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posies23's review
3.0
I think I need to take a break from Hap & Leonard for awhile. It's not that the book isn't engaging and well-done, it's just that most of the jokes feel similar to the ones in the previous few books. It's well-written and well-done, but it just feels like more of the same.
Honestly, that's probably more a result of me reading four of the series in a row than a lack of quality in the series.
Honestly, that's probably more a result of me reading four of the series in a row than a lack of quality in the series.
moonblink39's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
nigellicus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
5.0
This is still early Hap and Leonard, when Lansdale didn't mind pouring the sheer nasty brutality on the lovable pair, especially Hap, but Leonard gets his fair share too. This one opens with him getting bitten, in a scene of macabre hilarity, by a rabid squirrel no less, and things don't exactly pick up from there on in, with the notable exception of his love life,, which is one bright spot in the vista of murder and torture and brutality and sheer bad luck that follows as Leonard gets implicated in the murder of a biker and Hap has to try and sort it out, with the affable assistance of one Joe-Bob Briggs. Don't want to spoil the ending, but there's a massive twist. Er.
minorcan's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
motobart's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Sexual content, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Murder, Cursing, Torture, Medical trauma, Body horror, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Medical content
murphyc1's review against another edition
5.0
Hap and Leonard are undeniably two of my favorite characters in Literature. The smart, handy East Texans are so starkly and vividly presented to the reader as to be real, living and breathing people. Rendering characters so astutely and convincingly as Joe Lansdale does Hap Collins and Leonard Pine is a literary skill possessed of only the best. The names which come quickest to my mind are Mark Twain and Stephen King. What's more, these intense but not always tense, compact crime thrillers are expertly constructed devices with lots of moving parts, like fine literary Swiss wristwatches. And they're funny. My favorite aspect of reading a Hap and Leonard novel is getting to hang out with Hap and Leonard. I just cannot recommend this enough! You need to get your hands on one (there's a moderate amount of continuity from one installment to the next) and have fun!
misterjay's review against another edition
3.0
Like all the preceding Hap and Leonard novels, Bad Chili's best parts are the quick dialogue and honest affection between the two main characters. Add in a couple of new characters in the form of a good old boy private investigator and a nurse and new girlfriend for Hap and all the dialogue, both internal and external, gets that much better. Additionally, for readers of the series, there are enough small plot points among the recurring characters that rather than reading the novel feeling like seeing a couple of old friends again, the reader might feel more like they've come back for a reunion where they get to see everyone at once.
This makes it easy to empathize with our heroes when we lose a few of the side characters, but, likewise, it makes it easier to see where Lansdale may have chosen to sacrifice a character or two in favor of the plot by having them act in ways that we had not known they were capable of.
Relatedly, Bad Chili suffers from too much plot and too much seemingly random plot at that. The story begins with Hap being bitten by a rabid squirrel and somehow ends up with Hap fighting a former professional wrestler in his house while a storm rages around them. The amount of coincidence needed for each section to segue into the next is more than a little contrived and the novel suffers some for it.
So, when all is said and done, this is not my favorite of the Hap and Leonard novels, but I really did enjoy the chance to catch up the boys and meet the new people in their lives and I look forward to seeing how these new relationships develop in the next book. Which I'll be reading very soon.
This makes it easy to empathize with our heroes when we lose a few of the side characters, but, likewise, it makes it easier to see where Lansdale may have chosen to sacrifice a character or two in favor of the plot by having them act in ways that we had not known they were capable of.
Relatedly, Bad Chili suffers from too much plot and too much seemingly random plot at that. The story begins with Hap being bitten by a rabid squirrel and somehow ends up with Hap fighting a former professional wrestler in his house while a storm rages around them. The amount of coincidence needed for each section to segue into the next is more than a little contrived and the novel suffers some for it.
So, when all is said and done, this is not my favorite of the Hap and Leonard novels, but I really did enjoy the chance to catch up the boys and meet the new people in their lives and I look forward to seeing how these new relationships develop in the next book. Which I'll be reading very soon.
scheu's review against another edition
4.0
I've run out of clever things to say about Hap and Leonard. Why haven't you started these books already?
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
A local biker is murdered and Leonard is the prime suspect. After being bit by a possibly rabid squirrel, Hap gets out of the hospital and starts investigating. Can Hap and Leonard escape a web of blackmail, murder, bikers, and less savory things?
My reread of the Hap and Leonard books I haven't written reviews for continues. In this, the fourth volume, Lansdale introduces a couple new characters to the Hap and Leonard mythos that will be important for years to come: Hap's hot nurse girlfriend Brett and Jim Bob Luke, the cockiest detective in the world. At least one long-running character makes his exit.
The case starts simple enough. A biker who'd been seen with Leonard's boyfriend is found shotgunned to death and all fingers point to Leonard, who goes on the lam. Hap tries to hide Leonard while figuring things out and steps in a hornet's nest of grease nappers and brutal videos of gay men getting raped.
This is the fourth Hap and Leonard book I've re-read and I'm continually shocked at how brutal the early tales were compared to the more recent ones. Even though the Lansdale humor is in full effect, I never get the feeling the guys are working with a safety net, a feeling common in series detective books.
As usual, the bad guys were pretty vile, although I wasn't sure who the true villains were for much of the book. Since I was a beardless young man the first time I read this, it was like reading a new book for the most part. The ending was pretty brutal, as a lot of Lansdale endings were in the early days. Uncle Joe sure doesn't mind putting his characters through the meat grinder.
The Hap and Leonard series continues to roll on, mojo style. Four out of five stars.
My reread of the Hap and Leonard books I haven't written reviews for continues. In this, the fourth volume, Lansdale introduces a couple new characters to the Hap and Leonard mythos that will be important for years to come: Hap's hot nurse girlfriend Brett and Jim Bob Luke, the cockiest detective in the world. At least one long-running character makes his exit.
The case starts simple enough. A biker who'd been seen with Leonard's boyfriend is found shotgunned to death and all fingers point to Leonard, who goes on the lam. Hap tries to hide Leonard while figuring things out and steps in a hornet's nest of grease nappers and brutal videos of gay men getting raped.
This is the fourth Hap and Leonard book I've re-read and I'm continually shocked at how brutal the early tales were compared to the more recent ones. Even though the Lansdale humor is in full effect, I never get the feeling the guys are working with a safety net, a feeling common in series detective books.
As usual, the bad guys were pretty vile, although I wasn't sure who the true villains were for much of the book. Since I was a beardless young man the first time I read this, it was like reading a new book for the most part. The ending was pretty brutal, as a lot of Lansdale endings were in the early days. Uncle Joe sure doesn't mind putting his characters through the meat grinder.
The Hap and Leonard series continues to roll on, mojo style. Four out of five stars.
ponyonmyboat15's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0