Some of you may have missed this mid 70s gem, set in Israel and giving Elmore’s take on Israel where he spent time working on a movie project and came back with the idea for a novel.

That was one of the first EL books I read.  Late nineties probably.

Loved it.  Your description is dead on.  It’s a gem.

That was another favorite, Gosh I think most of them are my favorites!!

Did you know…

The original title was “Hat Trick” but the publisher didn’t know what a hat trick was so he chose The Hunted.

What, hockey’s not big in the Israeli desert?  Figures that name wasn’t Elmore’s first choice.

Publishers and editors do butt in occasionally if they don’t like the title.  Titles are as tough as good endings.

I’d have to go back and look that one over again to see if that Hat Trick title fits.  I’ll take your word for it, but I don’t recall offhand all the action and scenes in that book.  There was an early confrontation at an apartment building, then the showdown at the end.  Had to be a scuffle or two in the beginning.  The whole hotel going up in flames bit.

Hat trick = 3 goals (or kills?)

I recently read The Hunted for the first time. It was one of the books included in Dutch Treat, which I bought for Swag - maybe my all-time favourite.

The Hunted was terrific, too.

Right now I am re-reading many of the 70’s books. When I read them the first time (when they came out in paperback in the mid-80’s) I thought they were great, but I was reading for plot. Now that I’m older, with a little more life experience, I can really appreciate the character subtleties and the writing style so much more.

Unknown Man #89 is just a great book. The descriptions of Lee’s alcholism are so good, I can feel the cravings.

By the way, I’d like to say, “Hello.” This is my first post.

Welcome to the Forum.  Please post or start topics at will.  Sounds like you have been a fan of EL for a long time.  To me, the 70s books are in a class by themselves, especially Unknown Man #89.  I lived in Rochester, MI, and the references to Mitzelfeld’s Departments Store and the Lysander Apartments hit very close to home.  This was the book that earned Elmore cult status.  It was also the last book Alfred Hitchcock ever optioned.

Thanks Gregg. Last book optioned by Alfred Hitchcock - that’s the kind of information I like.

And yeah, the local references and attention to detail are fantastic. I loved the beginning of Killshot, partly because it takes place right here in Toronto. The description of the Silver Dollar is spot on.

Hi Kids,
was reading The Hunted as part of my Messier quest
trying to think of a nifty way to talk about Unknown Man #89
all the time being amazed at the descriptive economy of this hunt,
the feeling of a western novel crawling up my spine,
a ghost town of Indian Jews caught in the midst of a tank battle,
scenes from movies past and that good looking 40 something woman,
when I thought of a search that resulted in this post.
John Mac’s first post and the question
Where is the movie…..No.89,
The Hunted must have been rendered thus?

I am a school teacher, and during the past few weeks I’ve read almost twenty of EL’s novels. The Hunted is one of my favorites. I liked it a lot, especially the main character (Al Rosen) and the setting (Israel). My only gripe is that Al dies in the end.

Awesome, a new memeber.  Weclome aboard, 913! 

Gregg keeps this place fresh with lots of new stuff on the main page, though the forum activity can be a little sparse at times.  Have a look around and jump in again anytime.

only next time
try not to give
away the ending