I got spoiled when I finally picked up a Leonard book. It was Out of Sight. Then the movie came out and was damn near a perfect adaption.

Then I saw that Get Shorty was being made into a movie with John Travolta coming off of Pulp Fiction, so I picked that up too. Again, another near perfect movie adaption.

Then I just kept reading.

His direct sequels never quite matched the quality of the original books, but even a 'meh' Elmore Leaonard book is ten times better than most mystery novels out there.

Yes, I first discovered him in the early 80s and read everything. Even his westerns are good.

He is a big favourite of mine. Terrific writer. Eagerly awaiting the adaptation of _City Primeval_ from _Justified_ team this week.

If you like Elmore Leonard, try Richard Stark

Yeah, he’s great. The absolute king of dialogue.

Love Elmore Leonard! Cuba Libre is one of my faves

Yes! My favorite: Valdez is Coming

My boyfriend got me Rum Punch for my birthday and I’ve been meaning to read it. I’m an English major and all I do is read for school so a lot of my books I’ve been meaning to read for fun have been put to the side, unfortunately. What else would you recommend by him?

Yes, he was great. People here in Michigan are very proud of him.

Huge fan. Read a bunch of his stuff when I was in high school. Might have been the only author I read for the better part of a year. Definitely need to revisit his work!

I've only read one or two from Leonard but I think he was a big inspiration for authors like Carl Hiaasen who I love as well.

The film adaptations of Get Shorty and Out of Sight drew me to him in high school, I read those and Freaky Deaky. Really enjoyed the pacing and dialogue.

He's great, I'll happily pick up and read anything by him. I still have a lot to go too, haven't tried any of his westerns yet.

Wrt dialogue and fast paced plots it's hard to beat Elmore Leonard.

Dude was a master.

Which Justified?

The great influence on Leonard’s crime books was a short novel called ‘The Friends of Eddie Coyle’ by George V. Higgins. It’s a dialogue-heavy novel about petty criminals in early 1970s Boston. Was an absolute revelation to Leonard. You might want to check it out.

For what it’s worth, people who like Leonard often also like ‘Miami Blues’ by Charles Wileford and ‘The Ice Harvest’ by Scott Phillips. The first was made into an okay movie, the second into a bad one. But they’re both excellent.

I like Tishimingo Blues, based off one of his short stories. Modern day and some wacky sideshow type characters.

Get Shorty

I am in the minority but I don't understand the huge amount of praise he gets. None of his novels ever end correctly. It's as if by the time he gets around to finishing the novel, he has a few characters randomly murder other characters and then just call it a day. The Big Bounce, Bandits, Cat Chaser, Jackie Brown... all of them have this problem.

I find the film adaptations of his works usually a lot more entertaining to watch. Get Shorty, Cat Chaser, Valdez Is Coming, Mr. Majestyk, both versions of 3:10 to Yuma, The Tall T - all better than the source.

Yes, me! He was a God gift to mankind.

His books are either hit or miss for me. I loved "Pagan babies", but other novels of his I borrowed from my local library feel unfineshed or underwritten to me.

I recently looked up what books of his are on Hoopla and plan on reading them.