On Saturday I was assigned an unenviable task of attending to the telephone for nearly seven hours at the office. I work for the government so I do what I am told without asking too many questions. It was a welcome respite from my daily routine but it since it sounded like a boring task I took along a book to liven up things. I had Elmore Leonard’s ‘The Hunted’ that I had bought only a week ago. I read it almost non-stop for a couple of hours before the calls started coming.
‘The Hunted’ is vintage Elmore Leonard and I consider it one of the best books I’ve read of his so far. It has fast action, great dialogue plus some potshots about a lot of things. The story is of a mortgage banker Al Rosen who is hiding in Israel, and a set of killers who arrive to settle scores. Al Rosen finds an unlikely ally in a US Marine. David Davis, bumbling at first but one with the fighting brains. Tali, an Israeli girl assists AL Rosen, loves him probably, but ends up with the Marine in the end. The three killers are Ted Cass, Rashad and Valenzeula. A lawyer Mel who arrives to pay Rosen also finds himself involved in the action which takes place all over Israel. Mati is a bit player in it. These guys are all wisecracking specialists armed with bombs, guns and what not.
The beginning and the ending are dramatic and set you on the edge making one turn page after page towards the end. I wished the book would never end. It is one of the best books I’ve read in recent times. There’s another Elmore Leonard book that’s lying unread- The Moonshine wars. I will read it after sometime because right now I’m still with David Davis, the US Marine.
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