their just deserts.

Leonard fans that haven't picked this one up yet will find it refreshing. Those that haven't read anything by Leonard should enjoy it as well. If you are a crime fiction fan, this one is definitely for you.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, though it reveals one of the few weaknesses of Leonard, May 12, 2001

By	James P. Hunt (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Split Images (Paperback)

Let me start off by saying that Elmore Leonard is the best crime writer around and probably one of the best American fiction writers alive. His writing is rarely anything but great. His worst novel blows away the likes of Stuart Woods or John Grisham's best. So when you appraise something like "Split Images", he's really at a disadvantage because you're comparing it to his other works; i.e. you end up forcing him to compete with himself.

Leonard did something very gutsy and, for him, unusual by putting the "dark turn" in this novel. But it inadvertently exposed a a somewhat common flaw in his storytelling: lack of believability in the romance to begin with. In "Split Images", I never really believed that Angela Nolan (the journalist) and Bryan Hurd (the cop) fell in love that quickly. It was way too simple. I find that the romances (the secondary story in a lot of his novels) are often unpersuasive. Two good looking people are attracted to each other, have great sex, and then fall in love. Or, fall in love and have great sex. All in about the space of 72 hours. It's all just a little too clean. The secondary romances in his novels are more believable and realistic when they don't work out. When the woman or the man looks at the other and says, this simply will not work. (Like in "The Gold Coast".)

It's unfair in a way. Grisham, Ludlum, Woods, etc., they're allowed to throw in stock, unrealistic romances because the characters aren't all that realistic to begin with. Leonard can't really get away with it because his writing, his storytelling and his characterization is just too good. If you're like me, you end up thinking the unrealistic romance isn't worthy of the rest of the story. Or of the writer.

Still, even when he's not great, he's still very, very good and probably the best crime fiction writer around.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book delivers the goods., April 6, 2004

By	Michael G. "mikefromrochester" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Split Images (Paperback)

At the beginning of Split Images, two Detroit natives meet in Palm Beach after one of them has shot a Haitian burglar. Robbie Daniels is a multimillionaire industrialist fascinated by guns. Walter Kouza is a former Detroit cop with a well deserved reputation for being trigger happy. Walter is flattered that a rich guy is even interested in talking to a working stiff such as himself. So when Robbie offers Walter a job as his personal chauffeur he accepts the position without much hesitation. As it turns out, Robbie is really a psychopath who has been reading too many spy novels. He has come to think of himself as some sort of international assassin and believes that Walter's background in law enforcement will be helpful as he pursues his human quarry.
The two other main characters in this darkly funny story are Bryan Hurd, a detective in Detroit Homocide and Angela Nolan, a freelance journalist. The two of them are on to Robbie's plan and work to foil him and Walter before the plan can be carried out. Bryan and Angela also become romantically involved with each other in a subplot very germane to the overall structure of the novel.
Elmore Leonard is in top form here. The dialogue is realistic, funny and plentiful. The bad guys are believable enough to be interesting but unbelievable enough so you don't have to feel guilty when some of their murderous antics make you laugh. The action takes place in both Detroit and South Florida and Leonard pulls off the changes in locale with ease. The plot is developed in a very skillful manner and there is an unconventional ending which some might find shocking.
I have to agree with the reviewer who said he didn't understand why Split Images isn't better known. This book is a prime example of why Elmore Leonard's reputation as a great writer is well deserved.