Picket Line by Elmore Leonard

Picket Line

by Elmore Leonard

Mariner Books 2025

The late Elmore Leonard’s final work to see print was his 2012 novel Raylan, better known from the FX television adaptation, Justified. Now twelve years after the best-selling author’s death, Mariner Books is releasing the previously unpublished Picket Line, a "novella" rescued from Leonard's estate archive. Advertised by Mariner as a mystery-slash-thriller, journalist C. M. Kushins’s introduction further defines it as "both an anomalous treasure for devoted Leonard fans and a perfect [place to start] for new readers.” According to Kushins, Picket Line began its life in early 1970 when Leonard started work on a new film project. A collaborative writing process went on for months before the project was ultimately scrapped, leaving Leonard with nothing but a modest-length prose treatment of the film. This he filed away, unbeknownst to the reading public. Until now.

Picket Line opens with Chino and Paco. The two Chicanos are driving south on a Texas highway and stop at a gas station for a bio break. When a group of migrants arrive for the same purpose, the attendant tells the group to move on, claiming his boss has a rule: Migrants don't use the restroom. Chino steps in and offers the group the use of the attendant's trash can as a urinal, showing them exactly how it's done. The attendant relents, the migrants head to the restroom, and Chino and Paco hop back in their car and continue south.

And they're quickly pulled over for littering. The good ol' boys of the local PD want to give them a ticket, but Chino implies he and Paco have come to town to work as fruit pickers. The ranking redneck is willing to let them off with a warning on the condition they avoid the union and the strikers. Chino agrees, and shortly thereafter he and Paco arrive at a hotel. Paco sets off to score some drugs for the night, while Chino mulls over the situation. The cops have seen his face, and he has some bad history. He also has some history with a certain Vincent Mora, head of the union, who appears to be the reason for Chino's visit. After some thought, Chino decides he and Paco will cross the picket line and sign up for work in order to get the lay of the land before making their next move.

At this point readers will likely realize two things. First, within just a few short scenes the mystery-slash-thriller is set up wonderfully. There's an interesting, gritty lead character, with a suspicious background and an undisclosed purpose, who is about to step into a potentially volatile situation. One could hardly ask for more.

Second, Leonard's writing chops are on full display, though still in development according to Kushins. Leonard employs a style in which there's very little pure narration. The prose feels straightforward and intimate, with various viewpoint characters’ observations, thoughts, and actions portrayed simply and with hints of personality thrown in to give it some heat. Leonard cranks up that heat with his use of uber-realistic dialogue. Take this example from the gas station scene, written from the attendant's point of view as Chico and Paco pull in:

The car was a mess. It had been traveling at least two, three days, yes, California plates, a couple of guys getting out he had never seen before. Chicanos. That surprised him. But not migrants. Sports shirts, nice pants kind of tight and low on their hips, nice shoes, or boots they looked like. The one with the sunglasses stood looking around with his hands on his hips. The other one, tough-looking guy, said, "Where you take a leak at?" coming toward the station, passing the attendant and not waiting. The attendant pointed and said over his shoulder, "Around the side. The key's in the office, on a board." Then to the other one, a nice-looking guy in the yellow sport shirt and sunglasses, he said, "Fill it up?"

Leonard uses this style consistently as he bounces between viewpoint characters, and it's effective, but at times it does get a bit schizophrenic when he bounces too quickly.

And so the rest of the story continues to build as any mystery-slash-thriller would, with more characters and situations entering the suspenseful fray. Unfortunately, it all ends prematurely. Plot threads are left hanging, questions are left unanswered, and thematic posits are left inadequately examined. By the end, the "novella" feels more like what it actually is: the start of a well-written prose summation of a potential thriller film. As Kushins claims, however, Picket Line is certainly mandatory for Leonard completists. Are there better introductions to Leonard's oeuvre? Absolutely, though this might serve the purpose. Will it satisfy the average reader? Maybe, if the reader is willing to be content with well-crafted prose and character work alone.

Jim Abbiati is a writer and IT professional living in Mystic, Connecticut. He's the author of Fell's Hollow, The NORTAV Method for Writers, and has an MFA in Creative Writing from National University