Finding a way to draw a South Florida building contractor into a story that derived from shenanigans in the south of California was a bit more of a concern, but once I hit upon the connection, I began to realize that Deal was not necessarily tied to the Miami landscape inevitably and that he could have a long and varied career ahead of him after all. Subsequent installments could, and did, take our man just about anywhere, including the frozen Midwest, the Caribbean Islands, the Florida Keys and Key West, and, most memorable to me, Havana.
When I was finished, the original publisher sent a copy to Elmore Leonard, hoping for an endorsement and back came a message that warmed my heart: “Chinese gangsters and porno movie stars…I loved it.” Never a man to waste words, Dutch. And thanks again. All that and the attempt to keep John Deal a living, breathing person drawn from real life into an impossible mess. Maybe I managed it, after all. You be the judge.
Les Standiford, Miami, Florida, June 2004
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Deal to Die For Page 37