Unknown Man #89 (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)

'Unknown Man #89' is one of those stories hard to describe without giving the plot away. Broadly speaking we have con artists trying to make a fast buck off folks whom they thought would be total suckers. Wrong. Frustration and violence ensue. While not winning any awards for originality 'Unknown Man #89' is very well written. Elmore Leonard does a brilliant job on the characterizations, and the prose is very slick. There is also some humour, albeit rather rude and crude.

Bottom line: certainly among Leonard's better efforts. Recommended.


Early Elmore is great stuff!   June 20, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is the kind of writing that made Elmore Leonard famous. Shady characters hanging around Detroit, mingling with hardened criminals. As always, Leonard's characters are interesting and unique, and his dialogue is fantastic. He has a talent for describing characters and settings without over-describing them that fuels the imagination, making the reading that much more interesting.

Jack Ryan is a process server who has taken a strange (yet lucrative) job offer, looking for a man who is hard to find. What he finds is a scary guy whose associations both attract and endager Ryan. He meets a girl who he starts to like, a boss he starts to dislike, and an ex-con who he's just trying to get rid of. The resulting action is a series of crosses and double-crosses that never stops entertaining the reader.

Though there were a couple of plot elements that fell into place a little too easily (disposing of one love interest and the final showdown between all the bad guys), I really enjoyed this book. Just when you think that there's nowhere left for the characters to go, Leonard twists the plot a little, making for some very entertaining reading from the very beginning. For fans of Leonard, or even those unfamiliar with Leonard's work, this is a great read.


Between a Rock and a Hard Place   April 17, 2003
 1 out of 3 found this review helpful

In the unknown man Leonard has Jack Ryan a process server who is one of the best in the business looking for a man known only as "Unknown Man #89". Not truly unknown a few know him to well. A blonde hates him with a passion and a very bad guy wants him in hell. This all makes it hard for Jack Ryan as he has to get between those two people in order to capture #89. A very good read.


Twenty five years later it's still a great read   March 15, 2003
 11 out of 12 found this review helpful

Written in the '70s, "Unknown Man" established a template that has endured into the new century: super cool male lead, troubled but likeable damsel in distress and a couple of black guys with baggage. Jack Ryan, Detroit process server with a street smart, easy going manner that lets him rise above the ugliness of his business, is a character from whom Rayland Givens and Chili Palmer will naturally evolve.

Jay Wilt, one of Jack's sleazier clients, hires him to find Robert Leary, Jr. with a last known Detroit address from 1941. Robert is not at all what the early description suggests, and Jack is not the only one looking for him. A hardened street dude named Virgil took the rap for a robbery he and "Bobby" committed, and he's determined to het his money or get even.

Along the way Jack finds Lee, a hopelessly drunk bar fly. Jack is a recovering alcoholic who has slipped more than once. When he reaches out to pull Lee out of the gutter, the darkness and reality of what they both are going through contrast with the otherwise too cool to be true plot, but it doesn't weigh the story down. Lee cleans up just fine becoming Denise. Jack is saving her, falling for her and either hiding her from or finding her for the man from New Orleans who wants to share Robert Leary's lost inheritance with her.

The story builds to a climax of unusual alliances, great street action and an Elmore Leonard good guy facing off with a bad guy who might be just as cool under pressure. You won't guess the ending, you don't need to - but if you're an Elmore Leonard fan, you won't be surprised by it.