#5 (of 19 and counting) from the high priest of East Texas mojo about
best friends for life (way before BFF became all the rage), Hap and Leonard.
A twister whacked Hap’s house so bad he has to sleep on
Leonard’s couch. Hap’s working as a bouncer at a local dive, instead of picking
roses at the huge farm nearby his home in LaBorde, Texas. Shitty work, but it’s
steady. He’s still seeing Brett and he and she are contemplating Hap moving in
with her. Can you spell midlife crisis?
A ginger-haired little person and his beefed up sidekick
want to meet with Brett. Says he’s got info about Brett’s estranged daughter, Tillie.
For maybe $500 they tell Brett that Tillie is hooking, up in Hootie Hoot,
Oklahoma. Working for a local thug in an out of the way farmhouse just outside
town. Brett is also told that Tillie wants out of the life.
Bretts wants to find her daughter. That means Hap wants to
help Brett find her. That means Leonard is also heading up to Hootie Hoot.And they go packing with more weaponry than is legal in most places.
Some elementary detective work and a couple well-placed inquires
send this heavily armed trio to that farmhouse, but luck isn’t with them. Yeah, they shoot
the place up pretty good, but no Tillie. She’s now with a biker gang in Mexico.
Off they go and engage a drunk pilot to fly them in, shoot the hell out of
anything that moves, grab Tillie, hide while the pilot sobers up, then fly out
on fumes.
Every Hap and Leonard book (so far) features enough mojo to
keep readers coming back. 19 titles so Lansdale is doing something right.
Plenty of great backwoods dialogue, fists/guns/knives, cussing, spitting,
killing and sex to last most authors a lifetime. But not Lansdale. Every book (so far)
is will stoked with East Texas mojo.
It’s not just that the Hap and Leonard characters are so
entertaining as they stumble their way through one case after another. Lansdale
has the talent, to wit: winner of the British Fantasy Award, American Horror
Award, Edgar Award, and 10 (that’s right, 10) Bram Stoker awards. Flaunt 'em if you got 'em, I say.
Next up is Captain Outrageous then Vanilla Ride. Hopefully
this summer.
ECD
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