Judge Bob Isom Gibbs' peers in the Criminal Division of Palm Beach County Circuit Court have censured his courtroom conduct, and law enforce ment people who deal with him know he is corrupt to the core, personally as well as professionally. But he gives offenders sentences they deserve, has sent more men to death row than any other judge in Florida, and handily wins reelection. Through his portrait of Maximum Bob, Elmore Leonard vividly dramatizes problems with the judicial system, or at least a portion of it. At the same time, he presents a group of dedicated, capable, and honest policemen, assistant district attorneys, and probation officers, many of them young and female, who seem to be fighting a losing battle on two fronts, against flawed officialdom and offenders who cannot be rehabilitated. Leonard does not betray any compassion for the low-life offenders, and they themselves...