Elmore Leonard's son Peter tells a good tale here. His characters are as well fleshed out as the old man's, and the plot was sufficiently convoluted to hold my interest. Where he gets carried away, however, is in his striving for authenticity of place. When describing a chase scene through Birmingham MI (where Peter grew up and not far from places where I've lived since 1986), it's not only superfluous but distracting to trace the route street by street. Give it a break, guy. ( )

This is the second Peter Leonard novel that I've read, and I was disappointed that it wasn't as good as QUIVER, his debut book.
The characters are gripping, as is the novel. But there are simply too many things wrong with this book. For one thing, the author puts way too much effort into ensuring a realistic sense of place. During the chase scenes, we're treated to street-by-street tours of Birmingham and other communities in metropolitan Detroit. While that's initially interesting to readers like me who know local geography, it quickly grows old. And I suspect it's a total distraction to readers who don't know the area.
Another complaint is that the author overdoes the escape-by-the-skin-of-their-feet business. The overall effect is reminiscent of cliffhanger serials of the second quarter of the century.
Still, the book was well worth reading. And it's noteworthy that I finished it in 3 days despite a big backlog of reading material. I'm a long way from giving up on Peter Leonard's books, but I hope he adopts some of his esteemed father's restraint and subtlety. ( )

‘Trust No One’ read the famous poster in Fox Mulder’s office, and you have to wonder if Elmore Leonard’s son Peter has a copy of that same print pinned up above his own desk.

I’ve not read any of Leonard Sr.’s work (I must do something about that) though I have seen Get Shorty, Cat Chaser, 52 Pick-Up, Out Of Sight and Jackie Brown, so I reckon I know his style. Twisty-turny, double-crossy, stabby-backy plots and endearing, multi-faceted characters… all of which can be found in junior’s second novel too.

Read the full review at my blog. ( )

Free books are always a bonus, and I was fortunate enough to receive this through the "Early Reviewers" Giveaway. This book began quite slowly, with lots of different characters being introduced so it was quite confusing to keep up with all the individual people, and how they connected with each other. I think the author may have had the same problem as, on at least one occasion, a character was called a different name - presumably a typo. Having got past that, though, this book does pick up, with characters crossing and double-crossing each other, and things get more exciting, in a seedy world of drugs, gambling and money... ( )

Reminded me a lot of a poor man's Elmore Leonard with its take on Noir. I felt that the Peter Leonard tried too hard to make the characters unlike-able with constant "god he was boring me" comments from all the characters all the time; the book would have be a lot better with a stronger editor to cut this kind of over enunciation out. Still, the story is fun if predictable (it is Noir so this is a given really) and is fast paced so its a good way to spend a couple of hours if you fancy something in this genre and have read the classics. ( )