Edgar Award Best Novel Winner
LaBrava
by Elmore Leonard
Summary
Former Secret Service agent Joe LaBrava, now a photographer in a faded South Beach hotel, falls for an aging movie star who may be running a con of her own. Leonard fills Miami with grifters, low life schemers, and crackling dialogue while a blackmail scheme tightens around them. The novel showcases the lean style and offbeat characters that defined his crime writing.
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Historical Context & Significance
LaBrava won Elmore Leonard the 1984 Edgar Award for Best Novel as his reputation as a master of crime fiction took hold.