Escape from Five Shadows audiobook

A good old fashioned western with a different story line. Not the usual shootem up.

Framed and sentenced to hard labor at the prison at Five Shadows, Corey Bowen isn't about to serve out his time quietly, even though every escape attempt ends in disaster. Until two different women take an interest in freeing him-- one, a woman longing for escape herself, and willing to go to any lengths to achieve it; she offers Bowen a way out if he will kill her spineless alcoholic husband in the process. And two, a lovely young girl who believes in Corey's innocence and may have the legal connections to get him out... if he's patient. But Corey is NOT patient, and when an opportunity to bust out presents itself, he sees no other option but to take it.The characters in this one are finely-drawn and compelling, although not quite as meticulous as his later work. Despite that, ESCAPE FROM FIVE SHADOWS is a thrilling, tightly-plotted western with lots of action and unexpected twists. The ending is maybe a bit too convenient, with everything lining up nicely for Bowen in the last couple of chapters, but you know, that's just the kind of novel this is. Not on the same level as say, FORTY LASHES LESS ONE or GUNSIGHTS, but still a very enjoyable read.

First straight western I’ve ever read. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Some of the lingo was hard to understand at times but other than that I thought it was a great little story. Moves at a good pace and the author makes it easy for you to root for the main character and hate the antagonist.

Another great one from the master. Excellent!

Great genre, great writing, and the great Richard Poe performance. I actually visualized this as I listened; no tangential thinking.

loved it 😊

Can't you totally see Lee Van Cleef as the villain?

** spoiler alert ** Excellent western by Elmore Leonard. In only his third novel, Leonard appears to have mastered the art of storytelling, western-style. In "Escape From Five Shadows," a young man, wrongly convicted of cattle rustling, plots to escape a from a brutal and highly illegal private prison camp that gets money from the U.S. Government. The book's protagonist, Corey Bowen, is an intelligent young man who was tricked into participating in a theft of an honorable man's cattle. After a weak, and unjust trial, Corey and the shady Earl Manring (the man who conned Corey) are eventually sent to a horrible work camp run by the amoral and sadistic monster Frank Renda, and his murderous sidekick Brazil. Corey's first escape attempt was brave enough to impress Salvaje and his Mimbrenos riders, even though they had to capture him and bring him back to prison. Corey's second escape is going to be the one. Thanks to the help of fellow inmate Ike Pryde, and Karla Demery, the young daughter of the nearby station master, who believed in Corey's innocence, and worked hard to get him a new lawyer, as well as Lizann Falvey, the unhappy wife of weak prison camp bookkeeper Willis Falvey, Corey will makes his last stand against Renda, against Brazil, and even against the Mimbrenos in order to escape that Renda's prison nightmare for good.What a good book! Thanks to Elmore Leonard's thoughtful and clear writing, I found myself once again fully engaged in both his story and his individual characters, to the point where at times I could not put the book down. "Escape From Five Shadows" is a fast read not just because it is only 266 pages. It is a fast read because the author eliminated any fat, and just kept the words down to the fact, descriptions and emotions of the story...and is STILL a full and rich novel. By book's end, you are sorry that the adventure is over, and at the same time left with a good feeling that a writer treated you to such a fun time.

This is my fifth Elmore Leonard book, and my third of his westerns. Unlike the first two (The Bounty Hunters and The Law at Randado), which were a bit more "by-the-numbers" approaches to western stories, Escape from Five Shadows at least attempts to broach more overarching themes about the human condition--innocence, trust, honor and integrity.Why is this a five star book then, if I use the word "attempts" instead of "succeeds?" I grade on a curve, and as westerns go (especially for a writer who was still in the very early stages of what would become a prolific career) this was a fun one. My big fear when reading westerns is that the prose will be bogged down by flowery descriptions of scenery instead of exploring the much more interesting human characters. Not so with Leonard. The dialogue crackles and the characters' pursuit of each of their goals and desires moves the plot along at a good clip. In fact, this story would work very well set in the modern era. The western setting really only serves as a framing device and, as such, Leonard probably didn't feel the need to constrain himself within the larger-than-life scope demanded by most western tales.I'm a big fan of moments/set-pieces and Leonard's early westerns are full of memorable scenes. The Bounty Hunters has the cavalry clash and quasi duel between Flynn and Rellis, and the Law at Randado has the old mine shoot-out and the final confrontation in the bar. Without spoilers, Escape from Five Shadows surpasses both of those books in that regard. Here is my ranking of the five Leonard books I've read, in case anyone is interested (I've seen other reviewers who have read several Leonard books do the same thing, and I found it helpful when I was deciding what books of his to get started with):1. Get Shorty2. Be Cool3. Escape from Five Shadows4. The Law at Randado5. The Bounty Hunters

