joe lansdale makes writing taut, compulsively readable suspense novels look so easy. the remarkable thing about his books is they almost never have any fat hanging around: they’re lean and mean, especially the hap & leonard novels. bad chili is the fourth book in the series, and offers up the same sort of twisty thrills seen in the first three. unfortunately, however, i didn’t find myself quite as engaged in the mystery and i found the plot to be a bit too convoluted for its own good by the book...

Pulpiest, wackiest, most outrageous one yet.

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 Br...

I started this smack in the middle of a series but I quickly gathered that Hap and Leonard are some good ole boys, best friends in East Texas who have a way of finding trouble. Hap, east Texas white boy, is off a job on an Oil Rig and comes back to find Leonard, who is black and gay, is upset that his on and off again boyfriend Raul has finally left him. All this catching up is then interrupted by one crazy squirrel. Things go further off the rails when a dead body turns up and fingers start poi...

If you want an irreverent, crazy, fast read, Hap and Leonard provide it. Squirrels, tornadoes, nurses, rabies, shotguns...

Our good ol' boys, the East Texas rednecks, Hap and Leonard are back in LaBorde as they're drawn into the investigation of the murder of a couple of bikers, one of whom was Leonard's lover as well as an increased number of attacks on gays in the town...Continued Lansdale humor peppered by his usual violence...Very "politically incorrect," which makes it a decent read!

This was the usual Hap and Leonard fare - lots of humor, interesting story, fast reading. It started out with a pretty hilarious story where Hap got attacked by a rabid squirrel (well, he didn't think it was very hilarious). If you don't find that part funny, then you probably won't like the series, so you might as well stop. As usual, the story itself it not that important, it's just something to keep us reading as the wisecracks keep coming. Enjoy the ride.I just discovered Netflix has a serie...

I am somewhat relieved that this fourth book of the Hap and Leonard series returns to the hilarious wit of the first two books. That isn't to say Lansdale lets go of the blood and grit that is liberally splattered through the other novels. And the author keeps his realistic if cynical outlook on life intact as relayed by the idealistic Hap and the pessimistic Leonard. But after all that, Bad Chili is mainly side-splitting funny. Just read the first 15 pages regarding a berserk squirrel and its a...

Bad ChiliHap & Leonard Book 4Joe R. Lansdale In a classic Lansdale move, Bad Chili begins with Hap & Leonard giving each other shit. These two get roasted!A rabid squirrel jumps out of nowhere and chases the men around, ultimately biting Hap which sends him to the ER. He meets a bombshell woman with red hair and a no-bullshit attitude (because of course he does!).Things take a sharp turn when he learns that his best friend is in some pretty serious trouble and is now missing. Bad Chili doesn’t t...

Nothing here but more Hap & Leonard goodness. The opening has to be the funniest and most ridiculous beginnings to one of these books yet, and the plot was riveting. I fucked up and waited too long to review this one so I've already forgotten lots of details, but this was great.

I started reading this series earlier this year, but Hap and Leonard already feel like a couple of old friends! In this wild installment, while Hap is stuck in the hospital awaiting rabies shots after a run-in with a crazed squirrel and shitty health insurance, he discovers that not only has Leonard gone missing, but Leonard is also the lead suspect in the murder of Horse Dick McNee, a biker that stole his boyfriend Raul. In his quest to clear Leonard of Horse Dick's murder, he will discover a p...

Hap returns from a stint working on an oil rig to find that Leonard and Raul have broken up again and Raul has taken up with a new biker boyfriend. Unfortunately that can't be all he bad new for our fearless duo. Because Raul's new boyfriend is found dead and suspicion falls on Leonard. Local cop Charlie Blank tries to help the boys out, but his hands are largely tied by the structure of local law enforcement. So the boys are thrust into a web of murder and blackmail that they are ill-equipped t...

The appearance at the two-thirds mark of Jim Bob Luke from Cold in July rescued this novel for me as I was getting a bit bored with all the repetitive dialog. Jim Bob as a character is an equal to Hap and Leonard and he just sent the plot and the character interactions places they couldn't have gone otherwise. The mystery these good old boys be solving takes some teasing to get it out and in the meantime Lansdale delivers some brilliant scenes of violence and a lot of dialog, most of it funny, b...

Hap returns home from working a gig on an oil rig and is promptly attacked by a rabid squirrel. Thanks to crappy insurance and a grumpy doctor he has to stay in the hospital in order to get his rabies shots paid for. While Hap is left to the mercy of the American health care system his best friend Leonard has been having problems with his boyfriend, Raul. Raul has been two-timing him with a biker, and it’s made Leonard so angry that he’s doing crazy things like beating the biker with a broom han...

If there were ever a modern day Samuel Clemens, it would be Joe Lansdale. Man Joe knows how to spin a story that combines adventure, comedy, mystery, horror, and just all-around interesting characters. I really should review more of his work, but I fear I wouldn't do it justice. This is the 4th in the Hap & Leonard series, and probably my favorite so far. Love these characters, it feels like you know them personally because of how well written the stories are. Word of advice, if you are part of

This is another politically uncorrect wacky mystery featuring best friends Hap and Leonard. Hap is an everyman sort of slacker guy and Leonard is a big, tough black guy who happens to like men. Hap and Leonard love each other like brothers and are the unlikeliest of friends and their friendship has survived longer than any of their previous relationships. They are hilarious together, especially in this book which, thankfully, isn’t quite as dark as “Two Bear Mambo, though it has its dark moments...

I have been looking for one of these books for two and a half years. Not politically correct, but it certainly grabs your attention. Brutal in spots, but strongly recommended.

Hap getting hospitalised by a squirrel and a dodgy combination of insurance companies might be one of the all time most original setups for a crime novel. At least that I've read. It sets the tone for both hilarity and violence and Lansdale follows it up with so many great moments like it in the first half that it pushes the weaker second half through its slow and repetitive patches before a shotgun death or two electroshocks it back in to top gear, proving once more that these two guys in the h...

The 4th book in the Hap & Leonard series, and I’m thinking to myself, what makes these novels so readable? Sure, they’re heavy on the action and violence, and they dip their toes in humor quite a bit, but that can’t just be it, can it? Because, in contrast, there are plenty of quiet, calm, human moments too, conversations, slices of crusty, small-town East Texas so vividly painted, they’re basically real. Yes, these books are EVEN. That’s the word I’m looking for! The story unfolds easily and na...