Tishomingo Blues

By: Elmore Leonard

Narrated by: Frank Muller

Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Things are going along okay with Dennis' gig at the Tishomingo Lodge & Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, "the Casino Capital of the South", until the day he looks down from the high-dive platform and witnesses a mob hit, Dixie style.

Turns out there was a second witness, Robert Taylor from Detroit, who carries a picture of his great-granddaddy's lynching along with a gun in a briefcase and listens to Delta blues while cruising the back roads of Mississippi in his black Jaguar. Robert works for a man from up north who has come to play General Grant in a Civil War battle reenactment, and like Dennis, Robert has a death-defying act of his own: he's sleeping with his boss's wife.

Adding further intrigue are the women. Vernice lures Dennis with the whitest thighs he's ever seen. Diane comes to do a story on Dennis and wants to take him to Memphis. And still another comes along to give Dennis the surprise of his life. But it's the scams Robert Taylor plays that move the action through all kinds of unexpected twists and turns.

Tishomingo Blues rings true with the best-selling author's dead-on dialogue, capturing the flavor and rhythms of the South, and finds him plotting at his unpredictable best.

©2002 Elmore Leonard (P)2002 HarperCollinsPublishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A Leonard novel is an event, and for good reason. Over the past 40 years, this writer has evolved into the undisputed champ of the American crime novel, and he hasn't lost a step.... Prime Leonard, prime reading." (Publishers Weekly)

"Frank Muller gives a virtuoso performance in bringing this large and varied cast to life....This is a Muller performance to savor." (AudioFile)

"Pure entertainment." (Booklist)

"Pure reading pleasure." (Playboy)

Loved it!

Fast-moving plot with quirky characters and wild escapades. Terrific story with an unexpected ending.

Tawdry. Poor use of 7 hours.

Struggled to finish. Hard to follow so many undeveloped characters. No consistent plot. A bit like a spatter painting made with the run off and stench of decomposing waste.

First Time Leonard Lemon

I am a huge Ellmore Leonard fan. I both read and listen to his books. This is the first to disappoint. Lackluster characters and not the usual grab from either the plot or the characters. I don't recommend this listen and I never thought I'd write that.

Not much.

After three heroic tries I finally finished this audiobook. I gave it my all too. Had to force myself to listen. The author gives no reason to care a whit for the main character. The "bad guy" isn't really all that much more evil than any other character (of which there are a blue million). Not much of a effort my Elmore Leonard. I think he phoned this one in. Frank Muller, however, did a fine job with the narration. He is sorely missed in the world of audiobooks.

all character no plat

This is a so-so story that is all character development and very little plot.

Narrator is worst ever heard

Would you try another book from Elmore Leonard and/or Frank Muller?

Elmore yes ... Muller never..very tedious to listen to

What did you like best about this story?

Life like and historical

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Frank Muller?

Anyone

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No but very entertaining

Any additional comments?

Very disappointed about Mueler and more so after I saw I wouldn't be able to listen to many of Elmore's books.