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Mr. Paradise

By: Elmore Leonard
Narrated by: Robert Forster
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Publisher's summary

Roommates Kelly and Chloe are enjoying their lives and their downtown Detroit loft just fine. Kelly is a Victoria's Secret catalog model. Chloe is an escort, until she decides to ditch her varied clientele in favor of a steady gig as girlfriend to eighty-four-year-old retired lawyer Tony Paradiso, a.k.a. Mr. Paradise.

Evenings at Mr. Paradise's house, there's always an old Michigan football game on TV. And when Chloe's around, there's a cheerleader, too, complete with pleated skirt and blue-and-gold pompoms. One night Chloe convinces Kelly to join in the fun, along with Montez Taylor, Tony's smooth-talking right-hand man.

But things go awry and before the end of the evening there will be two corpses, two angry hit men, one switch of identity, a safe-deposit box full of loot up for grabs, and, fast on the scene, detective Frank Delsa, who now has another double homicide, and this one with a beautiful, willful witness, to add to his already heavy caseload.

With a cool cast, snappy dialogue, and all the twists and turns fans crave, Mr. Paradise is Elmore Leonard at home in Detroit and sharper than ever.

©2003 Elmore Leonard, Inc. (P)2003 HarperCollinsPublishers, Inc.
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Critic reviews

"You will love this excellent book." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Another exemplary crime thriller....Brilliantly constructed, wise and tough, this book, like so many recent Leonards, offers a master class in how to write a novel." (Publishers Weekly)
"Pure entertainment." (Booklist)
"Listening to Leonard's latest thriller is paradise found....Robert Forster's sonorous, sometimes raspy, voice is wonderful for the male characters." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about Mr. Paradise

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining novel with deadpan delivery

Except for the Elmore Leonard novels that have made it into film, this is my first of his novels and I am looking forward to reading some of his other books. The story is fast and entertaining. Robert Forster's reading of the novel is as dry as dry gets. Imagine a no nonsense kind of guy telling a long story. It takes a while to get used to his pacing and his subtle sense of humor. After a short while I found myself thoroughly enjoying his deadpan delivery. I can see where other listeners may not care for his understated performance but I've listened to the book twice.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

The reader has the style for Mr Leonard's books just right. Really enjoyed it.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Classic Elmore Leonard

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Right up there with other E.L. books. I did not have any problems understanding the reader, but it was clear he's not from Detroit and didn't know the correct pronunciation of names and places. But the book kept my interest during a long driving trip.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

awesome

a great story which is beautifully read. sexy, smart and deeply cool. Elmore Leonard was a sensational storyteller and incapable of writing something that wasn't interesting. ny only comolaint - and it is a minor one - Is that the transition music is dreadful but thankfully all the musical breaks are short. otherwise this recording is terrific.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A masterpiece of the genre

Elmore Leonard's best book, in my estimation. Robert Forster reads it perfectly. World class audiobook.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Rich, convincing characters, amazing details,

When I like a book, I really like it and I liked this one. So much so I got quite a few more Leonard books. A couple of them left me gaping in awe. "This guy is a genius, a Great American Writer," I thought, even if he writes genre material. Leonard effortlessly (seemingly) creates a world sentence by sentence rich with so much telling detail you find yourself deep within the characters, the places, the ethos of the criminal cop world. He loves his people, prostitutes, gangsters, good cops, corrupt attorneys etc. Oddly enough, his writing in this book especially is lyrical and poetic though some of the credit for that must belong to the narrator. I can listen to this book over and over.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

fantastic narration by Robert Forster

A fun, exciting book, but Forster is the best reader I've ever heard. He "acts" the characters subtly, and he's a perfect match for Leonard's spare description and cracking dialogue.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Elmore is the man!

Elmore has done it again. If you want great pacing, great dialogue, great...great...great check out his book. Elmore can write real words spoken in the real world.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Not the typical E.L.; still great

This one struck me as a little bit different than the average Leonard novel -- a touch slower, a little more thoughtful, and with the romance angle taking center stage more than usual. None of these are negatives, they're just different. This is a good read (or a good listen) for E.L. fans and newcomers alike. And the narration is great; I had absolutely no problems with it.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Mr. Paradise

Entertaining! Had to listen closely to understand Mr. Forster but thought "low key" narration went well with story.

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3 people found this helpful