Up in Honey’s Room was published by William Morrow in 2007 as a sequel to The Hot Kid (2005). Carlos Webster, now an established U.S. Marshal, is assigned to track escaped German prisoners of war in wartime Detroit. His investigation leads him to Honey Deal, a young German-American woman recently divorced from a Nazi sympathizer, and into the city’s community of wartime German immigrants — some loyal, some not.
The novel extends Leonard’s Depression-era Oklahoma saga into World War II, using the home-front setting to explore themes of loyalty, identity, and the ambiguity of wartime allegiance. The Detroit setting connects the book to Leonard’s contemporary crime novels while the period detail — rationing, war bonds, Japanese internment — grounds it in specific historical reality.
Honey Deal
Honey Deal is one of Leonard’s most appealing female characters: smart, independent, and unintimidated by the men around her — whether they are federal marshals or Nazi sympathisers. Her evolving relationship with Carlos provides the novel’s emotional core, and Leonard handles the romance with the same unsentimental directness he brings to his crime plots.
Wartime Detroit
Detroit in the 1940s was the “Arsenal of Democracy” — the centre of American war production — and its German-American community was under intense suspicion. Leonard uses this setting to explore the tensions between patriotism and ethnic loyalty, between individual identity and collective suspicion. The escaped POWs are not cartoon Nazis but confused, frightened men caught in circumstances they cannot control.
Collecting Up in Honey’s Room
First edition (2007, William Morrow, New York): Boards with dust jacket.
Approximate market values:
- Fine/Fine in dust jacket: $20–$40
- Signed first edition: $50–$150
- Without jacket: $5–$10
Value trajectory (2016–2026): Minimal. A minor late-period Leonard.
Projected values (2026–2036): Modest. Signed copies should reach $100–$300.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to read The Hot Kid first? It helps — Carlos Webster’s character is established in The Hot Kid, and some plot threads carry over — but the novel works as a standalone.
How does this compare to Leonard’s contemporary crime novels? The period setting gives it a different texture — more leisurely, more atmospheric — but the method is identical: sharp dialogue, morally complex characters, and a plot that resolves through character rather than action.