Freaky Deaky

By: Elmore Leonard

Narrated by: Frank Muller

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

He used to be on the bomb squad, but it's not until he transfers out that Chris Mankowski really begins juggling with dynamite. Rape and revenge are just the tip of the iceberg in a twisty tale that brings Detroit's denizens to life - and occasional death - in all their seedy glory. Electrifying, explosive, and unexpected, this is Elmore Leonard at his suspenseful best.

©1988 Elmore Leonard (P)1995 Recorded Books Inc.

Fun and Fast Paced. Great narration.

Leonard is a master of character building with a minimal amount of words. This yarn is feasible, funny, original and loads of fun. It's a train wreck waiting to happen, but getting there is so much fun!

The late Frank.Muller's brilliance really shine through with the distinct voices every character demands.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Master by a Master

Would you consider the audio edition of Freaky Deaky to be better than the print version?

Yes. Elmore Leonard was born to write for the audio genre. All of his novels are amazingly entertaining and because they are all conversation-filled, audio playback, especially when read by the erstwhile Frank Muller (maybe the best that ever was) or Groege Guidall (alive and the best there is). I've read/listened to almost all of E. Leonard's works and long for more.

What other book might you compare Freaky Deaky to and why?

Any Elmore Leonard...Any!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Always makes me laugh.

Any additional comments?

I wish your service were cheaper; I go through these books very quickly. I listen in the car, the gym and when I'm home alone, cooking.

Glad that I finally got to Audible.com.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Wowee! What a ride!

I just finished listening to Freaky Deaky, and there is a smile on my face as wide as the room I'm in. You just cannot have a better combination than Frank Muller and Elmore Leonard. Both artists with immense gifts, extraordinary skills and so prolific that we are honored to be able to listen to so much of their work. This book is set in Detroit, as many of Leonard's books have been. Both he and Mr. Muller know their territory back and forth. Our hero is Chris Mankowski, a suspended Detroit PD bomb expert. Our criminals are three; a man named Donell, a woman named Robin and a guy named Skip. Chris also meets and falls for an actress named Greta. The potential patsy of the piece is a pathetic multi-millionaire named Woody. Mr. Leonard takes his usual time setting the stage, but by the last five or six chapters the thing picks up speed and literally races to the finish. There is no way on earth that you can predict any part of the end, even if you've read dozens of Mr. Leonard's books. He is so inventive that words sorta fail me (sorta). It is hard to imagine having a whole lot more fun listening to an audio book than you get from listening to one of the Leonard-Muller collaborations. The twists and turns, Frank's absolute mastery of what he does, the quick pieces of dialogue with which Mr. Leonard creates these characters: what a pleasure! I can't guarantee that you will love this, which is too bad. I'd like to. These two guys are on top of the heap.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Leonard at his best

Wild fun, funny dialogue, changing allegiances and a very unusual and clever plot line distinguish this captivating crime story. Fascionating characters and a journey into a world of fascinating characters. Compelling.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Narrator is the best

Would you listen to Freaky Deaky again? Why?

Yes because of the narrator and Leonard keeps his stories interesting to the end. Usually not some rapid ending without reason as to how it got there

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I'm a Elmor Leonard fan but this wasn't his best

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Seemed more formulatic Elmore rather than some of his other work. He's written a ton so there's bound to be a few less good. With that said it'd be a decent listen for a plane ride.

If you’ve listened to books by Elmore Leonard before, how does this one compare?

First listen to a Leonard

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

narration was fair but I didn't find it engaging

Did Freaky Deaky inspire you to do anything?

I'll try a few other similar fiction audibles. So far non fiction seems to suit this medium for me. I just downloaded Killing Floor which is supposed to be a good read, so I'll give it a listen and see if this genre is for me on audible.

Any additional comments?

Not Elmore's best but if your a fan it might be worth a try.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Spun me like a drunk dervish

“It doesn't have to make sense, it just has to sound like it does.”
― Elmore Leonard, Freaky Deaky

"I don't see how you endure those people, and endure group effort, and endure conferences and stupid revision requests and kindred bullshit. Please write the Hollywood book and kill them off in ugly ways."
-- John D. MacDonald in a letter to Elmore Leonard in 1986

A fun, but messy, Elmore Leonard Detroit novel. While technically set in Detroit it has the feel of a California/Hollywood novel. I'm not sure exactly why, but between the actors, movies, pills, acid, trust funds, and ex-hippies this book might smell like Leonard's Detroit, but it rubs you hot and raw just like LA.

Almost the entire cast of this book are former 1960s peaceniks, including Chris Mankowski the cool and calm, probationed police protagonist. I could probably dicker with Elmore Leonard's lax attitudes towards rape and money, but for the most part, that is just bitching about a pit in pretty sweet peach. I liked the book, even when the plot was spinning me like a drunk dervish.

13 of 19 people found this review helpful

One of Elmore Leonard’s best works

I really enjoyed the ease of this book. I read out of sight if you months ago and I did not like how that book was a little confusing to read, especially with different characters speaking in the same paragraph.

In freaky deaky, There is 30 chapters to go by very quickly. They’re very episodic, but just like a storyline television series as breaking bad, the 20th and 19 season of South Park and 24, where this book feels like a thriller and there’s enough attention to individual characters, breaded off into simple sections. I think when you write about multiple characters, it’s the job of the author to make the story understandable and also do it in a way where it’s not elongated to a point where it becomes unengaging.

The strengths of this novel, and elements that I find in his novels are: usage of hypotheticals, What characters imagine of other people and their interpretations, what characters like to eat, what smells are interesting to them, knowing how to be lyrical with short and long sentences in a paragraph, starting and ending each chapter with something interesting that hooks you, And he does have a strong ability to be very experimental in his writing– – It feels that his influences does partially Stem from poetry. He does know how to write dialogue for characters very well, and I don’t feel he’s like Quintin Tarantino where it’s the same Way of talking for every character and I do like his usage of regionalism in the novel, you know how Detroit feels and looks through his characters point of view.

Frank Muller is transcendent and he really has a great vibe in the articulation of the story and the characters. I really want to read everything that audible has with this narrator doing the Elmore Leonard stories.

From reading this novel. I’ve learned a lot from wanting to become a better writer for my own novels and screenplays. As Elmore Leonard said, it’s really about knowing how character sound and doing unless revisions until it sounds right, and in addition, not being afraid of the dialogue – – let characters get to a point where they know how to speak for themselves and don’t be worried about foul language in prose or in dialogue if it’s necessary for the story.

Along with Raymond Carver, for the contemporary era of literature, literary work after the 1980s, he Elmore Leonard is somebody that any person serious about writing in a very contemporary way should study and he should be talked about and colleges. Every time I read him, he feels like a step forward and what I want to learn to become a better writer for novels and screenplays.

Hold onto your hat

Elmore Leanord does it again all the ingredients to make you laugh,hold your breath, and just wonder who's next. Detroit never looked so good.

Excellent Performance of Classic Elmore Leonard

Great performance by Frank Muller. The story is good, though some of the '60s radical details seem a little corny (seriously, who has a "craving" for LSD?). If you're new to Leonard, start with something like Swag, but if you know you like him you'll enjoy this.