TISHOMINGO BLUES by Elmore Leonard Feb 2002 0-06-000872-5 William Morrow

Elmore Leonard’s latest caper farce, Tishomingo Blues, has a lot to offer. Full of the shaggy characters and the street smart heroes for which Mr. Leonard is famous, this novel has high diver Dennis Lenahan trying to stay alive and above the fray of Civil War role playing he finds himself in.

Dennis is getting tired of the road. Setting up his water tank in local fair after local fair has become unappealing so when he sees an opportunity to set down roots in Tunica Mississippi for four whole weeks he grabs it. And the readers’ fun begins. Before his first dive off the platform Dennis witnesses a murder and everybody in town knows he does. What comes afterwards is author Leonard’s adept plotting. He works hard to introduce us to the town, the ferver of Reenactment participants “I will be wearing long johns under my uniform” and a host of characters, while trying to get Dennis out of the trouble he’s in. Or is he simply getting into more trouble? Well, that’s why you have to read the book. Take a day off, be a little crazy, have a few laughs and read the latest from an author, who’s without a doubt, one of the genre’s Grand Masters.

Ruth Jordan