Vanilla Ride

Hap and Leonard #7

by Joe R. Lansdale

"There's no bullshit in a Joe Lansdale book. There's everything a good story needs, and nothing it doesn't.
Joe pulls up the truck, says, 'Get in the back, we're going for a ride.'You know it might get a little
scary and it might get a little crazy, but you get in, because you know in the end, it's going to
be a fun ride."--Christopher Moore, New York Times Bestselling Author of A Dirty Job and Fool

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.

Hap is an East Texas smart mouth with a weakness for southern women. Leonard is a gay, black veteran pining for a lost love. They’re not the makings of your typical dynamic duo, but never underestimate the power of a shared affinity for stirring up trouble and causing mayhem. When an old friend asks Leonard to rescue his daughter from an abusive, no-good drug dealer, he gladly agrees and, of course, invites Hap along for the fun. Even though the dealer may be lowly, he is on the bottom rung of the Dixie Mafia, and when Hap and Leonard come calling, the Mafia feels a little payback is in order. Cars crash, shotguns blast, and people die, but Hap and Leonard come out on top. Unfortunately for them, now they’re facing not only jail time but also the legendary—and lethal—Vanilla Ride, who is still out to claim the price on their heads. Full of twists and turns, gunfire and gaffes, this hilarious, rip-roaring novel will have readers turning the pages faster than a Texas tornado.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Noir, Humor, Mystery Thriller

243 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2009

About the author

Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over forty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in more than two dozen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Ho-Tep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror," and he adapted his short story "Christmas with the Dead" to film hisownself. The film adaptation of his novel Cold in July was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Sundance Channel has adapted his Hap & Leonard novels for television.

He is currently co-producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Reviews

[Dan Schwent · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been close to a decade since Joe Lansdale gave us another Hap and Leonard tale. Was it worth the wait? HELL YES! I gave it five stars, didn't I?

Hap and Leonard get talked into doing a favor for their friend Marvin. Marvin's granddaughter has been hanging with drug dealers and Hap and Leonard go to bring her back. Things go south for Hap and Leonard, as they always do, and soon the drug dealers are looking for payback. One shootout later and our boys are in the clink. The FBI offers them freedom in exchange for finding the son of a member of the Dixie Maffia and the three hundred thousand dollars he stole. That's when things really get bad...

Mrs. Lansdale's little boy hasn't lost a step. Hap and Leonard's banter is as fresh and dark as ever. The violence is stark and comes in heaping handfuls. While most of the antagonists seem to be there to take bullet holes, Vanilla Ride, the hitwoman the book is named after, is quite a character, a killer with a moral code. I wouldn't be surprised if Old Joe writes a solo adventure for her in the future. The crooked cops from No Enterprise should top anyone's scumbag list. Leonard Pine once again proves what a bad mother he is.

To sum up, if you're a fan of Hap and Leonard, snap this one up. It's the best one since the third or fourth book.

[Dave Edmunds · Rating 5 out of 5]

" I hadn’t been shot at in a while, and no one had hit me in the head for a whole month or two. It was kind of a record, and I was starting to feel special. "

4.5⭐'s

Initial Thoughts

Sick of me going on about Joe Lansdale's Hap and Leonard series? Well tough luck because I'm back with a review for the seventh book in the series... Vanilla Ride. What is a Vanilla Ride exactly? My guess is it was something to do with Leonard Pine's obsession with vanilla cookies.

I've been a fan of Champion Joe Lansdale's since reading his fantastic coming of age tale “The Bottoms” and followed this up with the stellar western adventure "Paradise Sky." He's an author who can write in any genre and do it with real quality. Horror, action, western, short stories...you name it buddy. I haven't read a Lansdale book I haven't enjoyed. But his outstandingly hilarious Hap and Leonard series has took my love to the next level. Now I'm thinking he's marriage material.

There's something special about this ongoing saga with the unlikely pair of Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, with them quickly becoming the best double act in crime fiction. They're constantly down on their luck while ending up in high risk adventures, trying to do the morally, but not always lawfully, right thing. You can always guarantee lots of laughs, bodies and vanilla cookies.

It's worth noting that after the last book (Captain Outrageous), which was quite frankly...awesome, Lansdale took a seven year break from the series. I'm not sure I could have handled that. But lucky for you and me we no longer have to wait and I don't have to worry about sending the author death threats, or at the very least a good hobbling, if he doesn't write the next book.

" “Maybe, Leonard, truth is, in the end, there’s no difference at all. Them. Us. We’re all killers, and in the end, the worms sort us out. "

The Story

By now Hap and Leonard need no introduction. If they do, then you need to go and find yourself a copy of Savage Season and get yourself acquainted. But for those of us up to speed, Vanilla Ride kicks off when Hap agrees to help his old friend Marvin Hanlon get his granddaughter back from a crew of local drug pushers and her scumbag boyfriend. A bust-up quickly ensues and ends with Hap flushing the gang's hard earned drugs down the toilet.

It's then a chain reaction that sees an assortment of gangsters, crooked cops and hitmen coming their way. This is what happens when you go out of your way to upset the Dixie mafia. Much death and mayhem ensues but Hap and Leonard will never leave a friend hanging or miss an opportunity to make a smart ass comment on their way.

But that's as much as your getting from me as there's a number of twists and turns along the way and you know the fun is in the finding out. Unless you like having things spoiled then drop me a comment and I'll be glad to oblige!

The Writing

You've seen enough of my reviews by now to know that I love Lansdale's straight up prose and ability as a storyteller. In this one he's as sharp as ever. Its dark but at the same time hilariously funny with bucket loads of violence.

The plot is pretty straightforward and rockets along to a barnstorming finale. This author certainly knows what his readers want and how to entertain. Although I'd never say Vanilla Ride is a straight up comedy, it is ridiculously funny and had me pissing my pants with laughter nonstop.

A lot of the comedy is heightened through Lansdale's brilliant ear for dialogue. It's expressive and just rolls off the the tongue, absolutely nailing the way us guys talk to one another when we're having a laugh. Its low, base humour but god help me that's what I find funny. This really is what gives the book it's character.

" that thing inside of me had clicked loose so many times it was starting to feel normal, like the necessary lancing of a wound. I had looked into the abyss so much it was no longer just looking back at me, it had its arms around me and was puckering to kiss."

The Characters

As always the focus of Hap and Leonard is Hap and Leonard and the friendship they share. You could read this book as a standalone, but you'd be missing out on all the history and development that has given me a strong bond with these two. They're like my best friends, exactly the type of guys I'd love to sit down with and share a vanilla wafer and Dr Pepper with.

The dynamic duo do have a lot of help in this one and it's great to see a number of side characters developing. Particularly Jim Bob and Hap's love interest Brett. Plus the addition of a great new character in Tonto. But as always, you can never bank on whose going to be left in one piece by the end of this crazy ass ride. The stakes have never been higher.



Final Thoughts

So, was Vanilla Ride worth an eight-year wait? You better believe it. Its up there with the very best. Perhaps not quite as good as the absolute standout, Two Bear Mambo, but on par with Mucho Mojo and Captain Outrageous. A fine addition to the ranks and Champion Joe certainly hasn't lost his passion for this series. Any suspiciouns that he might have mellowed out and joined the PC crowd have been truly dashed on the rocks.

I honestly couldn’t put this book down and that's always a good sign. I know by now that this series is always a good time and when I want to have pure unadulterated fun it's what I keep turning to. I just love hanging out with these guys! And if you have given any of these books a try I've no doubt you will too. So let's hang out together. You can bring the Dr Pepper!

Thanks for reading...cheers!

[Kemper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hap and Leonard are back! As usual, no good deed goes unpunished when the guys try to help an old friend by getting his graddaughter loose from her drug dealing boyfriend.

This one starts with the best fight scene in a trailer since Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah went at it in Kill Bill 2. After that Hap and Leonard find themselve in yet another bad situation where they'll now have to deal with the Dixie Mafia, the FBI, and a huge thug nicknamed the Big Guy. Oh, then there's the professional killer called Vanilla Ride that's more dangerous than all the rest put together.

