Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Welcome to our discussion of Rum Punch, by Elmore Leonard, which is part of our Spring/Summer Collection Group Reads. Your discussion leader is Lisa.
___________________________________________
About spoilers

Please use the spoiler formatting; it can be found on the top right of the comment box in the "(some html is ok)" menu.
___________________________________________

Summary

Ordell Robbie makes a fine living selling illegal high-powered weaponry to the wrong people. Jackie Burke couriers Ordell's profits from Freeport to Miami. But the feds are on to Jackie - and now the aging, but still hot, flight attendant will have to do prison time or play ball, which makes her a prime 'loose end' that Ordell needs to tie up ... permanently.

Jackie, however, has other plans. And with the help of Max Cherry - an honest but disgruntled bail bondsman looking to get out - she could even end up with a serious nest egg in the process.

Hi friends, welcome to our Rum Punch discussion thread, our second March read. Elmore Leonard always delivers a fun read - I've read a few of his, but this is my first time with Rum Punch. Enjoy!

I picked up my copy yesterday.

Lisa wrote: "Hi friends, welcome to our Rum Punch discussion thread, our second March read. Elmore Leonard always delivers a fun read - I've read a few of his, but this is my first time with Rum Punch. Enjoy!"

Have you read him before, Karen?

Raylan 3
Cuba Libre
The Big Bounce
maybe Be Cool.
I usually rate him a 3 of 5 stars
Too violent.

Ok I am slugging through this but seriously not enjoying it.

I took a moment to read the five star reviews of it on Goodreads and finally got an idea what in h..l is going on.

First off it is book two in series, or at least a follow up on an earlier book with these characters. That answers a lot.

Secondly, it is about Jackie more than the jerks that are discussed in the first 50 pages. Thank goodness. She is the first character I can get a handle on.

I have not seen the movie Jackie Brown as I have not seen a movie by that director that I ever enjoyed, so ...

I am 50 pages in and ready to abandon this book.

Any one else reading it?

Karen, next up for me too, as soon as I finish Cool Hand Luke. Hoping to have it done by the end of the month so I’m ready for our April reads :)

I just purchased the audio cassette edition from eBay. It's due to be here by the end of the week.

Hi all, anyone else finish this one? Karen, did you get through it? I finished and did like it - I enjoy Leonard's dialogue a lot. I got a little tripped up near the end as they described all of the intricacies of the bag-switching, but I got the gist of it. I really liked both Jackie and Max Cherry and was rooting for them. I did enjoy this movie, and I really like the actors that played those two. I have mixed emotions about seeing a movie before I read the book, because as much as I liked picturing Pam Grier and Robert Forster, I kinda like to conjure up my own characters :)

I am picking it up again today. Just finished Cool Hand Luke.

Well, this one was just not for me.

I disliked most of the characters and that includes the FBi and DEA guys.

High body counts always disturb me.

It was book two of a series and I don't see it continuing. Perhaps if I had read book one I might have gotten into it sooner and enjoyed it more.

I have requested the movie from the public library.

Karen wrote: "Well, this one was just not for me.

I disliked most of the characters and that includes the FBi and DEA guys.

High body counts always disturb me.

It was book two of a series and I don't see it c..."

Karen, let me know what you think of the movie. It's not particularly violent or gory for Tarantino, but all of his stuff is still fairly graphic. I think you might like the two main characters a bit more in the movie version - I found Forster and Grier very enjoyable.