ELMORE Leonard has carved himself a name as the master of the modern thriller. His lean, mean prose, stripped-down dialogue and gallery of memorable characters - where typically the cool, quiet guy wins out over the mouthy badass - have almost come to define the genre.

It's worth remembering, however, that Leonard began his writing career as the author of classic westerns (which helps make sense of his thrillers, which are in many ways contemporary westerns).

Now, Phoenix has helpfully reissued in paperback (and in plenty of time for Christmas) three of his finest. You'll find all the classic Leonard ingredients in each of these novels - the pared-down writing, the quiet-spoken hero whose actions speak louder than words - with the bonus that the action takes place in a frontier west where the only law comes from the barrel of a gun.

All classics.

Updated: 16:31 Friday, December 02, 2005