Plot or Premise

A guy tries to buy weed, and all it costs him is a little sample, $22K, and his kidneys.

What I Liked

I loved Timothy Oliphant as Raylan Givens in the TV series Justified. Enough to go looking for Leonard’s books with the character. I read other books by him like Get Shorty a long time ago, a few others here and there, but never any of the Givens’ books. It’s interesting seeing some of the same stories with different characters, arcs, and endings. The story arc is more a series of cases…the mountain deals, the kidney stealer, a bank robbery crew of all women, a female poker player, and some fun with Delroy wanting to play High Noon in a bar.

What I Didn’t Like

One of the things I love with the show is the background characterization. However, in the book, Boyd, Ava, Loretta, even Art/Tim/Rachel all get short attention in the stories.

The Bottom Line

Not as well developed as some of the series’ episodes