Comfort to the Enemy and Other Carl Webster Stories

( 6 )

All Available Formats + Editions

——

$9.99

NOOK Book

——

$9.99

Comfort to the Enemy and Other Carl Webster Stories (eBook) Pub. Date: 9/28/2010 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
$0.05

$14.48

Paperback

$0.05

$14.48

Comfort to the Enemy and Other Carl Webster Stories Pub. Date: 9/28/2010 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
——

$15.76

Audiobook

——

$15.76

Comfort to the Enemy and Other Carl Webster Stories (MP3 - Unabridged) Pub. Date: 10/12/2010 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

Advertising

Overview

The "Hot Kid" of the U.S. Marshals Service, Carl Webster maintains the law with a cool, showdown attitude. He's one of the richest creations in Elmore Leonard's half century of delivering the goods. From his appearances in the critically acclaimed novels The Hot Kid and Up in Honey's Room, Carl returns to lay down the law in a novella that originally appeared as a serial in the New York Times Sunday Magazine.

The title novella—plus two Carl Webster short stories—traces Carl's career from his run-in with 1930's gangsters to his investigation of a murder at a German POW camp in Oklahoma. This time it's Carl against war-seasoned Afrika Korps Nazis. With its pitch-perfect dialogue, compelling characters, and classic charm, Comfort to the Enemy is vintage Leonard.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Two linked short stories that provide a much-needed introduction to the title novella expand the legend of U.S. Marshall Carl Webster (The Hot Kid; Up in Honey's Room). The year is 1944, and Carl is back in his marshal uniform after recovering from an injury incurred while serving in the U.S. Navy. His assignment: to investigate the death of a German prisoner of war at Camp Deep Fork near his home in Oklahoma. Carl approaches the job patiently and methodically, displaying a maturity not readily apparent in his earlier "Hot Kid" years, yet he deals swiftly with a couple of paid gunmen when the time is right. A German POW who escapes and returns to camp at will, a beautiful prostitute who provides his motivation, a Jewish gangster who wants access to the POW camp, and a wannabe Hot Kid who is assigned to assist in the investigation test Carl's patience and his skills, providing both challenge and humor. VERDICT This volume is the logical next episode in the charmed life of one of Leonard's most famous characters, and Carl Webster fans will certainly clamor for this latest installment. [Oct. 11 marks Leonard's 85th birthday, and his 44th novel, Djibouti, also publishes this month.—Ed.]—Thomas L. Kilpatrick, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale

Kirkus Reviews

Two curtain-raisers and one extended tale bring back Deputy U.S. Marshal Carl Webster, the hero of The Hot Kid (2005) and Up in Honey's Room (2007).

Even mythic figures were kids once, and the first of these stories, "Showdown at Checotah," initiates Carlos Webster, the 15-year-old son of rancher Virgil Webster, by having him witness a robbery that turns lethal and yields revenge on the murderous robber. In "Louly and Pretty Boy," Carl meets his future wife, Louly Brown, who won't be available to marry him till she gets loose from minor-league gangster Joe Young and the much more consequential shadow of Pretty Boy Floyd. Despite Carl's matter-of-fact personal maxim—"If I have to pull my weapon I will shoot to kill"—Louly's deliverance comes from an unexpected quarter. Both these stories—deft, understated, violent and amusing—set the tone for "Comfort to the Enemy," in which Carl, now a ripe 38, is called back to Oklahoma to investigate the hanging of Willi Martz, a German POW at Deep Fork. Since Leonard's lawmen don't exactly excel at investigating, it's no surprise when Carl gets diverted into a search for perennial prison-camp escapee Jurgen Schrenk, who's clearly keeping company with Shemane Morrissey, a former Tulsa society daughter who lost some of her debutante's sheen when she was abducted for Teddy Ritz's Kansas City whorehouse. Carl has no trouble finding Jurgen, of course, but complications arise in the form of Teddy's two enforcers, the Tedesco brothers, who develop their own interest in Shemane and her German lover. As the cast members brush aside rumors of the death camps across the wide Atlantic, Carl, Jurgen, Shemane and Teddy constantly devise new ways to fraternize, efface the boundaries between good guys and bad guys and give aid and comfort to the enemy.

The ritualistically extended final story, originally serialized in the New York Times Magazine, marks Leonard's shaggiest hour to date. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780061735158
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 9/28/2010
Pages: 197
Sales rank: 233,144
Product dimensions: 5.30 (w) x 7.90 (h) x 0.60 (d)

Meet the Author

Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard has written forty-five books during his highly successful writing career, and many of his novels have been made into movies. Leonard is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from PEN USA and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives in Bloomfield Village, Michigan.

Biography

Elmore Leonard has written more than three dozen books during his highly successful writing career, including the bestsellers Be Cool, Get Shorty and Rum Punch. Many of his books have been made into movies, including Get Shorty and Out of Sight. He is the recipient of the Grand Master Award of the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife in Bloomfield Village, Michigan.

Author biography courtesy of HarperCollins.

1. Also Known As:
  
  Elmore John Leonard Jr.
  Elmore Leonard
2. Hometown:
  
  Bloomfield Village, Michigan
1. Date of Birth:
  
  October 11, 1925
2. Place of Birth:
  
  New Orleans, Louisiana
1. Education:
  
  B.Ph., University of Detroit, 1950
2. Website:
  
  http://www.elmoreleonard.com/

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5

( 6 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

4 Star

(4)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines

Tell the world what you think of this product.

Add Recommendations

Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.

Anonymous

Posted May 18, 2011

No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous

Posted January 26, 2012

No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous

Posted June 5, 2011

No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous

Posted September 20, 2011

No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous

Posted January 15, 2012

No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous

Posted January 10, 2011

No text was provided for this review.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble