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RATING: |
Date of Release: May 2002 |
Publisher: Penguin |
Review Source: |
The characters include Dennis Lenahan, a traveling high-dive champion who sees his daredevil career coming to a close; Robert Taylor, a smooth-talking black man from Detroit who descends on Tishomingo, Mississippi, with a fancy car and a photo of a lynching; several thuggish, real dumb redneck crackers, and a scheming real estate developer, Walter Kirkbride, with an enthusiasm for Civil War re-enactments. Plus a couple of cops, straight and otherwise, a gangster, a scheming wife and a few henchmen.
As the novel opens, Dennis, readying his act at the Tishomingo Hotel and Casino, witnesses a murder from 80 feet up. So does Robert, perhaps, watching Dennis from his hotel window. The two, Dennis and Robert, strike up a liking and Dennis soon realizes Robert has plans for the Dixie Mafia (the redneck murderers) and they may include him. The plot makes its merry meandering way to the big re-enactment, with sidetracks to romance and star turns from secondary characters. The reenactment, depicted with a verisimilitude which does nothing to lessen its strangeness, brings the whole big cast together with hilariously choreographed, if fairly predictable results.
The dialogue is snappy and quick and the characters practically step off the page. But after a while the repartee is wearing and the characters lack the heart to engage the reader. It's Leonard, so it's good, but not his best.
