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The Hot Kid: A Novel
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780060724221
ISBN: 0060724226
Label: William Morrow
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 320
Publication Date: May 01, 2005
Publisher: William Morrow
Studio: William Morrow
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Editorial Review:
Before Elmore Leonard abandoned westerns to blaze across the pantheon of bestsellerdom with his hip, stylish thrillers, punctuated with dead-pan humor and dialogue worthy of a David Mamet play, he might have written The Hot Kid; it has some of the same crisp pacing and well-defined, if not especially complex, characters that marked his earlier novels. A show-down between Tulsa oil wildcatter and millionaire Oris Belmont and his 18-year-old son, who's attempting to shake him down, says all there is to say about both men: "I don't know what's wrong with you. You're a nice-looking boy, wear a clean shirt every day, keep your hair combed ... where'd you get your ugly disposition? Your mama blames me for not being around, so then I give you things .. you get in trouble, I get you out. Well, now you've moved on to extortion in your life of crime ... I pay you what you want or you're telling everybody I have a girlfriend?"
Jack Belmont's blackmail scheme doesn't work, but after destroying his father's property, forging checks in his name, kidnapping his mistress, and joining a gang of notorious bank robbers after his release from prison, he encounters another man trying to get out from under his father's large shadow and create his own, bigger one. Deputy U.S. Marshal Carl Webster, who at age 15 shot a man trying to steal his cows and six years later dispenses equal justice to Emmet Long, the leader of Belmont's gang, now has Jack Belmont in his sights. Webster's exploits have earned him even more celebrity than Jack, who dreams of rivaling Pretty Boy Floyd as public enemy number one.
We're in the early 30's here, just as a dust cloud is rolling across the Oklahoma plains--the days of Bonnie and Clyde, when gangsters captured the public attention, and Leonard makes good use of place and time. His minor characters are much more interesting than his protagonists, especially the women, and the writing shows occasional flashes of his trademarked ironic humor. But it's not as cool--or as hot--as even his most dedicated readers are used to, and there's barely a trace of the bizarre plot twists and unlikely coincidences that define his most recent caper novels in this one. --Jane Adams
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Texas...Oops, Oklahoma ranger in the 30's
This is the first book I have read by the author, so I didn't know what to expect. You are teleported into the 1930's, the dust bowl, Prohibition, whores and bizarre politics...you are there! In addition to the history lesson, the characters are intriguing, consistent in motivations and actions. Both Carlos and Jack are killing opposites. Carlos. lawman, is no saint, just a guy who takes his job seriously, with a bit of flare. Jack, well, is just plain straight from heck. But don't count out ... Read More
Rating:  - Not one of Leonard's best creations
I am an avid Elmore Leonard fan. I have read probably two dozen of his books, and I consider some of those books to be among the best crime fiction ever written. This book, however, is not one of them. It is almost a throwback to one of his earlier books, "The Moonshine Wars," which was also set in the 1930s. Here Leonard moves away from the usual urban lowlifes, petty criminals, and police detectives of our modern big cities and retreats to the depression-era midwest in which a slew of petty criminals ... Read More
Rating:  - Just wonderful
This refers to the CD version of the "Hot Kid": Arliss Howard seems to wring every nuance out of this terrific Leonard novel. So rich.
Rating: - Carlos is Coming
Pretty Boy Floyd
This novel is Elmore Leonard's "Pretty Boy Floyd", only the " Hot Kid" is U.S. Marshal Carl Webster.
This story seems to be one of dogs fighting wolves in human terms. The author is a scholar who has done his homework on names and dates. This wild depression era of the popular bank robbers is told from a cop's point of view. About hard men and real people this is a very readable
book in which Elmore Leonard comes down on the diametrically opposite side he took in "Valdez ... Read More
Rating: - The Hot Kid
What can one say about Elmore Leonard that hasn't already been said by someone else? A very good read as always with Mr. Leonard, well developed characters & the most realistic dialog you will ever read. I've been a fan of his for many years. Not everything he writes is good but it's always enjoyable. Hint: Don't necessarily read Elmore Leonard for the story, sometimes it's not there; but always, ALWAYS, pay close attention to the characters, for that is always where the fun (and story) is.
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