Review - The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard

I came across this book at a charity book sale at work, the cover caught my eye, and I was intrigued by the title of the book, I opened it up and read a random paragraph, I knew instantly it was gonna be an interesting read.

The book is about a US Marshall, Carlos Webster, he is a confident young man, some might say cocky, but I'd say confident, I see him as a man, who knows he is doing the right thing, therefore, why should he hold back. He lives by his famous line he gives to criminals he has to deal with, "If I draw my gun, I'll shot to kill"

The story follows Carlos, or Carl as he's to be known for the majority of the book, from a 15 year old boy who shots and kills a thief at his fathers home, to a young man serving as a US Marshall closing in on ruthless outlaws / bandits / and wanna-be gangstars like Jack Belmont.

The books story is based in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, US, around the 1920's-1930's and really does a great job of painting a picture of that period, with liquor houses that specialise in bootleg whiskey, 'working' women, the time is famous for bank robbings and hold ups, The book is filled with colourful characters, like Emmet Long a hardened outlaw, known for knocking over banks and other places that hold hard cash, there's also a writer, who gets a job for true detective magazine, Anthony Antonelli, who has a knack of being in the right place at the right time to secure great story's as the drama unfolds around him, I could go on and list a number of characters within the book that stood out, but I won't, that is one of the things that caused me to love the story more, the people and their history, the places and their purposes, the story takes the reader on a fantastic journey, that is eye opening and in many ways quite unforgettable.

The writing style has been described as sharp, and striped down, the writer tells the story in a great way, giving the reader only what they need to know and nothing more, the story is well paced and more or less sticks straight to the point, from time to time, the story covers side characters, workers at the oil mills, like the oil tank cleaners who risk their lives day in and day out for peanuts, but this all goes towards illustrating the times and the people of those times in which the story is set.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and would recommended it to those who would have an interest in those times and / or the good old cops and robbers themed crime novels.