Tishomingo Blues (2002) - Elmore Leonard

Written by Elmore Leonard
Read by Frank Muller
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 80 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
Release date: 08-05-04
Publisher: HarperAudio

Crime fiction Grand Master Elmore Leonard heads to the Deep South for a bracing dose of Tishomingo Blues—a wild, Leonard-esque ride ” Sparkling with trademark “Dutch” Leonard dialogue so sharp it could cut you, Tishomingo Blues is classic mystery, mayhem, and gritty noir fun from “the coolest, hottest thriller writer in America” It happens to be Leonard’s favorite book of the books he has written.

Dennis Lenahan, a high diver who contracts for a gig to perform at the Tishomingo Lodge & Casino. While setting up his rig, Dennis witnesses a murder by local members of the Dixie Mafia. So, perhaps, does a mysterious, very slick black guy, Robert Johnson, down from the North in his Jag to run a con on a local powerbroker—or so it seems. But Robert, who befriends Dennis, and the Detroit mobster and moll who join him at the Lodge & Casino, have other, more complicated, more ambitious plans, for Tishomingo, for the Dixie Mafia and for Dennis, plans that come to a head during the Civil War battle re-enactment that provides the unusual and fascinating backdrop for the book’s second half. As usual, Leonard’s characters walk onto the page as real as sunlight and shadow; the dialogue is dead-on, the loopy story line strewn with the unexpected, including sudden flourishes of romance and death. Prime Leonard, prime reading.

The high quality of this polished, entertaining production comes as no surprise, as Leonard (Out of Sight; Get Shorty; etc.) is one of the most highly esteemed crime writers working today and Muller one of the most seasoned audiobook performers….Muller ably portrays their many eccentricities and has the rare knack for performing the parts of the opposite sex in a way that sounds completely natural. He also captures the discerning, jazzman cool of Detroit gangster Robert Taylor; the thick, adenoidal twang of various members of the Dixie Mafia; and the comically ostentatious boastings of the hotel’s resident celebrity, a former pitcher named Charlie who claims to have played in the 1984 World Series.

The title comes from the famous Spencer Williams song.