Tuesday, April 05, 2016

The Two-Bear Mambo by Joe R. Lansdale

(hb; 1995: third book in the Hap and Leonard series)

From the inside flap:

"Florida Grange, Leonard's drop-dead gorgeous lawyer and Hap's former lover, has vanished in Klan-infested Grovetown while in pursuit of the real story behind the jailhouse death of a legendary bluesman's blackguard son. Fearing the worst, Hap and Leonard set out to do the kind of investigating the good ole boy cops can't - or won't - do. In Grovetown they encounter a redneck police chief, a sadistic Christmas tree grower, and townsfolk itchin' for a lynchin'. Add to this a dark night exhumation in a voodoo graveyard, a thunderstorm of Biblical proportions, and flat-out sudden murder. Hap and Leonard vow to face the hate and find Florida, even if Leonard has to put a hole in anyone who gets in the way. Besides, they've packed a lunch."


Review:

This third entry in the Hap and Leonard series is darker, more violent and harrowing than its predecessor books, Savage Season and Mucho Mojo. When Leonard Pine and Hap Collins' investigation into the disappearance of Hap's ex-girlfriend (Florida) leads them into an entire town populated by pernicious racists, even Hap and Leonard's junkyard dog attitudes, trenchant wits and general bad-assery may not be enough to pull them through this rain-drenched nightmare that will shake them to their cores.

Two-Bear is my favorite Hap and Leonard novel thus far, another impressive, character-expansive work. This, like its previous books, is worth owning.

Followed by Bad Chili.

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