Riding the Rap

Oh, Raylan Givens. Life was so dark before I knew you.

For those unfamiliar with the television show Justified, this novel (along with Pronto) serves as the inspiration for the story of Raylan Givens, a U. S. Marshal from Harlan, Kentucky, who has a gun on his hip, a Stetson on his head, and a chip on his shoulder. Torn between coal country's familial "code of honor" and his own desire to be an Old West cowboy meting out justice based on a black/white understanding of right and wrong, Raylan often finds himself in the questionable middle ground of moral decisions. At least, that's the tv version. In the novels, Raylan is an interesting character, but not nearly as angry or hell-bent on a path of self-destruction. I prefer the television show more version better, but the books are still well worth reading and it's interesting to see how Justified has molded Leonard's original concept of Raylan into the perfect anti-hero.

In the novel, Raylan is not banished to Harlan, Kentucky, after shooting a local Florida mobster, so we don't get to see him interact with his past or the culture he left behind when he joined the Marshal's service. Instead, Riding the Rap picks up where Pronto left off. Raylan is still seeing Harry Arno's ex-stripper ex-girlfriend, Joyce, but is beginning to realize that their relationship has begun something of habit. They're both sticking around because they have nowhere else to go. The fact that Joyce is now acting as Harry's personal chauffeur isn't helping things. A retired bookie, Harry is making final collections when a former client decides to kidnap him Middle-Eastern-terrorist-style until Harry breaks and offers to pay his own ransom. In the meantime, Joyce demands that Raylan look into Harry's mysterious disappearance and Raylan grudgingly begins piecing things together with his own peculiar investigative methods (which usually depend upon throwing people off guard with his cowboy in a suit persona).

There are some twists here that aren't in the series, and I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of Reverend Dawn, a young psychic that readers suspect, despite some of her obvious scams, may be possessed of a limited psychic ability. The scenes where she and Raylan talk are full of Leonard's usual witty banter and sharp dialogue. (Suggestion for Justified producers: how 'bout let's kill Winona off and bring in Dawn? Just saying.)

In addition, there are some nice surprises for fans of the show when you see how key scenes in the novel have been translated to the television version. My favorite was the opening scene of the novel in which Raylan handcuffs Dale Crowe Junior to the steering wheel and has him drive himself (with Raylan riding shotgun) to jail. This was one of my favorite scenes in the television show. There were some slight modifications, such as he's now Dewey Crowe and a white supremacist from Harlan, but, for the most part, the dialogue was lifted directly from the book, proving how brilliantly Leonard's work translates to film. show less

Another typical Elmore Leonard crime novel: nothing extraordinary but zips along at such a pace that it never outstays its welcome. I suspect that the three Raylan Givens books are not the best of Leonard, but I've read them before any of his other stuff because they were the (loose) basis for the outstanding TV series Justified. Consequently, the most fun I had in reading Riding the Rap, and the other Raylan books, was in noting bits where Justified clearly took some inspiration. The most obvious one is Rap's plotline, which served as the basis for the third episode of the first season of the show, but there are also other scenes and lines of dialogue which were mined for various episodes, including the 'Goofy' conversation as Raylan show more transports a fugitive in his car, the 'He's upstairs' anecdote Raylan gives, and his childhood memory where he learned you 'don't walk into a person's home unless you're invited'.

Maybe it's just because I miss Justified, which ended a couple of months ago after an excellent six-season run, but I enjoyed Riding the Rap more than the other Raylan Givens books. Pronto seemed a bit muddled to me, and Raylan was too familiar, having been cannibalised for material by the show's creators. Rap was in between the two but, truth be told, if it wasn't for the Justified heritage I don't think I would recommend it. I've mentioned my suspicion that these books probably don't represent the best of Elmore Leonard, but even so the cold fact is that they are little more than crime pulp: a decent way to fritter away a few hours. I've yet to read 'Fire in the Hole', the short story that was the more immediate inspiration for Justified, but I still find it impressive that FX managed to create an exceptional show of such depth and character out of books that, whilst not bad, are quite routine. show less

As the second work in the Raylan Givens series, Elmore Leonard’s Riding the Rap is quirky and amusing, with strange characters and an odd plot line. Retired bookie Harry Arno is kidnapped -- imprisoned in his own home -- and expected to come up with the ransom money to secure his own release. Harry’s ex-girlfriend (who is now federal marshall Raylan’s girlfriend), recruits Raylan to rescue him. The three kidnappers are among the dimmest you’ll find in crime fiction (not that Raylan is all that bright himself). While not quite to the level of its predecessor Pronto, snappy dialogue, oddball characters, and an unexpected denouement make this book one that Elmore fans won’t want to miss.

Fun lighthearted kidnapping story from the always entertaining Elmore Leonard. Bumbling criminals who can also be violent and the usual crazy cast of characters, made this a quick read. Not one of his best but better than a lot of books out there.

Raylan Givens works for the US Marshalls Service. Harry Arno's former girlfriend, Joyce, asks current boyfriend Rayland to find the missing Harry who has been kidnapped by three mismatched bad guys. They want Harry to pay them a ransom from money he stole from others. As no ransom has been sought from Harry's mother or friends, the police are not interested in looking into a kidnapping that only Rayland says has happened.

As Rayland closes in on the thugs, they start eliminating one another. An interesting character is the Reverend Dawn Navarro, a sexy psychic who seems to be able to see into the future as well as describe incidents from the past which frightens the thugs and intrigues Rayland who finds her attractive but way too young show more for him.

Slow to start but it doesn't take long to grab you and turn into a page turner in the Elmore Leonard tradition. show less

Starting to get a better feel for how Elmore Leonard writes, so it's getting a bit easier to read this series. That being said, I'm beginning to feel like this series is a lot more about Harry Arno than it is about Raylan.

Our friend, Harry, the retired bookie, gets kidnapped by one of the guys who owes him money. This is followed by far too many pages of Raylan trying to figure out who kidnapped him and why. A good portion of the pages also follow Harry's kidnappers and their ceaseless planning and double crossing until it ends up in a final showdown of them and Raylan.

While it's a decent story, it's a lot longer than is really necessary, or at least feels it. This is very similar to one of the episodes of Justified, and, in all show more honesty, feels like they did a better job in that shorter period of getting the story across and keeping the audience engaged than this did. Everything in these pages felt painfully predictable. show less

Not as good as "Pronto", but not a bad read. The "bad" guys just weren't much to worry about, and Raylan's motivation to help Harry seemed a little far fetched. But, the federal marshal is a great character, and makes the book worth the effort!