Books like Pagan Babies by Elmore Leonard
Father Terry Dunn, a whiskey‑drinking priest in Detroit, escapes a tax‑fraud indictment by retreating to Rwanda and schemes to raise money for the country’s orphans. When a former informant starts tailing him, Terry enlists ex‑convict and stand‑up comic Debbie Dewey for a joint heist. Together, they attempt to pull off a bigger payoff than either can manage alone—yet Terry’s own motives may be suspect. The story weaves crime, comedy, and redemption in the gritty streets of Detroit and the African backdrop of Rwandan orphanages.
First publish date: 2000
Genre: Crime Fiction/Heist Fiction
Authors: Elmore Leonard
★
★
★
★
★
0.0 (0 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for Pagan Babies by Elmore Leonard are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to Pagan Babies (25 similar books)
John Grisham’s debut legal thriller follows a murder trial in Mississippi that explores capital punishment, racial discrimination, and the complexities of the judicial system.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In a sizzling Florida smuggling ring, Ordell "Whitebread" Robbie sells illicit weapons while Jackie Burke, a flight‑attendant courier, must dodge federal crackdowns and decide whether to stay loyal or walk away.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Mob-connected loanshark Chili Palmer leaves Miami for Hollywood, chasing a deadbeat client and an opportunity to make a killer movie, only to find the glitter‑filled film world is as treacherous as any mob killing.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Michael Corleone returns from a three‑year exile in Sicily to re‑enter America alongside young bandit Salvatore Giuliano, whose reckless acts have upset the Sicilian Mafia.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A Florida judge, sentenced to death by a vengeful criminal, navigates a high-stakes legal showdown in Elmore Leonard’s gritty thriller.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Nelson DeMille’s thriller follows Wall‑Street lawyer John Sutter as he confronts a Mafia don on Long Island’s Gold Coast, weaving friendship, seduction and betrayal into a suspenseful legal drama.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Ex-activists turned explosive renegades hunt a former comrade in Detroit, forcing the police to foil their revenge plot.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A police officer is taken hostage during a prison visit, escapes, and then hunts the person who held her captive.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
FBI special agent Pierce Quincy teams with ex‑cop Rainie Connor to chase a psychopathic killer who preys on the minds of his victims, forcing them to confront the darkest fears close to home.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A gripping psychological suspense novel set in Dublin, focusing on two detectives investigating a series of murders in the woods.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Two ex‑convicts, Ordell Robbie and Louis Gara, plan a high‑stakes kidnapping of a wealthy developer’s wife in Detroit, but their scheme goes awry when the husband resists, forcing a desperate Plan B with a vengeful housewife.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Dennis Lenahan, a daredevil at the Tishomingo Lodge & Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, finds his thrill killed when he witnesses a mob hit during a high-dive, plunging him into a deadly game of organized crime.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Together with a tough young drifter named Jack Ryan, hedonistic Nancy Hayes plans her private revenge on a former lover by stealing a fifty thousand dollar payroll.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Ex‑military rancher Vincent Majestyk’s attempt to live a quiet life in Arizona is upended when a powerful mob forces him into a deadly conflict he cannot escape.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Parker escapes a botched country‑town bank robbery, only to be pursued by a shotgun‑armed local who offers him a partnership in a new heist.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
When a small-time Detroit thief, Ernest Stickley Jr., is caught by used‑car dealer Frank Ryan, he is offered a chance to join Ryan’s gun‑laden schemes. Stickley must decide how far to bend the rules to survive the underworld.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A Detroit homicide cop seeks solace on vacation, but his brief escape to Palm Beach turns into another investigation when a gun‑collecting millionaire and a bitter ex‑cop bring a Motown murder to the Sunshine State.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Ex-secret service agent turned photographer Joe LaBrava becomes embroiled in a Miami crisis center drama when he meets a former movie star under threat, forcing him to step into the role of hero.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Adam Miller's love affair with a Jewish woman in post-war Venice is threatened by the dark underbelly of the Occupation and the murky past of the city itself.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In 1930s Tulsa, Deputy US Marshal Carl Webster hunts bank‑robber Jack Belmont, a young outlaw determined to become a public enemy.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Detective Parker, the tough, smart heister from Richard Stark’s hard‑boiled series, shreds New York’s underworld in a relentless quest for revenge in ‘The Hunter.’
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Al Rosen, hiding in Israel, becomes a hero after rescuing elderly tourists from a hotel fire, setting off a chain of events that entwines him with the underworld.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In downtown Detroit, a retired lawyer’s household turns deadly when a night of heavy drinking and mistaken identities leaves two bodies, two hit men, and a treasure in a safe‑deposit box, prompting detective Frank Delsa to unravel a labyrinth of crime.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
Trouble in Midnight by Elmore LeonardFifty to Sixty by Elmore Leonard
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!