This week’s column was submitted by Lynne Rubio, readers’ services assistant at the Des Plaines Public Library.

When it comes to fictional characters, I am a sucker for badge-wearing, gun-toting heroes in white hats. Raylan Givens, the protagonist of the hit television series Justified, definitely fills that bill. He’s a good guy with a fast gun. Exiled from Miami Beach, Florida to his childhood home of Harlan County in rural Kentucky after a very public “justified” shooting, U. S. Marshal Givens is soft-spoken and hard-hitting.

As a former Marine Corps marksman he is, quite literally, a straight shooter and, in his cowboy boots and Stetson hat, a bit of a throwback to a previous century. His shoot-to-kill style of law enforcement places him at violent odds with several ghosts from his past, including his former best friend, turned white supremacist, and his career-criminal father.

Filled with fast-paced action and a host of eccentric characters, the series is both well written and superbly acted. Lines like, "I've shot people I liked more for less,” lend a dry, dark humor to even the tensest moment.

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Timothy Olyphant’s charismatic portrayal of the main character always leaves the viewer wanting more, and more is coming soon. Season two is due out on DVD on Jan. 3, and season three is scheduled to premiere on the FX channel on Jan. 17, the same day that the book Raylan will be released.

Raylan was written by Elmore Leonard, the bestselling author of The Hot Kid, Get Shorty, and Out of Sight; Raylan promises to be a hot commodity. In it, Marshal Givens is pitted against three female antagonists: a black market organ broker, a corrupt coal mine executive, and a poker-playing coed and bank robber. Leonard’s latest novel about the character he created more than 15 years ago capitalizes on the success of the television series, and it delivers the same blend of biting wit, crime drama and western flavor.

If you can’t wait until these new releases arrive, or if you prefer your heroes in cowboy hats like I do, head over to the library to check out the first season of Justified, or read Fire in the Hole, the short story the television series is based on. The Des Plaines Public Library also owns the other two Elmore Leonard books that feature Raylan Givens: Pronto and Riding the Rap.

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