They find themselves hanging out at topless bars where Mitchell meets Cini and he falls hard for her, getting her the apartment, paying her rent, keeping her. Mitchell hangs out with Ross, who is busy propositioning everything that moves. He has been happily married for twenty-two years and both kids are out of the house, one married and one off at college. Mitchell is owns a small auto parts manufacturer in Detroit. The switch between scenes and points of view is a little confusing at first, but the work is so good and so fantastically executed, that it works. Leonard primarily tells his story through Mitchell’s eyes, but at times, the focus is shifted and other characters’ stories are told. So what does he do? He fights back against mismatched team of blackmailers playing them off, one against another, keeping them on their toes, guessing at his next move, his next counter-strike. It’s the story of what happens when an ordinary guy makes a mistake and, while he is ready to pay for his mistake, the guys who are leaning on him make the price to high. This book has all kinds of stuff in it, including adultery, blackmail, murder, snuff films, heroin, etc. It is a compelling read from beginning to end. “52 Pickup,” published in 1974, is a brilliant work by Elmore Leonard.
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