Mark's Still Smiling About This Book

Elmore Leonard, New York Times bestselling author and "the hippest, funniest national treasure in sight" (Washington Post), brings his trademark wit and inimitable style to this twisting, gripping—and sometimes playful—tale of modern-day piracy

Dara Barr, documentary filmmaker, is at the top of her game. She's covered the rape of Bosnian women, neo-Nazi white supremacists, and post-Katrina New Orleans, and has won awards for all three. Now, looking for a bigger challenge, Dara and her right-hand-man, Xavier LeBo, a six-foot-six, seventy-two-year-old African American seafarer, head to Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, to film modern-day pirates hijacking merchant ships.

They learn soon enough that almost no one in the Middle East is who he seems to be. The most successful pirate, driving his Mercedes around Djibouti, appears to be a good guy, but his pal, a cultured Saudi diplomat, has dubious connections. Billy Wynn, a Texas billionaire, plays mysterious roles as the mood strikes him. He's promised his girlfriend, Helene, a nifty fashion model, that he'll marry her if she doesn't become seasick or bored while circling the world on his yacht. And there's Jama Raisuli, a black al Qaeda terrorist from Miami, who's vowed to blow up something big.

What Dara and Xavier have to decide, besides the best way to stay alive: Should they shoot the action as a documentary or turn it into a Hollywood feature film?

Mark says:

"How is it that one persons zone of lawless chaos is another persons "spring break"? At least it seems that way.

A documentary film maker, shooting a movie about Somali pirates, in an unsettled place where Al-Qaeda, native Muslim fundamentalists, rival clans of pirates, gun runners, a rogue billionaire from east Texas, and everyone's secret desire to be a movie star all mix together is just bound to bring out the best in people. If you believe that, then you've never read Elmore Leonard. But if you like to be entertained by characters. Dirty-faced angels all, whose dialog is cool enough to temper the tropical heat and sharp enough to let you feel a step or two quicker and smarter, then Djibouti is a perfect read. It will bring smiles for a month or two after you finish reading, and you might find yourself rereading parts of it just for the dialog."