Vanilla Ride
by Joe R Lansdale
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Hap and Leonard is now a Sundance TV series starring James Purefoy and Michael Kenneth Williams.
Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, the kings of East Texas mischief and mayhem, return in this full-throttle thriller to face off with the Dixie Mafia.
When Leonard is asked to rescue a teenage girl from a lowly drug dealer, he gladly agrees and invites Hap along for the ride. Everything goes according to plan, until they find out the dealer is a member of the Dixie mafia. A wild gun fight ensues, after which Hap and Leonard are arrested. Turns out, however, that the law needs a favor and if Hap and Leonard can do the deed they'll be free roam. There's one problem the Dixie Mafia's new hired gun--the legendary assassin Vanilla Ride. Filled with breakneck action, gut-busting laughs, and one gigantic crocodile, this hilarious novel is as hot as a habanero pepper.
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Book Details
- ISBN
- 9780307455451
- Binding
- Paperback
- Authors
- Joe R Lansdale
- Publisher
- Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
- Published Date
- July 27, 2010
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 272
- Physical Info
- 8.12 in L x 5.26 in W (0.58 lb)
I thought Book 6 was very cynical and mean spirited in a way that the previous entries in this series weren't. As such it took me several years to decide to give this one a try. In that sense this one is a return to form, and Hap's lamentations about whether or not he's a good person were welcome. That said it did kinda feel a little aimless, and it dragged quite a bit in the "middle".
Have now read eight Hap and Leonard plus Lansdale"s Edgar Winner "The Bottoms". Never been disappointed. And there's still more to read!
I am not a good flier, so when I get in the plane, crack open a Hap and Leonard book, my focus is on the story.
This wasn't as good as the other books, as all the jokes and a lot of the dialog feels tired and reused. Hap seems to have grown more jaded, and jaded that he's jaded, but still allows himself to be dragged into a case that quickly grows from manageable to unmanageable in a predicable way. He doesn't want the violence, but fall into the pattern over and over again.I wasn't all that fond of the way the story seemed to meander, until finally bringing in the title character. Who I wasn't all that fond of, impressed, or interested in. The ending felt like a downer, and it's hard to see where Hap and Leonard would keep jumping in feet first to other dangers when they're getting a bit long-in-the-tooth for it, and with Hap always second thinking himself.I guess in the next I'll see if there's a mid-life crisis coming up for the guys or not. We'll see how that goes.
You only stop for the laughs....The dialogue and violence are pure poetry, the humanity cuts to the bone. I don't ever want a Hap and Leonard story to end.
