In the following essay, Most examines Leonard's use of language and conventions of narrative and plot to illuminate the moral views of his readers.

In the following essay, Sandels surveys Leonard's crime novels and reveals how the author departs from and provides commentary on traditional crime story formulas; Sandels also delineates standard themes and elements of plot and character found in these works.

In the following essay, Wilkinson presents Leonard's researcher, Greg Sutter, and traces Sutter's various experiences while gathering background material for Leonard's works.

In the following essay, Baldwin illustrates Leonard's use of symbols and unique approach to conventions of crime fiction and societal norms in Glitz.

In the following essay, Hynes surveys Leonard's career, noting various qualities unique to the author's works.

In the following excerpt, Edwards provides a largely positive assessment of Bandits.

In the following essay, Prial surveys Leonard's life and career, and includes commentary by the author on his works and personal experiences.

In the following review, Morley offers a mixed assessment of Glitz.

In the following favorable review of Riding the Rap, Amis applauds Leonard's characteristic style of narrative and dialogue.

In the following excerpt, Kaplan provides a mixed review of Glitz, and compares and contrasts Leonard's novels with works by author Ross Thomas, whose novel is also reviewed.

The following is Worth's positive review of Riding the Rap.

In the following review, Gifford applauds Maximum Bob, and calls Leonard "the greatest living writer of crime fiction."

Elmore Leonard strikes me as being the finest thriller writer alive primarily because he does his best to efface style, and has done this so successfully that few readers know about him at all. Since 1953, Leonard has written a remarkable series of novels, Westerns as well as thrillers, the latest of which is Split Images…. There are no wisecrack-eloquent detectives or over-wrought similes in Leonard's writing. His characters are often lower-middle-class people who fall into crime because it&#...

In the following mixed review of Bandits, D'Evelyn asserts that the novel does not live up to Leonard's abilities as a "master craftsman" of crime novels.

The following is McFadden's commendatory review of Freaky Deaky.

In the following review, Carpenter offers a mixed assessment of Pronto.

The following is Lochte's laudatory review of Pronto.

When Elmore Leonard's "Fifty-Two Pickup" appeared in 1974, it had some critics talking in terms of Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald. "Swag" in 1974 indicated that Leonard's first book was no mere accident. A new and important writer of mystery fiction had arrived. Now comes "Unknown Man No. 89," and it maintains the high standard Leonard has set for himself. But it really is wrong to talk of this writer in terms of Chandler and Macdonald. He has lit...

Leonard's bandwagon had left the station by the time I heard its music, and I've had to do some running to catch up. But better late than never: Leonard is the real thing. He doesn't write "literature," and I'd be astonished if he claimed to; there's nothing in his fiction to suggest that he packs even an ounce of pretentiousness. But like John D. MacDonald, whom he resembles but does not appear to imitate, he raises the hardboiled suspense novel beyond the l...

[Elmore Leonard] is never more entertaining than when one of his villains is stealing a scene. They are inspired hams, these bad actors, so empty inside that they only become themselves when they are playing a part, milking it for all it's worth. There is therefore something desperate about their zest, which nevertheless releases our own. (Think of Laurence Olivier playing Richard III; think of Marlon Brando playing the bounty hunter in "The Missouri Breaks"; think of Orson Welles playi...

The tone of Elmore Leonard's latest mystery ["LaBrava"] is dry and mordant, the action well paced and the voices of the riffraff convincing. I do not know if Mr. Leonard has captured the real Miami Beach in the pastel seediness of the place he describes, but his depiction is entirely convincing and should entice readers to be manipulated and led through an intricate maze. Joseph LaBrava is the conventional omnicompetent, angst-ridden former agent. After too many months protecting Bess T...

I was an Elmore Leonard virgin, perhaps the last one on my block. Then I picked up a copy of his new novel, "LaBrava," and gave myself over to several hours of the most sustained pleasure I'd had from a crime novel since the last good Ross Macdonald, or James Crumley's "Last Good Kiss." Where had I been all these years? "LaBrava" is Leonard's 18th novel, and for a book to work within the genre at a level as high as this means that there have to ...

I read an article about [Elmore Leonard] in Writer's Digest a few months ago and went out and bought his City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit…. It's practically a textbook in hardboiled cop style, without the self-consciousness that usually goes with such a style. I loved it enough to buy Cat Chaser, which I thought was even better. So when Split Images arrived in one of those cancerous tan envelopes, I was looking forward to reading it that night. I wasn't disappointed. Mr. Leona...

In Elmore Leonard's The Hunted … Ed Rosen, head of a million-dollar mortgage company, is blackmailed by the Justice Department into testifying against two mobsters on indictment for murder; but both beat the rap, and Rosen leaves hurriedly for Israel…. [His] identity is accidentally revealed, and three hitmen arrive on the plane that is also bringing his lawyer with $200,000 severance pay from the company. On his side Rosen has a pretty Israeli girl and Davis, a Marine guard at the Unit...

Elmore Leonard has written his toughest book in City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit…. It's too bad Leonard felt he needed a subtitle, for the theme is obvious enough: how one vicious killer and one committed cop come to see themselves locked in a classic shootout in the OK Corral of modern America, the city in which the lone hero climbed down from his mustang to climb into his Mustang and do battle once again for the cowardly, blind populace. This is rough stuff: the language, the attitudes, a...

Leonard's style [in City Primeval] is clear, crisp, and mean. He writes about a tough-guy cop, Raymond Cruz, who lights out after crooks and con artists in one of the world's toughest cities, Detroit. Cruz tracks down high-level corruption as he investigates the murder of a very abusive, very angry, very important citizen—Judge Alvin B. Guy. Guy was about to squawk, murder stopped his breath, and Cruz finds out what the judge was about to reveal. Strong stuff. Connie Fletch...