Life of Crime misses Leonard's rhythm

Some may pine for George Clooney's chin or Scarlett Johansson's lips, but no body part should be more envied than Elmore Leonard's ear.

Leonard's dialogue seemed to have walked in off the street. He filled countless pages with the stuff, capturing with preternatural acuity the diverse, often ungrammatical, often comic ping - ponging sounds of American voices shooting the breeze.

And he did it, like a magician, without showing his hand. "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it," was one of his 10 rules. He probably would have rewritten these sentences.