Good ol' boys Hap Collins and Leonard Pine return to star in their first new adventure in eight years, Vanilla Ride. What starts as a simple favour for a friend -- rescuing his granddaughter from her deadbeat, drug dealing boyfriend -- quickly has the the duo at odds with not only the local law, but the Dixie Mafia.
If all you know of Texas is Cowboys football and Dallas reruns, get ready to see a different side of the Lone Star state. 's novels, set in East Texas, the region the author calls home, is brought to life in vivid and colourful detail.
Hap is a man with the gift of gab and a weakness for southern women. Leonard is a gay, black army vet who's unlucky in love. The camaraderie between the two is fantastic, highlighted by Lansdale's gift for (admittedly, profane) dialogue which I feel is unmatched in crime fiction. Despite being gifted at general mayhem, planning is not the partners' strong suit. It usually involves an argument about who's going in the front door, and who's taking the back. While this approach works quite well against the bottom rung of the Dixie Mafia, as Hap and Leonard keep irritating the crime bosses, the stakes rise higher and higher, culminating in a legendary and lethal hired gun Vanilla Ride looking to cash in on the bounty put on their heads.
In addition to being an Edgar Award winner for his crime fiction and a Bram Stoker winner for horror, Joe R. Lansdale is in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame, so when he sets his characters to beating the hell out of each other, you feel every punch, kick and low blow from your chair as the reader.
Lansdale has another Hap and Leonard adventure in the works, and the earlier novels are being reissued in gorgeous trade paperback editions. I've read a number of the author's other books and short stories, but this was my first run in with his crimefighting (and committing) duo.
It won't be the last.
| Categories: Reviews, Staff Pick, Mystery & Crime |
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In this Texas-sized thriller, Hap Collins and Leonard Pine—best friends, freelance troublemakers, and tough guys with good intentions—find themselves in the crosshairs of the Dixie Mafia....
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A rip-roaring, high-octane, Texas-sized thriller, featuring two friends, one vixen, a crew of washed-up radicals, loads of money, and bloody mayhem.Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are best f...
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Hap and Leonard return in this incredible, mad-dash thriller, loaded with crack addicts, a serial killer, and a body count.Leonard is still nursing the injuries he sustained in the duo's ...
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Full of savage humor, heart-stopping suspense, and a cast of characters so tough they could chew the bumper off a pickup truck, The Two Bear Mambo is classic country noir.In this rollicki...
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Abrash amalgam of terrifying suspense, raw humor, and intriguing mystery that unfolds in the vividly rendered shadowy lowlands of East Texas.After a harrowing stint in the Iraq war, Cason...
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Since a mysterious childhood illness, Harry Wilkes has experienced horrific visions. Gruesome scenes emerge to replay themselves before his eyes. Triggered by simple sounds, these visions...
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Joe R. Lansdale compiles and introduces 26 of his own favorite and most violent dark horror tales in this review of his work. "God of the Razor" introduces the dark god behind serial kill...
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In the middle of a cyclone, beautiful, red-haired Sunset Jones shoots her husband Pete dead when he tries to beat and rape her. To Camp Rapture’s general consternation, Sunset’s mother-in...
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Joe Lansdale returns with his characteristic dark take on the horrors that lurk beneath the surface of mundane life in this collection of short stories and novellas. Originally available ...
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