"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, ... read full description
Joe pulls up the truck, says, ... read full description
reviews
Feb 07, 2011
Dan
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
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Mar 21, 2011
Kemper
rated it: 
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.
After the best fight scene in a trailer since Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah went at it in Kill Bill 2, 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 nickanamed the Big Guy. Oh, then there's the professional killer called Van More...
After the best fight scene in a trailer since Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah went at it in Kill Bill 2, 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 nickanamed the Big Guy. Oh, then there's the professional killer called Van More...
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(6 people liked it)
Feb 25, 2011
Paul
rated it:
This is the first novel I have read by Joe R. Lansdale and after reading all the awards he has won I wonder why it has taken me so long. He has received the British Fantasy Award, the American Mystery Award, the Edgar Award, the Grinzane Cavour Prize for Literature, and seven Bram Stoker Awards.
"Vanill Ride" is the seventh book in the Hap and Leonard series. If you familiar with the novels of Tim Dorsey, you will find that Hap and Leonard are a lot like Serge A. Storm and More...
"Vanill Ride" is the seventh book in the Hap and Leonard series. If you familiar with the novels of Tim Dorsey, you will find that Hap and Leonard are a lot like Serge A. Storm and More...
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Feb 11, 2011
Steve
rated it:
I envy my wife. She has the ability to taste a meal and tell you what ingredients went into it. I mean her tongue wears a Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat and most likely smokes a meerschaum pipe.
(where is my spellcheck when I really need it the most?)
Which brings me to this book.
I had to stop for a minute before deciding which Goodreads "shelf" I was going to file this book under.
The book's flavor was a little hard to place.
Lansdale More...
(where is my spellcheck when I really need it the most?)
Which brings me to this book.
I had to stop for a minute before deciding which Goodreads "shelf" I was going to file this book under.
The book's flavor was a little hard to place.
Lansdale More...
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(1 person liked it)
Mar 28, 2011
D_Davis
rated it:
Lansdale killed it. He took aim, and hit the target straight up. Again I ask - WHY AREN'T THESE MOVIES YET? Someone give me a few million dollars and I WILL return the investment on a film series. The Hap and Leonard books are practically already written to be films, and they'd be the single best series of crime films ever made.
A full review should be coming. But let me just say a few things:
1. This book is so good that today at lunch I thought I was having an old m More...
A full review should be coming. But let me just say a few things:
1. This book is so good that today at lunch I thought I was having an old m More...
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(7 people liked it)
Nov 13, 2010
Lexi
rated it:
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 ca More...
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 ca More...
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(4 people liked it)
Jul 14, 2009
Tim
rated it:
Longtime favorite characters Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are back - contacted by their friend Marvin who asks them to get his granddaughter away from a group of criminals in the East Texas woods, the boys find much more then they bargained for. Coming up against crooked cops, double dealing feds and the Dixie Mafia they must find a way out of the mess. This one actually started out a little slow - Lansdale dedicates the book to fans who begged another Hap & Leonard adventure, and the beginning
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Nov 24, 2010
Maicie
rated it:
library. audio
Pure entertainment. I’m not even sure why I picked this audio up in the first place. It takes place in Texas, which makes it a western in my mind. And I do not do westerns! The cover is a scantily clothed, uber-skinny, blond holding a gun. As if my self-esteem needed another hit. Turns out I love westerns. At least by this author. And, OMG, I just learned he writes horror, too. Christmas came early this year.
I love that Hap and Leonard aren’t detectives. The More...
Pure entertainment. I’m not even sure why I picked this audio up in the first place. It takes place in Texas, which makes it a western in my mind. And I do not do westerns! The cover is a scantily clothed, uber-skinny, blond holding a gun. As if my self-esteem needed another hit. Turns out I love westerns. At least by this author. And, OMG, I just learned he writes horror, too. Christmas came early this year.
I love that Hap and Leonard aren’t detectives. The More...
Nov 30, 2010
Randy
rated it:
Hap and Leonard are asked by an old friend to rescue his granddaughter from her abusive, drug dealing boy friend. Though outnumbered four to one, our duo didn't have a lot of trouble getting the job done, flushing a great deal of coke down the toilet in the process.
That was only the beginning.
Three of them with a few friends showed up and, in the gun battle, all ended up dead.
Though it was self-defense the FBI got involved. One of the original four they'd beaten up More...
That was only the beginning.
Three of them with a few friends showed up and, in the gun battle, all ended up dead.
Though it was self-defense the FBI got involved. One of the original four they'd beaten up More...
