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"Leonard is cool and darkly hilarious ... Thanks to Leonard's twisted worldview everyting leading to [the ending] is pure reading pleasure." --Playboy

"A riotious several hours with guys whose idea of a suitable enderment to their last bedmate is a heartfult, 'honey, you could be a pro.'" --Kirkus (starred)

"Leonand transposes the conventions of popular fiction as adroitly as he rattles off his signature dialogue-to-die-dor ... Leonard can think as quickly as his characters." --Booklist

"As readers watch, they'll know that they're standing at ground-zero Leonard, surrounded by some of the sweetest prose between covers this year and caught up in a crime thriller that takes admirable choices -- aesthetically and morally." --Publisher's Weekly

In Rwanda during the genocide, Hutu thugs storm into a church and kill everyone except Father Terry Dunn, on the alter saying his first mass. He's powerless to do anything about it--until one day he faces several of the killers and exacts a chilling penance.

But is Terry Dunn really a priest?

He doesn't always appear to act like one. He comes home to Detroit and runs into Debbie Dewey who's doing standup at a comedy club. In her set, Debbie tells what it was like in prison, down for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Terry and Debie hit it off; they have the same sense of humor and similar goals in that both are out to raise money. Terry says for the Little Orphans of Rwanda; Debbie to score off a guy who conned her out of sixty-seven thousand dollars. This is Randy, now wealthy, who runs a fashionable restaurant and is connected to the Detroit Mafia.

It's Debbie who keeps prying until she learns the bizarre truth about Terry; Debbie who sells him on going in together for a much bigger payoff than either could manage alone.

What happened in Rwanda remains alive through the unexpected twists and turns of the plot. But even with this tragic background. Pagan Babies comes off as Leonard's funniest straight-faced novel to date.

About the Author: Elmore Leonard has written thirty-five previous novels, including such bestsellers as Be Cool, Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Riding the Rap, Pronto, Rum Punch, and Maximum Bob. He has also written numerous screenplays. Many of his books--Get Shorty and Out of Sight among them--have been made into movies; many more are to come. He and his wife live in Bloomfield Village, Michigan.

About the Performer: Steve Buscemi is one of the most unique and recognizable actors of out time. He has been seen is films such as Armageddon, Con Air, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and most recently, The Imposters.

Written by Elmore Leonard - Performed by Steve Buscemi - 4 CASSETTES - 6 hours

Publisher, Bantam Doubleday Dell (September 2000)