It seemed like Lansdale had left Hap and Leonard behind with the depressing Captain's Outrageous, and then his movement towards books like The Bottoms and A Fine Dark Line, which were great but didn't have the same style I love in the H&L series. But the break seems to have inspired new highs in redneck obscenity, horrific violence and completely inappropriate humor. And I couldn't be happier about it. I'm hoping we don't have to wait another 8 or 9 years for the next one.

[Berengaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

short review for busy readers: Excellent Hap & Leonard! A more complex plot with good intrigue, funnier than usual, a whole lot of whoop ass from Leonard / Hap’s lady friend Brett, and with two shoot-out scenes that are not to be missed. One of the best in the series.

in detail:
Lansdale doesn’t miss a beat in this instalment of the H & L series.

Leonard is asked by an ex-police officer friend to rescue his daughter who has fallen in with some no-account drug dealers. Leonard has experience with this type of thing – he took out a crack house in Mucho Mojo - but asks Hap to come along for a pair of extra fists.

Unfortunately, one of the members of the drug gang, controlled by a shady syndicate called the Dixie Mafia, is an undercover FBI agent only days away from a federal bust. And now he's beaten to a pulp and there are some bodies lying around.

Whoops.

From there, things just get more complicated and more dangerous. All the while, the FBI is swishing the curtains in the background as is the Dixie Mafia who have sicced one of their top hired killers on our boys: Vanilla Ride.

There are several very memorable scenes in this one and the banter is better than usual. Our boys are kind of strong armed from all sides into doing some things they’d rather not this time around. But it all works out okay in the end.

At least the FBI aren’t pressing charges. 👍

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Around here, they call you the Disaster Twins, and the way I look at it, you keep coming up with crap on your shoes it's because you keep steppin' where you ought not to be steppin'."

I first discovered the Twins, Hap and Leonard, way back in 2002, and burned through all their adventures in one summer. Then there was that long, interminable wait for the next one. Days stretched into weeks, and the weeks turned into years. I realized that if it was gonna take Mr. Lansdale that long to crank 'em out, I had better start rationing. Now that it's been like seventeen years since I read Captains Outrageous, I suppose I have enough of a backlog built up that I can start readin' the suckers again.

Oh, how I've missed these guys!

"So, what do we do?" Brett asked.

"First, I'll have Leonard move back in."

"That means more cookies and Dr. Peppers and probably a box of shotgun shells."

The plot? Well, it's not really important . . . something about a showdown with the Dixie Mafia. What really matters is the repartee, and the bromance.

"How have you two lived this long?" she said.

"Our sterling personalities," Leonard said. "We charm just about everyone."

Ain't that the truth!

It's great to have you back in my life, guys.

[Brendon Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Hap and Leonard adventure. This one has the boys rescuing a drug addict from some dealers, hits being put out by the Dixie Mafia, corrupt cops and a whole lot of shooting. This story ramps up the action with multiple shootouts and a sexy as hell female assassin on their tails. The banter and humor in this still has me genuinely cackling as im reading alot. This series is something very special.

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read a Hap and Leonard novel in a number of years, but have read all of the ones preceding Vanilla Ride, so I'm pretty familiar with the terrain these two characters roam. I'm a huge fan of Joe Lansdale's novels and stories and wouldn't hesitate to recommend any one of them to other readers. I would say with Vanilla Ride that newcomers to the series should start with the earlier novels before this one.

Hap and Leonard do a favor for a friend and wind up with the Dixie Mafia on their asses for their trouble. There are a number of shootouts with violent results, all of which our heroes manage to make it out alive from. A couple of times I was reminded of the scene in Pulp Fiction where Jules and Vincent survive a gunman bursting into that apartment shooting at them wildly and missing every time. But whatever, they're the heroes at this carnival so you know they're going to come out alive at the end.

Ultimately the Dixie Mafia is forced to send the legendary Vanilla Ride after them to finish the job none of their own gunsels could manage. It's something of a vengeance story, with some philosophical contemplation by Hap along the way.