Aug 08, 2011
Craig
rated it: 
Joe R. Lansdale's series of Hap and Leonard novels are always fun, but this was my least favorite so far. The problem may be simple: I have read four of them in the last three months, and maybe the tried-and-true formula is just feeling a little tired right now. If I wait a few months before picking up HYENAS and DEVIL RED, I may feel differently.
But it seemed the humor in this entry just wasn't as funny, and the plot seemed forced at times.
But my biggest complaint is s More...
But it seemed the humor in this entry just wasn't as funny, and the plot seemed forced at times.
But my biggest complaint is s More...
Sep 13, 2011
Steve
rated it:
I'm a big fan of Joe Lansdale-- ALL of the Joe Lansdales. After all, the guy who writes those rollicking B-movie horrors like Drive-In and Dead in the West *can't* be the same one who wrote deep, sensitive and literary thrillers like Fine Dark Line and The Bottoms. Much less the science fiction, the westerns, those dark noir stand-alones.
And then there's the guy who writes Hap and Leonard.
The Hap and Leonard series is a world apart. These books are ass-kicking, funny, as More...
And then there's the guy who writes Hap and Leonard.
The Hap and Leonard series is a world apart. These books are ass-kicking, funny, as More...
Sep 13, 2009
Ian
rated it:
While giving a reading at Book People, Landsale said that the worst mistake an Austinite can make is to drive to Waco and make a right turn. He then proceeded to tells stories from his youth in East Texas, most of which involved people getting savagely beaten for cartoonishly arbitrary reasons. So when the book jacket on Vanilla Ride promises that "people die," they're not fucking around. People do, in fact, die in this book, and if I call Lansdale a trailer-park Elmore Leonard, it's m
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Jan 04, 2011
Paola
rated it:
Hap e Leonard.
E una ragazza figlia di un amico. L'amico gli chiede il favore di andare a riprenderla perché vive con un tossicospacciatore che ogni tanto la pesta. E poi insomma ha 18 anni e non é esattamente una vita che una ragazza così dovrebbe fare.
E Hap e Leonard vanno a riprendere la figlia dell'amico.
E qui comincia l'avventura. Non ho contato i morti. Quanti fucili a pompa, a canne mozze, pistole, revolver.
Lansdale!
Mi domando perché lo leggo. Risposta: perché ogni tanto ho voglia di q More...
E una ragazza figlia di un amico. L'amico gli chiede il favore di andare a riprenderla perché vive con un tossicospacciatore che ogni tanto la pesta. E poi insomma ha 18 anni e non é esattamente una vita che una ragazza così dovrebbe fare.
E Hap e Leonard vanno a riprendere la figlia dell'amico.
E qui comincia l'avventura. Non ho contato i morti. Quanti fucili a pompa, a canne mozze, pistole, revolver.
Lansdale!
Mi domando perché lo leggo. Risposta: perché ogni tanto ho voglia di q More...
Jul 03, 2009
Josh
rated it:
Mighty fine return to form (at least to me) after the somewhat disappointing Rumble Tumble and Captains Outrageous, has Hap and Leonard finding themselves going up against the Dixie Mafia and a mysterious killer who goes by the handle of Vanilla Ride. Too many secondary characters kind of soured me on the last two Hap and Leonard books, but this one roped me back in with the great back-and-forth banter between the leads and a more streamlined, fun plot.
Looking forward to the next Hap More...
Looking forward to the next Hap More...
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May 16, 2010
John
rated it:
This is the latest (2010) Hap and Leonard novel in this wonderful series. This time our two wise-cracking, butt-kicking heroes take on the Dixie Mafia with the help of some equally colorful and deadly associates. There is a lot of violence, of course, plus twists and turns, grisly deaths, shoot-outs and surpises, as usual. I can't imagine that these books could ever be made into movies than in any way capture their true flavor....
Aug 09, 2010
Noah
rated it:
Another knock out entry in the Hap and Leonard series. Here the boys do some incredibly stupid things, and then spend the rest of book trying to get out from under the consequences. You know, the usual. There are some great new characters introduced here (i.e. Tonto and Vanilla Ride). Also, Lansdale does a good job of not letting things get too unrealistic by examining how violence is effecting Hap. Highly Recommended.
Jan 11, 2009
Ron
rated it:
(to be published later in 2009). The return of Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, and arguably Lansdale's best, most controlled novel. The theme is the core of my father's philosophy: "No good deed shall go unpunished." Hap and Leonard free a girl from her abusive, drug dealing boyfriend. Attempted mob hits and mayhem ensue. Does the title refer to Leonard's love of Vanilla Wafers?
