He’s been to the racetrack with a very young blond. A street punk who is hot for the blond thinks she is with this Albanian dude. He sees her get into a car and he wants to teach the Albanian a lesson. He tries to cut off the car in the parking lot, but the judge doesn’t budge. Happens again. Again. Again. When they get on the city streets, the jerk tailgates and the judge can’t shake him. Punk still thinks the Albanian is driving. When the inevitable crash ensues, the punk gets out of the car, pulls a Walther P38 and fires into the windshield. As he approaches the wreck, the judge tried to intimidate like he does in his courtroom. Pisses the punk off who then puts 5 slugs in the judge. The girl takes off. He follows. Kills her too.
Fine example of humanity this Clement Mansell.
Nicknamed the “Oklahoma Wildman,” Clement has done pretty well so far. Counting these two most recent kills, Clement claims to have killed nine people. He’s been in jail, even did a year in prison, an experience he has no interest in repeating. Was all set for a long sentence, but his lawyer, the tough-as-nails Carolyn Wilder, caught a legal break when Clement was held too long awaiting formal sentencing.
The Guy case falls to recently promoted Lt. Raymond Cruz. He and his homicide unit start with the wreck. Problem is that none of the cops (or most anyone for that matter) could care less that Judge Guy was now off the bench. But they still need to find out who pulled the trigger; maybe put him behind bars along with the thanks of the city for saving them the hassle of removing Judge Idiot.
The investigation bounces around between Mansell, a girl he’s living with, the detectives in the unit, and Carolyn Wilder. And the Albanians. Can’t forget them.
Problem is that Clement is not just a stone killer. He’s also smart. Knows how to work the system when it comes to statements, victim and criminal rights, chain of possession, client-attorney confidentiality. He can also spin a clever yarn with whomever he’s trying to manipulate.
But Lt. Cruz is pretty smart, too. He sets up Clement, with a little help from friends in both high and low places.
You do know Elmore Leonard, right? Prolific author of crime, thrillers, westerns, and some downright funny stories. 45 novels to be exact, per Wikipedia. For example, 3:10 To Yuma, Valdez in Coming, Mr. Majestyk, LaBrava (Edgar Award winner), Rum Punch (which became the movie Jackie Brown), Get Shorty, Out of Sight (the movie teamed George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez), the source material for the TV series Karen Sisco.
And for me, the short story ‘Fire
in the Hole’ that spawned six years of Justified, the award-winning show on FX
about US Marshall Raylan Givens (expertly portrayed by Timothy Oliphant. Stream
all six seasons on Hulu). Leonard is best known for his street-sharp dialogue
that fills the pages of his inventive, direct, and creative plots that show us
all just how writers should develop characters and plots. He’s easily one of those icons - a
writer’s writer who helped plenty of others perfect their craft. He was still working as part of
the production team for Justified when he died in 2013 at 88.
City Primeval was published in 1980. Why am I reading it now? Because my son texted me last week that FX has started production on a new Justified limited series based on City Primeval. By coincidence, I was in the library when I received the text. I detoured to the 'L' shelf in the fiction section where I found the story combined with three other Leonard novels in a single volume Four Novels of the 1980s. Search this blog. We’ve reviewed a number of Leonard’s books.
No clue when to expect the adaptation will show up on TV. I just know that life just isn’t the same without Raylan Givens.
P.S. It's now mid May 2022. Heard that the TV version of this book should be ready to watch in January 2023.
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