I don't think it's the best one in the series, but that's purely a personal opinion. But that said, it's better than a lot of other adventure thrillers out there. It's nasty and impolite, and the banter between Hap and Leonard isn't suitable for polite company. But no one reads these books in Sunday School anyway.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wild ride from Lansdale and Hap & Leonard. This is the 7th book in the series and I've enjoyed all of the prior novels and look forward to reading the rest of the books. In this one, our heroes agree to do a favor for their friend and former police officer, Marvin whose granddaughter has been seeing and living with some close-by drug dealers. She has also been getting beat up on a regular basis and Marvin wants Hap and Leonard to go rescue her and bring her back. In the process, our boys do some serious damage to the bad guys who work for the Dixie Mafia. After killing a few of them in a shootout, Hap and Leonard wind up in jail but the FBI has a stake in all this and offers them a deal. They get freedom in exchange for finding the son of one of the Dixie Mafia's members and $300,000 that he stole from them. If they can pull this off, the FBI will get an informant and the boys will be off scot free. But then they really get in deep doo doo as they attempt to make good on the deal.

As usual, this novel was filled with the off-color humor that make these novels so enjoyable. They're also filled with a lot of violence and this one may be one of the most violent in the series. I really enjoy this series and look forward to the next one, Devil Red.

[Lexi Ander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the cover of this book throw you. I did a search at my public library for “gay – fiction” and came across this title as an audio download. I have not heard of the author before and because the library had more than one book by him, I rented it, regardless of the picture on front (which I didn't get until the book was almost over).

For the first hour I laughed tears.

I did not know that this was the 7th in a series and I have already bought book one. BUT this can be read as a stand alone. You don't need the back history between Hap and Leonard to follow the story. I thought it was perfect.

Hap and Leonard are tough guys, “brothers”. Hap is a middle aged white hetero male who is living with the love of his life, Bret, in east Texas. Leonard is a gay black man who is on the outs with his lover, John. These two are definitely two peas in a pod. Ex-cop and friend, Martin, asks a favor of the two tough guys. Gadget, Martin's grand daughter is mixed up with a small time drug dealer who is using her for a punching bag. Would Hap and Leonard go get her and bring her home? It's a favor for a friend. It's simple enough, right?

Pissing off the Dixie Mafia, blackmailed by the FBI, hated by the Cops, car chases, gun fights, angry white woman with a shot gun, girl slap down, a dead alligator, an almost superman hit-man, and then there is the assassin, Vanilla Ride.

I loved this all the way through and look forward to start from the beginning.

Note: There is no sex or girly parts.

[Jim Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.5

Another good one in the Hap and Leonard series which introduces an interesting new character by the name of Vanilla Ride. I have a strong feeling she will show up in their future adventures somehow even if it's a cameo.

[Ubik 2.0 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rimpatriata.

Così anche la serie Hap&Leo sembra avere esaurito la sua parabola creativa, sebbene Lansdale abbia deciso di tirarla fuori dalla naftalina in questo settimo episodio, dopo otto anni di interruzione dal precedente: ma non c’è nessun particolare rilevante, nessuna scena, nessun personaggio di spicco che distingua la storia di “Sotto un cielo cremisi” dalle altre e giustifichi la riesumazione della celebre e simpatica coppia.

Ce ne faremo una ragione: lo stesso autore, tanto per non smentire la sua prolificità, si è già indirizzato verso molteplici direzioni narrative diverse, anche se non disdegna di tanto in tanto di tornare a fare un salto dagli amici per una doverosa rimpatriata come questa.

[Marvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been eight years between the last Hap and Leonard book and this new installment. It was a needed hiatus since Vanilla Ride is the best novel of the series since Bad Chili. Lansdale brings back the East Texas odd couple rejuvenated and full of piss and vinegar. The villains are worthy of the two heroes too. I just wish the author brought in Vanilla Ride, a deadly but hot assassin, a bit earlier. I'm also happy that this will not be the last Hap and Leonard novel. Devil Red is coming out in 2011.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another more than solid outing for our irascible yet undeniably silly duo. Vanilla Ride is a bit more action packed than most other Hap & Leonard misadventures in a very entertaining fashion, and while the violence barely lets up, neither does the expected banter between our two heroes and their friends and enemies. I'll be very interested to see if a certain new character shows up again in future instalments, but it was also very fun to see Marvin and Jim Bob play significant roles here. This series continues to be an absolute blast to read.

