Rating: 
Summary: Who is the reader?
Review: I have been a fan of Elmore Leonard for a very long time, his style of writing is fabulous. Unfortuately, not just any one can get away with reading them for audio books. I'm truly supprised that he consented to let Forster Robert read this book. As I said, I am a great fan of Mr. Leonard but it was all I could do to listen to the entire book, I wanted to through it out of the car window at least 100 times. Shame, shame Elmore. You should be a little more selective.
Rating: 
Summary: Mr. Paradise: A crime novel
Review: I have only read so far one other novel by Elmore Leonard besides this new one, "Mr. Paradise, and that was "Get Shorty", which was later adapted to the screen, first published in 1990. For the record I do not consider myself, yet, a big fan of Mr. Leonard, but I am slowly warming to his brand of mystery and crime fiction. In his latest novel, "Mr. Paradise" (2004), Mr. Leonard takes us to Detroit, Michigan for the setting of this new work. In it we are introduced to Frank Delsa, homicide detective of the Detroit Police Department, who has a double homicide on his hands. One murder victim is Chloe Robinette, attractive blond escort and personal girlfriend to second murder victim, Tony Paradiso, aka Mr. Paradise, an 84 year old retired attorney. The murders take place in Mr. Paradise's home one night as an apparent home invasion attack. Early on we are introduced to the many characters dotting the landscape of this fast-paced crime novel and we see it through the eyes of detective, Frank Delsa. The pace is quick and the book is a page turner, coming in at 291 pages. The dialogue is snappy and reflects the street slang used by the African-American characters, especially portrayed by Montez Taylor, personal assistant to Mr. Paradise. Overall the book is concise and reveals the mastery of the author in this genre of fiction, peppered with the seamier side of ghetto life and the criminal element. And whereas the book is sleek and sexy it also has a tendency to get bogged down with too many extraneous characters and street slang that is at times hard to follow and often choppy. And as I haven't read a great deal of Mr. Leonard's body of work with which to compare this book I will assume this isn't his finest effort. However, having said that, "Mr. Paradise" is indeed an enjoyable and fast read that reveals an author who it can easily be said is a master of mystery and crime fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Thanks, Dutch
Review: I have read almost all of Elmore Leonard's novels. Mr. Paradise is one of his best. No one can write dialogue and use phrasing like him. Who else can represent the essence of characters in so few words? Of course, humor and irony abound- with the book capturing the grittiness and reality of both police and criminals, and at the same time raising questions of good and evil in shades of gray? The setting is Detroit and its suburbs; the plot about hitmen (but also about loneliness and life's unpredictability); and the characters- complex, crafty, and dumb as turkeys. Can anyone still argue that crime or mystery fiction lacks literary merit? It's such a pleasure to read a book like this. (I'm home with the flu and, between naps, it absorbed me and made me laugh. Can anyone ask for more.) So thanks, Dutch, from all of your readers. We owe you.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't meet my hopes or expectations...
Review: I keep picking up Elmore Leonard novels thinking I should like them for their quirky nature. And nearly every time I finish one I'm disappointed. His last one, Tishomingo Blues, was a *huge disappointment*. Ever the optimist, I just finished Mr. Paradise in the last day or so. And like normal, I'm sitting here going "eh, so-so". It's a "Detroit crime novel", which is different than his last few books. The story revolves around a pair of high-priced escorts/fashion models that end up at the house of an old guy who has purchased their "services" on an ongoing basis. The guy and one of the girls is murdered, and the guy's main "servant" is apparently in on the crime. He wants the remaining girl to assume the identity of the dead girl so that he can get the contents of a safe deposit box that is supposed to contain his "inheritance". The head detective on the case is falling for the girl but has to watch himself because she is a material witness to the crime. He has to solve the crime and keep her alive from the two hitmen that pulled off the original murder. It's not a bad novel, and infinitely better than his last one. But at the end, I just didn't get any feeling of excitement or anticipation. The story just moved along, but I never got caught up in it. If you're looking for something to read and this one's available, it's better than nothing. But don't expect to get your socks blown off.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for reading ability beyond grade 8
Review: I kept reading, hoping I'd find a character engaging enough to help me get through the book or even a hint of mystery to hold me through to the last page, but I'm not finding it. Women are demoralized and the male characters are shallowly developed in this book. The entire time I am reading this I am thinking of the bully in my son's middle school, he is not very bright but would enjoy this book. With all the glowing reviews I have read here and in People Magazine I felt certain I couldn't go wrong with this book. Perhaps if I was a Leonard fan, had read any of his previous books, I would be able to look beyond this one and still provide a good review.
Rating:
Summary: Leonard is on Auto-Pilot (with Hollywood in mind to boot)
Review: I thought the book was a bit "sad" and lacking the energetic
wit that is most of Leonard's novels. Further, I felt that
the book was written a little too much in a soon-to-be-a-major-motion-picture style.
Rating: 
Summary: First time Elmore Reader, dissapointed
Review: I was very dissapointed with this book. His writing is at times confusing, especially his use of short sentences that seem out of place. His slang is off, and at times almost comical when he is portraying "black" slang. The story never really picked up, and never really climaxed.
Interesting characters, but no real storyline here.
Rating:
Summary: Needs to Climb out of this...
Review: I've been a huge fan of Leonard for years, even going so far as to read his Western novels and short stories (which are excellent). However, the last couple of novels seem to have been written without care, passion, humor or the kind of dialog Leonard has exhibited in past works. His characters in this latest novel are ho-hum, and I didn't care about any of them or what happened to them. The novel's twist at the end was fine, but his characters seem to have lost the quirky charm they once exhibited, and the protagonists are flat out dull. Leonard seems to be coming politically correct, and no author who does that can expect to write a decent story.
Rating:
Summary: leonard on auto-pilot
Review: I've read many Elmore Leonard novels, and enjoyed them all. But Mr. Paradise is just bad. The problem is there aren't any interesting characters. Not even remotely interesting. Which surprised me. Leonard has dreamed up many memorable characters before.
The bad guys in this novel dissapointed me. They weren't bad--just stupid, and not even cleverly stupid. Unreadably stupid. Boring. Leonard usually makes even the most outrageous actions seem reasonable and inevitable. Here they just seem far-fetched and poorly written.
He is a master at narrating thoughts. But without any interesting characters, why should we care what they are thinking?
With Leonard, you always look forward to the showdown at the end. But this one fizzles. The good guys...who cares? The bad guys...who cares? I wanted them all to die. By the time I reached the end, I was that underwhelmed.
Leonard seemed be coasting on auto-pilot. There is no edge to the story. This whole thing reads in many ways like a rough-draft. Sloppy in places, lacking his trademark finesse.
Like he's got nothing left to prove... I certainly hope not. He's still one of my favorite authors and I look forward to his next work. Hopefully he takes more time on it. He is a master, but even masters put out cheese every once in awhile. If you haven't read any Elmore Leonard yet--DO NOT START WITH MR. PARADISE.
Rating:
Summary: We all make mistakes
Review: In this case, the author got paid handsomely for his mistakes, and I paid for mine. I should have read the reader reviews before buying! I love reading Leonard, especially his Detroit stuff, but this was just over the top.
Oh well, when's his next one coming out?
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