Out of Sight, by Elmore Leonard (Penguin, £6.99 in UK)

Maybe it's just me, but I thought the great man just a little out of sorts in this heist story featuring a deputy US marshal …

Maybe it's just me, but I thought the great man just a little out of sorts in this heist story featuring a deputy US marshal who is blonde, bright and cute and an escaped bank robber who is blond, bright and anything but cute. Then again, all the familiar Leonard ingredients are there the one liners, the world weariness, the masterly sifts of narrative direction. Yeah, maybe I just wasn't in the mood for these real cool dudes.

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace is a former Irish Times journalist