Riding the Rap is a 1995 crime novel by Elmore Leonard and the sequel to his 1993 novel Pronto, as well as the second novel in the Raylan Givens series.
Bookie Harry Arno intends to finally retire, and has decided to clean up any remaining loose ends. Harry hires former bounty hunter Roberto "Bobby Deo" Deogracia to force gambler Warren "Chip" Ganz III to finally pay his debt. Unfortunately, Chip, his ex-con friend Louis Lewis, and their allegedly psychic accomplice Rev. Dawn Navarro convince Bobby to help them in a much more profitable plan to steal Harry's money. When the criminal trio kidnap Harry, it's up to Raylan to rescue him.
The novel was followed by the short story "Fire in the Hole"; Road Dogs also featured a reappearance from Rev. Navarro. It was adapted into the third episode of Justified.
List of tropes applying to this novel:
- Action Prologue: The novel opens with Raylan escorting a criminal to prison... And then beating him up when he tries to escape, and stopping a duo who try to mug them.
- Affably Evil: Louis is a decently friendly guy for a small-time crook.
- Ax-Crazy: Bobby is extremely violent and disturbingly comfortable with torture, to an extent that even terrifies Louis and Chip.
- Kick the Dog: Bobby violently robs and brutalizes a Middle Eastern couple for no reason whatsoever besides petty bigotry.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's left ambiguous whether or not Dawn Navarro is a real psychic. She's a scam artist to be sure, but she proves astonishingly accurate at guessing outside information. It could be simple cold reading, but some of what she observes is almost improbably accurate.
- Not-So-Phony Psychic: Possibly the case with Dawn Navarro. She could simply be a master of cold reading, but the conclusions she comes to are scarily accurate.
- Red Baron: Subverted. Bobby Deo is nicknamed "Bobby the Gardener" not for anything he's done, but because he's actually worked as a gardener. He's fairly good at it, too.
- Smug Snake: Chip talks a big game and has a high opinion of himself, but he's a deadbeat loser who relies mainly on Louis and Bobby.
- The Sociopath: Bobby, of the low-functioning variety. He's stoic, prone to outbursts of violence for no reason, has no scruples whatsoever, and is only concerned with his own well-being.
- The Stoic: Bobby rarely expresses any sort of emotion.
