Rum Punch

Like a pulled punch, the author's latest evocation of lives on the periphery has a somewhat restrained quality, although the characters here, especially the women, are vintage Leonard ( Get Shorty ), and the dialogue is as authentic as conversations overheard in a mall restaurant. A combination of coincidence and choice connects the fates of Jackie Burke, a 44-year-old, thrice-married stewardess, bail bondsman Max Cherry, overweight and in his 50s, and brash young gun dealer Ordell Robbie, in Miami. When Jackie is caught bringing cash into the U.S. from the Bahamas for Ordell, she agrees to cooperate with federal and state agents to catch him in a sting operation. Max, who has posted Jackie's bond and is drawn to her, becomes her sounding board as she contemplates a sting of her own. The appealing and utterly amoral Ordell involves an unreliable ex-con pal, a crew of jackboys and his three women--sweet young Sheronda; amply endowed, untrustworthy Melanie; older ``aunty'' Simone, whose appetites are unabated--in his last-ditch effort to make a killing. Chances offered, taken and passed up are the leitmotif in this bittersweet slice of south Florida life. BOMC featured alternate; QPB selection; author tour. (Aug.)