[Mike (Hail Horror Hail) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun adventure. While this one is more straightforward, plot wise, and heavier in action, its strongest suit is the dialog and interplay between characters. The shootouts and action are fine but seem a little less inspired next to the storytelling of what transpires to get our characters into the trouble they find themselves in.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Hap and Leonard adventure. This one felt a little darker and meaner in tone than previous books. It made me wonder if Joe Lansdale had been eating a lot red meat while he wrote this one as it doesn't take any prisoners... :-)

[zackxdig · Rating 4 out of 5]

They get mixed up with the Dixie Mafia to rescue a friend’s daughter. Only to wind up in the ruthless path of hit men and Vanilla Ride who takes out one of the scariest of them all.

[Luca Masera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mhhh... a mio avviso la storia più sottotono di Hap e Leonard: sgangherato e rocambolesco come tutti gli altri romanzi dedicati a questa strana coppia di detective, ma tutt'altro che indimenticabile.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lansdale took an eight year gap between writing the last book in this series and this one and the results are terrific. Hap and Leonard are older but not much wiser, agreeing to do a favor for a friend but immediately getting in over their heads. But the boys are older now and maybe a little more reflective, adding a layer of self-reflection and regret to the usual whiz-bang plot.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gonna say it's my second favorite of the Hap/Leonard adventures that I've read thus far, behind Rumble Tumble (although in after thought, I did rather enjoy the conclusion to Captains Outrageous, just felt the crude humor was a little more forced than usual in that one). Here, however, the opening tiffle between Hap and Leonard and Tanedrue, a low-level drug dealer and his pals is one of the best choreographed fight sequences I've ever read. The additional shoot-outs that dot the book later on aren't too shabby, either. Mean, lean, and rapidly paced, it's a nice solid slab of red-necked pulp fiction.

[Blair Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I don't trust things you see in people's eyes," I said. "You might be seeing your own reflection.”

“When you really think about it, humans are a scary branch of evolution, especially the male division. Man can turn anything into a weapon, even his tongue.”

“We were tough enough to tear doughnuts in half.”
-Joe R. Lansdale

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hap and Leonard are asked by a friend to retrieve his wayward daughter from the grips of a local drug dealer operating out of a trailer. What follows sees the two protagonists battling it out against the Dixie Mafia, corrupt cops and Vanilla Ride - the best hit man (or woman) in the business. The exchanges between Hap and Leonard are humorous providing a nice break from the otherwise brutal and bloody world these two find themselves in. 'Vanilla Ride' read like one epic shootout to the next with one in particular set in suburbia being the most memorable. While this is the first Hap and Leonard book I've read (7th in the series), I didn't feel like I had to have read the previous ones in the series to gain an appreciation of the character back stories - a sign of good writing. 4 stars.

[Taksya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok... Hap e Leonard sono sempre loro, la corte dei miracoli che si stanno creando attorno prende e perde membri a seconda delle situazioni ma, rispetto ai precedenti libri, non c'è veramente nulla di nuovo e (per il lettore fanatico di continuity) sono troppi i dettagli che non tornano col passato.
Sempre più inverosimili le prodezze dei due. L'età avanza e, nonostante si lamentino, riescono a scazzottare e farsi sparare addosso come nei loro vent'anni.
La storia si lascia leggere, qualche piccolo colpo di scena lo mettiamo insieme, dal finale si può capire come si sia aperta una sorta di nuova era... ma tutto è fin troppo telefonato.

[Sara (Sbarbine_che_leggono) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scrupoli flessibili e biscotti alla vaniglia

Un Hap e Leonard un po' sottotono, non sempre si capisce il perché delle azioni dei due protagonisti, e il loro continuo ripetersi quanto enorme sia la cazzata appena fatta non mi pare una valida giustificazione.

Sempre meravigliosi i dialoghi, da mandare giù con un sorso di Dr Pepper, come se si fosse davvero sotto una veranda nel povero ma dignitoso sud degli Stati Uniti.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely my favorite Hap and Leonard book so far. OK, sadly there was no rabid squirrel in this one.......but the shooting, fighting and one-liners were nonstop. Excellent!

[Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cielo senza stelle

Divertente assistere alle dinamiche rodate della coppia Hap & Leonard, ma qui c'è tutto il già visto, già sentito e già provato delle loro avventure passate.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Vanilla Ride" by Joe Lansdale is the seventh in the "Hap and Leonard" series of books. If you're a fan of this series of books or the TV show it has inspired (the two are not usually that similar), you will be pretty familiar with the goings-on here.

By the seventh book, Lansdale has settled into a comfortable pattern. The pattern is as follows: a small problem, which Hap and Leonard solve in their East Texas "boots to asses" kind of way, becomes a much larger problem because of unforeseen...well, unforeseen by them...complications. People start dying, if they haven't already. The womenfolk either strap on guns or leave town. Reinforcements from the supporting cast may be called in. Manly banter is sprinkled throughout, touching upon both Leonard's confident homosexuality and Hap's "good ol' boy with a dash of liberal hippie" mentality. A change of scenery is often called for. Sometimes Hap and Leonard are the hunters, but mostly they are the hunted--much to the regret of those hunting. There is almost always a very large henchman who proves difficult to kill. There are multiple large, nasty fist/gun fights with a significant body count. And it all ends with our heroes being banged-up, shot-up, (occasionally blown-up) and going home to their tumbledown lives a little wiser and a lot sadder. Then they're off to lick their wounds before the plot of the next book--yet another bloody carnival ride--rolls into town.

Reading most of this series as I have, back-to-back, over the last few weeks has given me the above insights. I will say the books are trending towards getting better. Since "Savage Season," (the first book in the series) which was lousy, none of the Hap and Leonard books have been outright "bad." That being said, some books in the Hap and Leonard series are (way) better than others.

I feel "Vanilla Ride" is one of the good ones. What starts out as a back-asswards, butt-kicking errand of mercy for their "spent years in a coma" former police detective friend becomes a full-blown confrontation with the Dixie Mafia...whom, it seems, don't like to be called the Dixie Mafia. Who knew? Along the way, there are idiot drug dealers, crooked cops, abusive FBI agents, shady informants, that massive henchman (straight out of WWE central casting), and so on. The "Vanilla Ride" of the title is a sexy blonde mid-20s female hit-person/ninja that the Dixie Mafia uses as a nuclear option. Despite her name (or nom du crime) being the title of the book, she's not in most of it.

There's a lot of distinction-making between "bad guys" and "worse guys" here. The Dixie Mafia are the "worse" guys. Which they usually are.

Bottom line, if you like the Hap and Leonard series, this is a good entry in that series. I'm not sure it's the best place to jump in if you're new to the series or haven't seen the TV show. Lansdale makes new readers comfortable (and veteran readers want to skim some sections) by re-hashing a lot of greatest hits and personal motivations for the characters. If "more of the same" is what you want, "Vanilla Ride" is a good read.

[LInda L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great mystery/thriller/Lansdale. Hap and Leonard are in the midst of a mess involving the Dixie Mafia, who have some truly bad bad guys. Of course there is money involved, crooked cops, missing people, assassins, and who knows what else cropped up. Our boys are up for all of it -- Hap has some moral issues, Leonard has some immoral issues, Brett is convinced to leave East Texas for a while, and Jim Bob and Tonto come into the fray. And don't forget Vanilla Ride -- who can do it all. AND DOES. Lots of gun battles, some torture, and believe it or not -- alligators. Loved it.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hap and Leonard once again end up on the wrong side of the Dixie Mafia. Drug dealers, dirty small town cops, the FBI and the deadly Vanilla Ride. I'd like to see more of that character. Highly recommended.

[Byron Washington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dramedy!!!

Another escapade ends!!! These dudes can't go one day without getting involved in some HOT MESS!!! But in their true, inimitable style, they pull through while dodging bullets and bad guys.

Great read. Buy it, read it and enjoy!!!👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥

[Bryan D · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been many years since I've last read a Lansdale book and it was lovely to return to the world of Hap & Leonard.
The language was colourful, the violence spectacular and satisfying and the book was refreshing in this time of snowflake PC.