The Hot Kid

By Elmore Leonard

Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

The Hot Kid is a 2005 crime novel by Elmore Leonard, set in Oklahoma during the outlaw era of the 1920s and 1930s. Leonard, who began his career writing Westerns, returned here to the period of bank robbers and lawmen. Carlos Webster, a young deputy U.S. marshal, becomes famous for his quick draw and his ambition to be the best-known lawman in the country. He pursues Jack Belmont, an oilman's son turned bank robber who wants to be Public Enemy Number One, in a story full of Leonard's sharp dialogue.

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• Stephen King: “Leonard began his career (back when I was in diapers) writing Westerns. He finally achieved success in the ’80s with urban shoot-’em-ups. In The Hot Kid he has combined both genres.”