The Switch book review

One of the first Elmore Leonard books that I read was Rum Punch. Even though that was a long time ago, I remember how much I loved that book. And, I loved the film adaptation, Jackie Brown, even more! So, what about the author’s older novel that came out before Rum Punch? You know, the one where he introduced us to a younger Ordell Robbie and Louis Gara. That book is called The Switch. Well, here’s The Switch book review and book banter.

But first, I promise to not reveal any important plot twists-and-turns, and I will not disclose the ending. Instead, we’ll discuss the characters, the author’s writing style, and whether the book was fun to read!

In this fast-paced criminal misadventure, two bungling but dangerous career criminals team up to take down a bigger score than what they have ever taken down before. They decide to kidnap the young and pretty wife of a wealthy real estate developer in Detroit.

Along the way, they enlist the help of a creepy white supremacist and a tall, young beach bunny that Ordell met in Florida. Together, they lie, cheat, and bamboozle their way from one poorly planned mishap to the other.

This novel is action-packed, with some excellent, down-in-the-gutter type-of-lean and descriptive dialogue. And, I really love down-in-the-gutter, descriptive dialogue.

In this 1978 crime caper from Elmore Leonard, nobody is totally innocent. And, each character bends the rules to get what they want.

This is the same Ordell Robbie from Rum Punch and its film adaptation, Jackie Brown. This time, he’s much younger, but already experienced in the dank, slimy underworld of criminal operations.

Ordell is a full-time grifter, thief, and criminal opportunist. While working on another caper, he spots a wealthy but vulnerable real estate developer in Detroit.

And he dreams up the idea to kidnap this developer’s wife, in exchange for some of the developer’s ill-gotten gains. Ordell has already done his research and made his plans. So, what could go wrong? Well, lots could go wrong, and people can get hurt!

If you’ve already seen the movie Jackie Brown, or read Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch, then you already know Louis Gara. But in The Switch, Louis is younger, and he teams up with Ordell on his get-rich kidnapping scheme.

Just like Ordell, Louis is also a career criminal, mostly taking down small, easy scores with low payouts. Basically, Louis is a trusting guy, and he’s an honest guy, too. Almost too honest to be a successful criminal.

As Louis gets deeper into Ordell’s plan, he realizes that he cannot trust anybody, and even begins to mistrust Ordell. And, he especially doesn’t like Richard, Ordell’s white supremacist associate-in-crime.

The white supremacist, Richard, used to live with his mother in Michigan. Since she passed away, he has had the whole house to himself.

Despite being a Black man, Ordell wants to use the Nazi-loving Richard’s house to hide out with the kidnap victim until he collects the ransom. Ordell finds Richard easy to manipulate, so he’s not too worried about the guy.

But, just like Ordell and Louis, this Richard-fellow can be violently and unpredictably dangerous, too. And, he’s got lots of weapons and ammo hidden throughout the house.

As a young, tall, attractive woman living in Florida, Melanie Ralston knows how to play men for money. So, that’s what she does, and she’s very successful at it, too!

He meets Ordell, who enlists her help with the kidnapping caper. Meanwhile, Melanie continues her grifts, petty thefts, and other opportunistic criminal endeavors.

But, can Ordell trust Melanie? What if she makes off with the ransom cash? Well, it appears that Melanie is not an honorable person, but we already knew that!

The cute, and even pretty Mickey Dawson is active in her local suburban country club. There, she beguiles the men, and gossips with their wives.

Mickey doesn’t work, because she’s married to an older, wealthy real estate developer named Frank Dawson. Fortunately, Mickey doesn’t mind not having to work. In fact, she enjoys it!

But, she has been under surveillance, both at home and at the club, and she didn’t even know it. Poor Mickey has no clue what was about to happen to her charmed, privileged life.

Mickey’s older husband, Frank, plays a lot of golf at the same country club where Mickey hangs out. At least, he plays golf when he has the time.

Usually, he’s extremely busy making lots of money working his real estate operations. Some of the money is clean, but most of it is so-called dirty money.

Unfortunately, Frank has a dishonest employee who knows Ordell. And, thanks to his friend’s information, Ordell realizes he can separate Frank’s so-called dirty money from Frank and switch it over to his filthy paws.

Basically, there are no angels in this story. For instance, Louis can’t trust Ordell, and Ordell can’t trust Melanie. And, Melanie wants Louis to double-cross Ordell, and help her steal the ransom money.

To make matters even worse, poor, innocent Mickey Dawson can’t trust her rich husband to do the right thing. Because, Frank has already made plans to leave Mickey. So, this is probably a group of people you wouldn’t want to associate with.

But wait, what about Mickey? Does she lie, steal, double-cross, cheat, or philander? Well, no, she’s a pretty good person.

So maybe she’s kind-of an angel. But wait again, Mickey is a human being, so she might slip up and do the wrong thing at times—right?

Well, that’s for the reader to find out in this exciting, escapist, underworld romp.

FINAL VERDICT:

I really enjoyed Elmore Leonard’s 1978 novel, The Switch. It was easy-to-read, exciting, with lots of interesting characters and unexpected twists-and-turns.

While I believe The Switch was not as good as the follow-up novel, Rum Punch, it still is an excellent way to take flight from the intense pressures of daily life.

So, if you enjoy reading about criminal capers, with some realistically sleazy characters stirred in to make things spicy, then The Switch deserves a place on your bookshelf!

Thanks for reading The Switch book review and book banter. If you’ve already read the book, or if you’ve read Rum Punch, please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Photos and content by Doug Martin and Our Book Banter