Friday, January 29, 2010

Book Review: Elmore Leonard, Freaky Deaky (1988)


Freaky Deaky begins with three major characters who appear at first in pairs of alternating chapters: Chris Mankowski, a Detroit cop who is leaving the bomb squad for a different assignment; and Robin Abbott and Skip Gibbs, aging hippie radicals scheming to use their anarchic skills in more financially rewarding ways. Elmore Leonard manages these characters with remarkable skill, insinuating them into each other's lives while folding in other characters along the way. While Chris is likable throughout, in the early stages of the novel Robin and Skip are more annoying than anything else, but Freaky Deaky's great humor eventually overwhelms any shortcomings in the novel's cast of characters. No great insights into the criminal mind here--just a great deal of entertainment. Grade: A-

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