Djibouti: A Novel - Hardcover

Leonard, Elmore

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061735175 ISBN 13: 9780061735172

Publisher: Mariner Books, 2010

Synopsis

“Elmore Leonard is in a class of one….The greatest crime writer who ever lived.”
—Dennis Lehane

 

“Elmore Leonard is our greatest crime novelist…the best in the business.”
 —Washington Post

 

44 novels and still going strong! The incomparable Elmore Leonard—“The reigning King Daddy of crime writers” (Seattle Times)—is back with Djibouti, a gripping, twisting, playful, and always surprising tale of modern-day piracy. Djibouti sparkles with the trademark Leonard style, wit, and crackling dialogue that have made novels like Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and The Hot Kid crime fiction classics. This time Elmore’s taking us to the Horn of Africa for an unforgettable confrontation with con men, crooked diplomats, documentary filmmakers, and pirates…and it’s going to be a wild ride!

About this title

About the Author

Elmore Leonard wrote more than forty books during his long career, including the bestsellers Raylan, Tishomingo Blues, Be Cool, Get Shorty, and Rum Punch, as well as the acclaimed collection When the Women Come Out to Dance, which was a New York Times Notable Book. Many of his books have been made into movies, including Get Shorty and Out of Sight. The short story “Fire in the Hole,” and three books, including Raylan, were the basis for the FX hit show Justified. Leonard received the Lifetime Achievement Award from PEN USA and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He died in 2013.

From the Back Cover

Elmore Leonard, New York Times bestselling author and "the hippest, funniest national treasure in sight" (Washington Post), brings his trademark wit and inimitable style to this twisting, gripping—and sometimes playful—tale of modern-day piracy

Dara Barr, documentary filmmaker, is at the top of her game. She's covered the rape of Bosnian women, neo-Nazi white supremacists, and post-Katrina New Orleans, and has won awards for all three. Now, looking for a bigger challenge, Dara and her right-hand-man, Xavier LeBo, a six-foot-six, seventy-two-year-old African American seafarer, head to Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, to film modern-day pirates hijacking merchant ships.

They learn soon enough that almost no one in the Middle East is who he seems to be. The most successful pirate, driving his Mercedes around Djibouti, appears to be a good guy, but his pal, a cultured Saudi diplomat, has dubious connections. Billy Wynn, a Texas billionaire, plays mysterious roles as the mood strikes him. He's promised his girlfriend, Helene, a nifty fashion model, that he'll marry her if she doesn't become seasick or bored while circling the world on his yacht. And there's Jama Raisuli, a black al Qaeda terrorist from Miami, who's vowed to blow up something big.

What Dara and Xavier have to decide, besides the best way to stay alive: Should they shoot the action as a documentary or turn it into a Hollywood feature film?

Reviews

*Starred Review* Crime fiction grand master Leonard, who turns 85 in October, remains in top form. He has a new publisher and a new subject—Somalian pirates—but all the signature Leonard elements are shining as brightly as ever: the back-and-forth banter, always oozing wit but never too smart for the room; the cast of wonderfully idiosyncratic characters, each capable of a star turn; the always startling juxtaposition of the mundane against the violent. This time, mixed in with all of that, Leonard gives us one of his trickiest plots and cleverest turns of storytelling. Dara Barr is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, recently arrived in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa (the gateway to Islam . . . or the back door to the West) to film Somalian pirates in action. With her assistant, a 72-year-old sailor named Xavier, Dara, armed with a concealed spy camera, sets off onboard the Buster in search of pirates. She finds plenty, but she and Xavier also land in the middle of an al-Qaeda plot to blow up a tanker loaded with liquefied natural gas. Portions of the tale are related in real time, but much of the narration comes in the form of Dara and Xavier viewing film of what’s already happened and debating how to structure the documentary. This curious dramatic technique works magnificently, taking us inside the characters in a way that straight, action-oriented narration might not do. Leonard never tells a story in the expected way, but this time he outdoes himself. Marvelous entertainment. --Bill Ott

Edition details

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0061735175
• ISBN 13: 9780061735172
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288