Sharp, taut and deceptive describe Elmore Leonard’s SWAG. The story follows a pair of seemingly mismatched hold up men who convince themselves that a cool hand and a businesslike approach to robbing liquor stores and supermarkets, complete with idiot proof guidelines, can lead to a steady influx of cash and the good life. And throughout much of the book, life makes nice and their strategy pays off handsomely. Leonard follows the characters but does not really reveal them. They settle into their new lifestyle without much reflection. Along with the characters, the reader is lulled into that same comfort zone. At one point I realized that I too had stopped looking beyond the next robbery. Then the opportunity for something bigger comes along. This is when the business façade falls away and Leonard pumps blood into his characters. The main characters break from their relative safe path stepping up among people they only think they know. The supporting characters stop floating about the periphery and land with heavy feet. Everyone becomes more alive. More threatening. And certainly a whole lot more interesting. The last third of the book, after Leonard deftly shifts gears, leaps almost out of the readers hands.