City Primeval

Written by Elmore Leonard

Narrated by Frank Muller

THE INSPIRATION FOR JUSTIFIED: CITY PRIMEVAL ON FX

“As gritty and hard-driving a thriller as you’ll find….The action never stops, the language sings and stings.” —Washington Post

The City Primeval in Elmore Leonard’s relentlessly gripping classic noir is Detroit, the author’s much-maligned hometown and the setting for many of the Grand Master’s acclaimed crime novels. The “Alexander the Great of crime fiction” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) shines in these urban mean streets, setting up a downtown showdown between the psychopathic, thrill-killing “Oklahoma Wildman” and the dedicated city copy who’s determined to take him down. The creator of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens of TV’s Justified fame, Elmore Leonard is the equal of any writer who has ever captivated readers with dark tales of heists, hijacks, double-crosses, and murder—John D. MacDonald, Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, and Robert Parker included—and nobody then or now is better.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9780061993725

Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard wrote more than forty books during his long career, including the bestsellers Raylan, Tishomingo Blues, Be Cool, Get Shorty, and Rum Punch, as well as the acclaimed collection When the Women Come Out to Dance, which was a New York Times Notable Book. Many of his books have been made into movies, including Get Shorty and Out of Sight. The short story "Fire in the Hole," and three books, including Raylan, were the basis for the FX hit show Justified. Leonard received the Lifetime Achievement Award from PEN USA and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He died in 2013.

Reviews for City Primeval

[bjkelley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read LOTS of Elmore Leonard and this is one that ranks near the top (everything he wrote is good, some just better than others). Perfection. Not a flaw in the book. Great dialogue, Great Characters.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The City Primeval by Elmore Leonard is a take on a wild west showdown but this one is set in modern times in the city of Detroit. Clement Mansell is a killer, he knows how easy it can be to get away with murder and so he keeps a high profile, tough-as-nails female lawyer on retainer. Her mistake is thinking that she can control him. A senseless act of road rage has him murdering a crooked judge along with his girlfriend and the lead detective in the case, Raymond Cruz believes this killer shouldn’t get to slip away by using technicalities of the legal system even if it means manoeuvring a showdown that will allow only one of them to walk away.Leonard’s take on a modern western was written in 1980, and although it is dated with references to discos, Afros and Plymouth automobiles, this is good crime story. The contrasts between the loud showy, psycho Mansell and the quiet, steady, old school policeman, Cruz keeps the reader involved and anticipating the confrontation that is coming.The author moves his story along with his excellent use of dialogue that brings the 1980’s to life. The seedy side of Detroit is showcased as the story unfolds in a dry, hard-edged manner. The City Primeval is a tightly-written, original crime story where the protagonists play a cat-and-mouse-game that keeps the suspense level high.

[paulrx04 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of his best excellent intro to his modern crime fiction

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I picked this book up at a library sale about a month ago. I was not familiar with this one. It was published in 1980. A gritty crime novel set in Detroit, this is classic Elmore Leonard. I believe this might have been one of his early forays into crime fiction, after mainly writing Westerns. However, this was a pretty good read. It is a bit dated. Music, clothing styles and language are out of time, but the story was fast paced, tense, and of course had Leoanord's wit and humor. Clement, a sly criminal cheats justice, then turns around and kills an unpopular judge and a woman that was with him. Raymond Cruz, a homicide detective is determined not to let Clement escape justice again. Thus, a cat and mouse game begins Clement and Raymond. The other characters involved are also classic Leonard style. Quirky and offbeat, we have Sandy, Clement's girlfriend and Carolyn, Clement lawyer. A solid crime thriller in the hardboiled tradition. One word of caution- the language and attitudes of the time might be offensive to some. Overall a B

[prop2gether · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is one of Leonard’s early novels about a Detroit detective tracking a sociopathic murderer who knows all the moves. It has a Western feel to it, and, it is structurally quite similar to [No Country for Old Men], going back and forth between the characters to the final confrontation. I enjoyed it, but I have enjoyed most of Leonard’s work so far.