Swag

Written by Elmore Leonard

Narrated by Frank Muller

This "brilliant caper" (New York Times) from bestselling author Elmore Leonard is a rollicking tale of modern urban crime featuring a cast of small-time criminals with big-time dreams.

Ernest Stickley Jr. figures his luck's about to change when Detroit used-car salesman Frank Ryan catches him trying to boost a ride from Ryan's lot. Frank's got some surefire schemes for getting rich quick—all of them involving guns—and all Stickley has to do is follow "Ryan's Rules" to share the wealth.

But sometimes rules need to be bent, maybe even broken to succeed in the world of crime, especially when the "brains" of the operation knows less than nothing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9780061993688

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 Swag

[zmagic69 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Like another book from this author- touch in the late 70’s Swag had all the potential of the authors future best sellers it was just not quite there yet. Great dialogue and fun criminals abound in this story about to robbers.

[bjkelley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really can't think of anything that is not perfect in this book. Great well drawn characters and a plot that moves at break neck speed.

[cail_judy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A lot of fun and a great Rapscallions discussion.

[kurtwombat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sharp, taut and deceptive describe Elmore Leonard’s SWAG. The story follows a pair of seemingly mismatched hold up men who convince themselves that a cool hand and a businesslike approach to robbing liquor stores and supermarkets, complete with idiot proof guidelines, can lead to a steady influx of cash and the good life. And throughout much of the book, life makes nice and their strategy pays off handsomely. Leonard follows the characters but does not really reveal them. They settle into their new lifestyle without much reflection. Along with the characters, the reader is lulled into that same comfort zone. At one point I realized that I too had stopped looking beyond the next robbery. Then the opportunity for something bigger comes along. This is when the business façade falls away and Leonard pumps blood into his characters. The main characters break from their relative safe path stepping up among people they only think they know. The supporting characters stop floating about the periphery and land with heavy feet. Everyone becomes more alive. More threatening. And certainly a whole lot more interesting. The last third of the book, after Leonard deftly shifts gears, leaps almost out of the readers hands.

[datrappert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Some idiot recommended this as a book that combines humor with crime. It isn't very funny, except for a few passing asides, but it is a solid book about Frank and Ernest (better known as Stick), who team up for a series of armed robberies before ambition gets the better of them. The book, written in 1976, is a bit of a time capsule as it presents the two guys sharing an apartment in a complex featuring a large number of single women, so the story isn't all about crime. It's all more than a bit contrived, but it is good fun and the audiobook is very well read by Frank Muller. The Detroit setting is good also.

[jbarringer-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book I've read by this author. I enjoy how his shady, criminal characters are fleshed out as real people, while still being scumbags who deserve whatever unpleasantness comes to them. This book is about two idiot novice criminals who decide to go into armed robbery essentially full-time. It was a fast, entertaining read, with a realistically diverse cast of characters.

[jen6e6moore · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I picked this up because, well, Elmore Leonard died recently and I'd never read anything of his. Holy god, could that man write. I've never seen such fantastic, economical writing. I almost don't care about the story - although it was also fun, as predictable as the story of "incompetent criminals do crime" always is, it's usually pretty entertaining too - just because I want to roll around in the way he can establish character with two well-placed words. (Fortunately this is not the kind of writing that gives me an inferiority complex, mostly because it's impossible to write sf this way.)

[rdhawk6886 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Classic Leonard. A super tight read with no inefficiencies. This book reads so effortlessly, that when you are done you wonder how Leonard fit so much in to such a small space. Stick is a country guy who falls in with the wrong crowd, Frank, when Frank misremembers Stick in Court - after Stick had stolen a car from the used lot where Frank was working. A mismatched partnership in crimes ensues between Stick and Frank, as they try tiO implement Frank's ten rules for success and happiness in crime. The duo press their fortunes and forget Frank's rules with complicating consequences. Stick has love in hand and feels it rush out between his fingers. This books shares similarities with Rum Punch ( Jackie Brown). This book is difficult to find compared to most Leonard titles. Well worth the hunt as this Leonard at his fittest.

[dickmanikowski · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When it comes to crime fiction, Elmore Leonard is a master minimalist. No flash, no heroics. Just believable people--some of them on one side of the law, some on the other side.Very good read.

[teckelvik · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this as part of an online discussion group on what makes a good ending for a novel. Otherwise, it isn't the type of book that I would read ordinarily.Because I was reading for a writers' group, I noticed a lot about the writing. Leonard's style is very spare. There are no excess words, almost no adverbs, very little explanation. Characterization is done through action, observation, and dialogue. The characters aren't really likeable, but they are understandable, with clear motivation and understandable behavior.Overall, I enjoyed it. The basic idea is that two guys in Detroit who don't really know each other team up to become armed robbers. They have a plan, and it works, until events start spiralling out of their control.

[gazzy_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Again, the prototype of 70's cop movies and shows, (they are teh bob ross paintings of a landscape to the physical landscape which is Leonard) makes a book that makes the best darn movie you'll ever read.