When Federal Marshall Raylan Givens finds a known offender naked in a bathtub, the man is doped up and missing his kidneys. Raylan knows there's big money in body parts, but by the time he finds out who's making the cuts, he's the man in a bathtub.
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When Federal Marshall Raylan Givens finds a known offender naked in a bathtub, the man is doped up and missing his kidneys. Raylan knows there's big money in body parts, but by the time he finds out who's making the cuts, he's the man in a bathtub.
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Elmore Leonard's (1925 -- 1913) long career as a writer of westerns and crime fiction ended with his 2012 novel, "Raylan". Part of a series, the novel is set in the coal country of Harlan, Kentucky, and features as its main character U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens. Raylan is a throwback to old western sheriffs; he wears a broad-brimmed Stetson, is a man of few words, and is not at all hesitant about dispensing justice through the barrel of a gun.
The book has a contemporary setting and consists of three interrelated tales, in each of which Raylan is pitted against and comes close to romantic involvement with a woman. The first tale involves a criminal gang in the gruesome business of selling body parts, particularly kidneys, by removing them from their victims. Raylan's chief antagonist is a nurse Layla, who is worked in the operating room with surgeons for years and who knows how to remove kidneys from the body.
The second story, which makes the most of the sense of place in Harlan, involves the exploitation of the community by a coal company engaged in strip mining. Raylan becomes involved with a vice-president of the company, a femme fatale with a law degree, Carol Conlan. The story centers on the murder of a coal miner after his life and property have been ruined by the company.
The third story explores Raylan's relationship with a 23 year old college student, Jackie Nevada, who is a prodigy at poker but who has got herself mixed up with robbery and contempt of court. Her ample skills at poker are fully on display in this story as is the relationship which develops with Raylan.
Although some of the crimes and people in this book are evil in the extreme, the overall tone is one of lightness. The book moves along with Leonard's masterful dialogue and quick repartee among the characters. In the midst of violence, Leonard offers laugh-aloud humor. It is an accomplishment to combine humor with all pervasive violence. Raylan and his cohorts who shoot often and who shoot to kill emerge as sympathetic figures for all their violence. I was interested in the Harlan setting of this book because I visited Harlan and the coal country of eastern Kentucky years ago. The part of the book dealing with the coal company and the executive are place-specific to Harlan, the remainder of the book less so.
The writing style of this book lifts it beyond the level of a mere thriller. The book is a highly enjoyable diversion from more pretentious works. "Raylan" is part of a series of Leonard books about his character and also formed the basis of a long-running television series called "Justified" which I haven't seen. Thus, I read the book on its own without relating it to the television show. I noticed allusions in the book to earlier Leonard novels, particularly his western "Valdez is Coming". "Raylan", a novel of Leonard's old age, is a fitting capstone to his literary career.