Reverting to his background as a writer of westerns, Leonard utilizes for this novel a standard plot technique of that other genre. From start to finish, Pronto is a chase. The FBI goes after Arno, so the mob follows. When he flees, Givens and the mob go after him, and that part of the novel set in Italy is wholly devoted to people running after and from each other. Such is also the case when the action returns to Florida.

The effect of this simple plot technique is immediate tension at the start, with the momentum and suspense increasing without let-up as the story progresses to Givens' climactic shots two pages before the close.

Crisply realistic dialogue is a standard Leonard technique, which he uses here, as elsewhere, to advance the action rapidly and also to reveal character concisely and quickly. He utilizes another simple but effective device...