Mr. Paradise by Elmore Leonard

Back to another Leonard book having posted thoughts on Up in Honey's Room a short while ago. Tony Paradiso is a 80something retired Detroit lawyer with a peculiar taste - he likes sports, University of Michigan football in particular and he has the tapes of old games (wins only) to prove it. He also likes UMichigan cheerleaders so he has Chloe, a hooker, on a $5000/week retainer, dress up to help keep his weeny wagging. One day, Mr. Paradiso, aka Mr. Paradise, wants 2 cheerleaders so Chloe brings her Victoria Secret model roommate and almost look-alike, Kelly along. So much for the setup.

Mr. Paradise has 2 guys working for him. Lloyd is his butler/cook/etc and Montez, his driver/get-things-done guy. Both are ex-cons Paradise had dealings with. Mr. Paradise either has not long to live or just doesn't want to go on, I could never quite tell. He can't put Chloe, the hooker, in his will cuz his son would have a fit so he puts her name on some stock certificates supposedly worth $1.6mil. Montez was to get the house, but his daughter wants it (to sell and help finance her hubby's dream of owning a winery) meaning Montez is locked out and damn unhappy about getting nothing for 15 years of being a nothing for Mr. Paradise.

Montez knows of a sleezy lawyer with a side business - he's an agent for 2 hitmen (who we find out are good at what they do, but not really all that bright). Montez contracts for a hit on Mr. Paradise, but both Chloe and Kelly are cheering there that night. The guys come in, blow away Mr. Paradise and Chloe. Montez pressures Kelly to become Chloe so he can get his hands on the stocks.

Homicide detective Frank Delsa draws the case and likes Montez right from the start. But Delsa not only wants Montez and the shooters, he wants the shooter's agent. Kelly admits the identity switch to Delsa right early and becomes a willing witness in trying to track the dimwit shooters and Montez who, by some strange logic, have kidnapped Kelly and hidden out in Mr. Paradise's mansion.

A most interesting character is Lloyd - a servant who says he hears nothing, but is a reliable character in the final confrontation, if you call it that. All he wants to do is move to Puerto Rico to get out of the Detroit winters. This Leonard book has all the features he is known for, dispensing with long scenic buildup and tedious set-ups for crackling dialogue with a minimum of fluff. Easy to read and hard to put down. That's Leonard.

And the stocks ain't worth squat now and Delsa gets the Victoria Secret model . . . poetic justice.

East Coast Don