Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are a pair of Texas 'necks with a weakness for taking on lost causes and hopeless situations. Usually they prevail, though not before 200 or so pages of being abused (verbally and physically) be some of the ornerist characters imagined by the talented Texan, Joe Lansdale.
By my count "Devil Red" is the eighth mainstream Leonard and Hap novel. The boys, fresh off a rumble with some local lowlifes, get tangled up in an old murder case, leading them to a string of other slayings.
Are all the killings related somehow?
Shit yeah they are.
I enjoyed "Devil Red," though the identity of the killer and the backstory it involves is a might far fetched for my taste. Though it appeals to the comic book/James Bond fan in me, that's not what I'm looking for when Leonard and Hap get together on the printed page. I prefer their stories stripped down, reeking of violence, corruption and Lansdale's keen sense of the absurd.
"Devil Red" is a fun, fast read and will make a fan out of most newcomers who try it out. Like Leonard and Hap, the series remains strong, vibrant and sharply funny.
It’s Bigger Than NPR’s Katherine Maher
2 weeks ago
No comments:
Post a Comment