Dec 31, 2010
Shawna
rated it: 
I started reading the Hap and Leonard series in the late 90s and I loved them, they were rough, funny, and always good as an entertaining read. Over the last ten years, I don't know if I have changed or the books have. The spark just isn't there anymore. Perhaps the formula is getting a little stale: some guys get beat up, some folks get shot dead, Hap and Leonard sitting around drinking Dr. Pepper and eating vanilla cookies and talking about their significant others. Oh, and not to forget,
More...
Jul 08, 2011
Andrea
rated it:
I love Hap and Leonard, love the breakneck East Texas spit in your eye everyone's-got-at least-one-shotgun black/white straight/queer craziness, the banter and the sex and the violence. I love it, I've just decided to become shorter with stars is all, even if this goes a touch deeper than just a straight up and undiluted shot glass of entertainment.
May 05, 2011
Cjbauer
rated it:
I've always been a fan of Lansdale but mostly in short story formats. I'd read one other book by him and thought it was "good, but not great." I simply cannot believe I've missed out on the pure joy of reading Hap & Leonard. Got a lot of catching up to do. The dialogue alone is simply amazing as is the style in which its written. Just a great book (and fast reading) all around.
Feb 06, 2011
Josh
rated it:
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
More...
Jun 20, 2009
Rick
rated it:
Lansdale marks the return of Hap & Leonard with their finest adventure since Bad Chili. Full of laugh out loud humor, graphic violence, and social relevance. In other words, exactly what we've come to expect from a Lansdale novel.
Highly recommended for both fans of the series and newcomers.
Highly recommended for both fans of the series and newcomers.
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Jul 07, 2009
AS much as I love this series, I don't consider this one of the better ones and found it particularly dissapointing after an eight-year wait. I am only eight chapters ionto it, so perhaps it improves. The previous book, Captains Outrageous, definitely started off stronger.
Aug 18, 2009
David
rated it:
I picked this off the new shelf, unaware that it was number seven in a series. I was totally sold after the scene in the trailer, one of the greatest ass-kicking scenes I have ever read. Needless to say, I have begun to work my way through the earlier installments.
Dec 10, 2010
Andy
rated it:
Good times with Hap and Leonard. Was it a good Hap & Leonard story? Sure was. Was it as fun as earlier novels in the series? Not quite. Never quite hit its stride the way some earlier books in the series did, it never really caught fire. I love these characters, and recommend this series (this book included) but they deserve more.
Nov 21, 2010
Bruce
rated it:
I guess Joe figures that by the sixth book, we kinda know who and what Hap and Leonard are, so he hits the ground running and doesn't let up until the end. Phew! What a ride! And speaking of ride, I sure hope he someday decides to tell us a bit more about Vanilla Ride, I have a feeling that there's one hell of a good book in that character!
May 18, 2010
Godzilla
rated it:
It was with a certain trepidation that I approached this book: I wasn't the biggest fan of Hap and Leonard's last outing: Captains Outrageous.
However within a few pages the dialogue and quips reassured me that the dynamic duo were back on form in this latest adventure.
Lansdale writes dialogue like few others: it's pacy and brings the characters to life vividly. I polished this off in a matter of a few hours, and there's the rub: I wanted it to last forever, but couldn't w More...
However within a few pages the dialogue and quips reassured me that the dynamic duo were back on form in this latest adventure.
Lansdale writes dialogue like few others: it's pacy and brings the characters to life vividly. I polished this off in a matter of a few hours, and there's the rub: I wanted it to last forever, but couldn't w More...
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Nov 23, 2011
Jason
rated it:
Another fun and entertaining read. The Hap and Leonard novels, despite being rife with sex, violence, profanity and whatnot, go down smooth. Or maybe it's because of it. Who knows? In any case, this one is no exception. Lansdale's style just flows.
Apr 05, 2011
Eric
rated it:
I feel that the books are started to be infected with a bit of series creep. Each new situation is becoming more and more impossible for our heroes to the point where it's starting to feel like Dragonball Z and series fatigue is beginning to set in.
Sep 05, 2011
Cherie
rated it:
I enjoyed the book, although I should warn future readers there was a bit too much bad language and unnecessary violence for my taste. The team of Hap and Lawrence sort of puts me in mind of Robert B. Parker's Spenser and Hawk only more violent and way funnier. Only thing, I didn't like the ending much.