From my book blog www.JetBlackDragonfly.blogspot.comEscape From Five Shadows is the third novel from Elmore Leonard, best known for later titles Get Shorty, 52 Pick-Up, 3:10 to Yuma, and Out of Sight. Among many of his books (five of his westerns were turned into films before 1972 alone), these were turned into hit movies.Written in 1956, it's a top western with tension, romance, action, bravery - just the thing you are looking for.Karla watches the prison road gangs each day as they stop at her family ranch house, which is also Pinaleno Mail Station Number 3. One prisoner especially, Corey Bowen, stands out to her - there is a connection. The nearby convict camp Five Shadows is run with an iron hand by the sadistic Frank Renda, who makes his money by forcing the men to do day labour. Everyone is afraid of Renda including the main camp Officer and his wife, who are also treated as prisoners. No mail goes out, they will never leave. As Karla works to help this unknown prisoner get a new trial, Bowen plans his escape.This was terrific - a well rounded story with a finale solved with cunning and intelligence rather than a shoot out. Bowen is an honourable man, but will stop at nothing to escape his unjust imprisonment. They were all great characters, all trapped in some way. It reminded me of an episode of my favourite western Cheyenne starring Clint Black. I found it as exciting and involving to read today as it was back in 1956. This is the second dynamite novel of the West I've read from Elmore Leonard, and it makes me want to seek out more. Just great storytelling.

I am gradually making my way through the entire Elmore Leonard back catalog and, fortunately, I still have at least 20-25 books still to go. I like to rely upon shorter Western novellas to cleanse my reading palate after a longer, more literary work, and "Escape from Five Shadows" fit that bill perfectly. Leonard always paints three dimensional characters within the typically strong good vs. evil Western structure so his novels are never caricatures of the form. From the well-meaning convict to the corrupt foreman to the powerless work camp warden to the honorable Native American tracker, all would be far worse in someone else's hands. But Leonard works his usual wonders.

Stepping out of the crime noir genre, so to speak, with an early Elmore Leonard Western.Pleasantly surprised, shadowing the actions of Corey Bowen, convict. Story is a quick read, easy to pick up, and has its own ending without overdone exposition. Believable corruption, familiar character representation, and locale.Leonard has several more modern stories translated to film and TV, but he also added westerns to his credit. This story is from 1956, worthy of a reprint in 2013 for a reason.Worth a look, western fan or not.Thanks for reading.

A masterpiece of a western, so much stuff is happening but yet Leonard is able to keep it all flowing so smoothly. In ways its a typical prison escape novel in a western setting which of course has been done. Though he is able to bring actual human elements into it where you care about the characters. You learn about the characters through action not chapters of asides and you learn what you need to know to make it work. Highly recommended even for people who maybe are not into westerns. This book again is about characters and could easily be written in a different non western setting.

A fine western. A group of men at.Yuma prison. Barb wire and gatling guns.There taken to build roads and do construction.Yuma is next to an indian reservation.He uses these deals to use prison labor.They start to use dynamite to build road.Then one guy try's to appeal but they r stuck at yuma prison.Then this woman gets beat up by the waren. Prison boss.After theres a shoot out with the law.Willis the guard kills the waren.With prisoner corey.So liz can leave.The law wins not the prisoners.Maybe now some can get released.Not the murderer.

Early novella from Mr. Leonard with two dimensional characters, but an ambitious plot with lots of twists. You'll have to swallow hard to accept some of the events, particularly in the grand finale, but Mr. Leonard's writing is taut and the dialogue shows why he went on to such a great career in mysteries. Few Western authors are literary craftsmen, so Leonard's work stands out even if he was still improving.

Westerns are funny bc the difference between a good one and a bad one isn’t cliche or tropes or characters or plot - that’s the same in pretty much all of them. It’s not even really motivation, bc that’s the same in everything too. But some are bad, and this one was good. Leonard rocks, and I’ll keep reading westerns forever.

This may be my favorite of the Leonard westerns that I have read. The story was great, very different from typical westerns, but still stuck to its roots. Like a western version of Cool Hand Luke. Absolutely loved it.

Not my absolute favorite of Leonard’s westerns but a really good one, with interesting characters, especially the principled Apache trackers who chase down escaping prisoners, and an unusual setting—a penal work camp in Arizona.