After shooting his way through Prohibition in “The Hot Kid,” US Marshal Carl Webster returns for another adventure during World War II. Carl is married now, but his wife Louly is a Marine gunner, who is currently at a base teaching new recruits. Carl is still living in Oklahoma, but heads for Detroit as soon as he is able when some German POWs escape from a camp near his father’s pecan farm. Carl knows that Jurgen Schrenk, who spent most of his childhood in Detroit, still has friends there, so Carl heads north to apprehend him. Once there, he meets Honey Deal, the ex-wife of German sympathizer Walter Schoen, who is a dead ringer for Heinrich Himmler and a little too proud of it. Carl believes Walter is hiding Jurgen and another escaped POW, Otto Penzler, an SS officer. Carl is a lucky man, and things usually go his way, but he has to tread very carefully on this assignment because he finds himself incredibly attracted to Honey Deal, who makes no bones about being very attracted to him. He made a promise to Louly on their wedding day, but Honey is a temptation he can barely resist. Meanwhile, Walter has decided he has a special destiny to fulfill, and draws his German spy ring friends into the plan, even though all of them are rolling their eyes over it. As usual in an Elmore Leonard novel, we are treated to the inner thoughts and points of view of every character. It’s especially well-done in this book, from the self-important Walter who bores everyone, to the Mata Hari-like Vera Mezwa and her creepy cross-dressing sidekick Bohdan. Most interesting and amusing was the prevailing attitude of the supposed German sympathizers who have largely grown bored with the Nazi agenda. Everyone is up to something, and their motivations all converge at the climax of the story, with Leonard’s typical ironic touch. He has a way of making events come full circle that leaves me thinking about it with a smile for days afterwards.I have been a huge Elmore Leonard fan since I first picked up Maximum Bob several years ago, and this is the best book he has written in years. It’s better than its prequel, The Hot Kid, though I give Mr. Leonard kudos for bringing two different facets of American history to vivid life through the life of Carl Webster. It’s almost impossible to describe the subtle way in which he breathes life into his characters and weaves his story through them, but I’m hooked! Elmore Leonard is the king of modern crime fiction, and this book is another jewel in the crown.
3 STARS"The odd thing about Walter Schoen, German born but now running a butcher shop in Detroit, he's a dead ringer for Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS and the Gestapo. They even share the same birthday.Honey Deal, Walter's American wife, doesn't know that Walter is a member of a spy ring that sends U.S. war production data to Germany and gives shelter to escaped German prisoners of war. But she's tired of telling him jokes he doesn't understand—it's time to get a divorce.Along comes Carl Webster, the hot kid of the Marshals Service. He's looking for Jurgen Schrenk, a former Afrika Korps officer who escaped from a POW camp in Oklahoma. Carl's pretty sure Walter's involved with keeping Schrenk hidden, so Carl gets to know Honey, hoping she'll take him to Walter. Carl then meets Vera Mezwa, the nifty Ukrainian head of the spy ring who's better looking than Mata Hari, and her tricky lover Bohdan with the Buster Brown haircut and a sly way of killing.Honey's a free spirit; she likes the hot kid marshal and doesn't much care that he's married. But all Carl wants is to get Jurgen Schrenk without getting shot. And then there's Otto—the Waffen-SS major who runs away with a nice Jewish girl. It's Elmore Leonard's world—gritty, funny, and full of surprises." (From Amazon)Not as good as the first novel in this series but an okay book.
Do You like book Up In Honey's Room (2007)?
Perhaps when the Greatest Generation has passed away there will reenactment societies and other types of "fan clubs" that celebrate and honor American life at the end of the Great Depression and during the World War II era (i.e., the FDR presidency). If that does happen, Elmore Leonard's 2007 Up in Honey's Room is guaranteed a readership forever. This is a fun read that does a great job of describing the Home Front in Detroit, Oklahoma and other locales in the late 30s and mid-40s. Had Leonard lived longer, this could have been the start of a wonderful series. All the main characters were very engaging. I would have enjoyed reading more about them and the world where they lived. Enjoy.
—Joe Cummings
Every now and then, Elmore Leonard comes up with a character good enough to use twice. Carl Webster, the Hot Kid, U.S. Marshall has gunned down a dozen criminals. Tho personally low-key, as as are all Leonard’s heroes, he’s good, knows it, and likes to talk about it, especially to reporters. Near the end of World War II, he’s sent to Detroit to catch Jurgen, escaped POW, personal acquaintance, and heckuva nice guy.In Detroit, Webster immediately runs into Honey (think young Lauren Bacall), former wife of Nazi sympathizer and Heinrich Himmler look-alike Walter Schoen. Walter’s part of a spy ring, run without much enthusiasm by Vera, and her transvestite boyfriend Bo. The war’s ending, and Vera and Bo are concerned about how many people know about their spying, thinking they should maybe reduce that number.Honey’s interested, real interested, in Carl. Carl’s intrigued too, but he’s already married to Louly, a marine, who’s teaching tail gunners to fire machine guns. This is pretty funny stuff, done in Leonard’s trademark understatement. --JohnFrom ICPL Staff Picks Blog
—Iowa City Public Library
I'm a long-time fan of Elmore Leonard--I think he's at the top of most authors read list since I started keeping track of the books I've read a dozen or so years ago. This is a more recent work by him and it isn't one of his best but come on, it's still Elmore Leonard! Sort of a loose sequel to one of his that I loved--THE HOT KID--and set in Detroit in the 1940s with escaped Nazis, flirtacious dames, Oklahoma marshall Carl Webster and the usual assortment of Leonard characters. Not a Leonard book I would start with by him but it's a quick, fun read with all the usual saucy dialogue you'd expect.
—Joshua
