Synopsis/blurb…….
This
never-before-published story is a chilling forebear to the tales that made the
late, great Elmore Leonard the “King Daddy” of crime with a twist. Told from
the perspective of a young wife who’s become increasingly frustrated with her
mild-mannered husband, “The Trespassers” begins as a quiet domestic drama and
quickly escalates into a nightmare. When Evan refuses to confront men who are
illegally hunting on the couple’s remote homestead, Chris takes matters into
her own hands, with terrifying results.
Written in 1958, when
Leonard was working at a Detroit advertising agency and writing short stories
on the side, “The Trespassers” shows the emerging talent of a man whose spare
style and dark wit would redefine a literary genre. Filled with as much sexual
menace as Sam Peckinpah’s classic thriller “Straw Dogs,” this timelessly
relevant story delivers a sly surprise that could only come from the mind of
Elmore Leonard.
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Elmore Leonard who
sadly passed last year is one of the guys responsible for the direction my
reading has taken in the past 25 years or so. I haven’t yet read all his books,
though I think I own them, or did until starting to dispose of recent reads in
order to retain space for new. The
Trespassers and Confession were
two previously unpublished stories that came to light after his death.
Interesting story, though I was kind of surprised to read
the date-line on when it was written, as it still has a contemporary feel for
me. Leonard applies layers to our characters within the period of the
narrative.
A bit of a family drama at play. A quality or character
trait that the husband possesses and which initially endeared his wife to him,
is perceived by her as a weakness, but is actually shown to be a strength.
Enjoyable outcome, which he keeps in doubt until the end.
4 from 5
Bought late last year on Amazon.
I'm always thinking I should read more Leonard - I like the ones I have read, and have enjoyed a couple of films based on them. If you had to pick one by him which would you say?
ReplyDeleteI think my all-time favourite of his (so far) is Mr Majestyk. I can't help but link it with the film which I also love. Charles Bronson is one of my favourite actors! The book is from 1974, the film......ooh just looked it up. The film is from 1974 also, Leonard wrote the screenplay, then the novelisation! I never knew that.
DeleteGlad you liked this. It interesting to read an early story that is just published now. I did buy the Kindle version of a book of short stories about Raylan Givens so I guess I will be reading some of his short stories eventually. After some novels.
ReplyDeleteGivens will be a good place to start Tracy. I do love him in Justified, something else I need to catch up on.
DeleteCol, the one thing I have been promising myself for the past two years is that I'll read Elmore Leonard's western novels but I haven't got round to it yet.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can track one or two down. I like his Westerns as much as his more contemporary "urban" crime fiction. I actually think Westerns are crime fiction with a pre-determined setting.
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