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Be Cool
383 pages
A slick, dialogue-heavy joyride through the sleazy, absurd intersection of the mob and the music industry.
What it feels like
Reading this feels like eavesdropping on the coolest, most dangerous conversation in a sun-drenched Los Angeles diner. It is a masterclass in effortless swagger, driven almost entirely by razor-sharp, rhythmic dialogue rather than heavy exposition. The atmosphere is slick and chaotic, steeped in the sleazy glamour of the music industry and the bumbling menace of organized crime. You are not here for deep emotional resonance; you are here for the sheer fun of watching hustlers out-hustle each other in a world where gangsters and Hollywood executives are virtually indistinguishable. It is a brisk, darkly comedic caper that will delight anyone who loves deadpan humor, cynical industry satire, and characters who never lose their cool, even with a gun to their head.
- Mood
- slick
- chaotic
- sun-drenched
- sleazy
- Tone
- wry
- cynical
- deadpan
- satirical
- cool
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- absurdity of showbiz · art of the hustle · reinvention · blurred lines of crime and business
- The writing
- Lean, effortlessly cool, and driven almost entirely by razor-sharp, rhythmic dialogue.
- The arc
- A breezy, darkly comedic ride through high-stakes chaos that leaves you smirking at the audacity of its players.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love snappy banter, bumbling gangsters, and cynical takedowns of the entertainment industry.
Content notes
- gun violence
- profanity
- murder
- drug use
About the book
After one triumph and one flop, Mafia loan-shark-turned-Hollywood producer Chili Palmer is desperate for another hit... of the celluloid sort. When a similarly relocated former mob associate takes a hit of the bullet-in-the-brain variety while they're power-lunching, Chili begins to see all kinds of story possibilities. The whacked recording company mogul's midday demise is leading Chili into the twisted world of rock stars, pop divas, and hip-hop gangstas, which is rife with drama, jealousy, and betrayal -- all the stuff that makes big box office. Tinsel Town had better take cover, because Chili Palmer's working on another movie. And that's when people tend to die. Leonard's sequel to the highly successful Get Shorty.
Description from Open Library.
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