Review: All He Saw Was the Girl – Peter Leonard

Paperback: 290 pages
Publisher: Story Plant, The (May 15, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1611880424
ISBN-13: 978-1611880427
Order book here:

amazon

Order E-book here:
amazon

Characters:

William McCabe – Loyola University Student
Charles “Chip” Tallenger III – Friend of McCabe’s, Son of a Senator.
Sharon Vanelli – Wife of Ray Vanelli, Separated
Joey Palermo – Low Level Detroit Mobster.
Ray Vanelli – Secret Service Agent, Fired for behavior
Angela Gennaro – Daughter of a Don, plots kidnapping.
Roberto Mazara – Small time hood and kidnapper.

Synopsis:

Two college students, Chip and McCabe get in trouble for stealing a car. The newspaper article mentioning them mixes up their names. They mis-identify McCabe is the son of a Senator. Things begin to go downhill for McCabe from that point as he’s kidnapped, shot at by the mob, and is in pursuit of the ransom money.

Review

I liked the story Mr. Leonard told in this book. The writing was fast paced, the characters were interesting, and he wrote it in a style that kept you turning the pages. The book starts out telling the story as it unfolds for all the various players, but as the events unfold, the players find themselves involved in each others lives.

This was my second time reading one of Mr. Leonard’s books, and I wasn’t disappointed. I’d be very eager to revisit these characters again. I’d like to see more of what happens in McCabe’s life.

If there were one drawback I could think of, McCabe’s motivation for getting the money was never fully spelled out. Was he driven by greed, revenge, sense of adventure.

If you like thrillers, mob stories, and a fast paced adventure, then pick up this book. There is some strong language and violence, so older readers probably. Otherwise, grab a copy, read it, and drop back by to let us know what you think.

Excerpt:

Sharon was thinking, who was this guy lived in a five-thousand-square-foot house – not that his taste was any good – on Lake St. Clair, had nothing but leisure time or so it seemed?

He called her four, five times a day, said, “How you doing?”

And Sharon would say, “Same as I was when you called fifteen minutes ago.”

“Baby, I miss you. Tell them you’re sick, we’ll go to the casino.” Or he’d be at the track or a Tigers day game, he’d say, “I gotta see you. Take the afternoon off, I’ll send a car.”

She’d been going out with him for three weeks and it was getting serious. They’d meet at noon, check into a hotel a couple times a week and spend two hours in bed, screwing and drinking champagne. It was something, best sex she’d ever had in her life. He did things to her nobody had ever done before. She’d say, where’d you learn that? And he’d say, you inspire me, beautiful. The only bad thing, he called her Sharona, or my Sharona. Everything else was great so she let it go.

They’d take his boat out on Lake St. Clair and she’d sunbathe topless. Something she’d never done in her life and never imagined herself doing. She felt invigorated, liberated. He always told her she looked good, complimented her outfit. Showered her with gifts, bought her clothes and jewelry. She felt like a teenager again. They’d meet and talk and touch each other and kiss. She was happy for the first time in years. She had to be careful. Ray, the next time he came home, might notice something and get suspicious.Why’re you so happy? she could hear him saying – like there was something wrong with it.

But this relationship with Joey also made her nervous. Things were happening too fast. She was falling for him and she barely knew him, and she was married.

Tour Schedule

May 15th:  Review~Cheryl @ CMash Loves To Read
May 16:  Review~DDS @ b00kr3vi3ws
May 19th:  Review & Interview~Alan @ Tontowilliams’s Electronic Scrapbook
May 21st:  Review~Misty @ The Top Shelf
May 22nd:  Guest Post~Misty @ The Top Shelf
May 22nd:  Book  Promo~Jo @ As The Romans Do
May 23rd:  Review~Rick @ Rhodes Review
May 31st:  Review~Karen @ Practical Frugality
June 4th:  Review~Dana @ Let’s Book It
June 7th:  Review~Ryder @ Ryder Islington’s Blog
June 7th:  Review~Jo @ Writers and Authors
June 11th:  Review & Interview~Crystal @ My Reading Room
June 12th:  Review & Guest Post~Paula @ Book Lover Stop
June 14th:  Review~Kim @ Kim’s Bookish Place
June 15th:  Review~Jen @ A Garden Carried in the Pocket
June 18th:  Review~Kate @ Read2Review
June 19th:  Review~Krystal @ Live To Read~Krystal
June 20th:  Review~Kristi @ Books and Needlepoint
June 21st:  Review~ Lori @ Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book
July 23rd:  Review~Melissa @ Keeping Up With The Rheinlanders
June 25th:  Review~Tami @ Just One More Thing…
June 26th:  Review~Fenny @ The Crazy Rambler
June 28th:  Review~Marjorie @ GoodReads
June 29th:  Review~Gautami @ Everything Distils Into Reading
July 2nd:  Review~Mk @ Popcorn Reads
July 3rd:  Review~Molly @ Reviews By Molly
July 5th: Guest Author Showcase~OmniMysteryNews
July 7th: Review~Cheryl @ Sweeping The USA
July 9th:  Review~Heather @ Proud Book Nerd
July 12th: Review~Danie @ Booktacular
July 14th:  Review~Kerry-Anne @ Reading A Little Bit Of Everything
July 16th:  Review~Audra @ Unabridged Chick
July 18th:  Review~Kathleen @ Jersey Girl Book Reviews
July 19th:  Review~Suzie @ The Bunnys Review
July 25th:  Review and Guest Post~Vicki @ I’d Rather Be Reading At The Beach
July 26th:  Review~Kathleen @ Celticlady’s Reviews
July 27th:  Review~Elizabeth @ Silver’s Reviews
July 30th:  Review~Jean @ JeanBookNerd

About the Author

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Cheryl at Partners in Crime Tours for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review. You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

One Response to “Review: All He Saw Was the Girl – Peter Leonard”

  1. Cheryl "Mash" Says:

    Nice review. Thank you.

Reply