I've enjoyed many of Lansdale's "Hap & Leonard" novels, and when I learned that a TV series is about to air, I had to pick up this tie-in edition paperback at Barnes and Noble. It contains short stories from different sources, most of them new to me, and some bonus material about the series.

Later: Enjoyable collection, including the amusing interview by Lansdale of his two main characters, and the "Care and Feeding and Raising Up" section in which Lansdale describes how the series began.

Of the stories, my favorites include:

"Hyenas", which I'd read in a previous collection - it features Hap and Leonard at their badass best, trying to help a hapless fellow whose young brother got mixed up with a VERY bad crowd.

"The Boy Who Became Invisible" is a departure from the classic Hap-and-Leonard stories - it's a prequel, showing Hap as a schoolboy, where he reveals how his friendship with the class outcast, a boy suffering from parental abuse, takes a very tragic turn.

"Not Our Kind" is another prequel, but this one features a high-school-age Hap during the early days of his friendship with Leonard. "I don't know what it was about Leonard, but he brought out the double smartass in me. I figured if I was going to die, I might as well go out with a few good remarks." The two of them are at odds with some racist bullies, and at one point things look pretty bad for them - cue a marvelous rescue scene by some unlikely but terrific heroes. Perhaps my favorite story in this collection.

"Bent Twig" is another story I'd read in a previous collection, and one of the grimmer tales in this one. It features Hap's girlfriend Brett and her troubled - and troublesome, and always-IN-trouble daughter Tillie, whose most recent problems require major and risky effort from Hap and Leonard to rescue her.

Then there's "Death by Chili", which is short and amusing - and notable for its inclusion of Lansdale's own chili recipe!

Lots of violence (of course), lots of humor, and some wildly entertaining (and sometimes cringe-inducing) scenes. Classic Hap and Leonard!

[There's a TV Tropes page on the TV series, with references to the books.]

*** Update: January, 2017: Thanks to ghir for sending me a "WWH&LD" tote bag - "What Would Hap & Leonard Do?" - complete with armadillo! ***

I'm sending this to BCer HI77 in Florida, as part of a trade. Enjoy!

*** Released as part of the 2016 TV Series release challenge. ***

Two guys riding shotgun

with fire up their butts,
that's not just too much chili peppers.

This book has roped itself in the Tag Game! :)

ha ha... I THINK I tagged you with it? I feel so hare brained lately, I'm not a 100% sure. BUT, I'm pretty sure it was a tag. ;)


.... OH WAIT!

Now I remember! I traded Gorydetails for it, because I knew it was on your wishlist!

I still can't remember if I tagged you with it or not, but here it comes!

Yay, Hap and Leonard! Will have a go at this to tide me over until the show comes back. Includes reprints of a couple of older things that have been on my wishlist for a long time. And will share with hyphen8, too.

To TOC, 10/30/16.

Went to lunch at Little Village with TOC, and ghir fed me books. Again.

Thank you as always. :)

...and why am I not surprised that this book started with GoryDetails? :p

Reserved for perryfran as a wishlist tag.

A very enjoyable collection. I particularly liked the two prequel stories for what they showed about Hap-in-development...although "The Boy Who Became Invisible" is, in its own way, quite painful.

I do love the relationship between the two guys, and "Not Our Kind" is fun because it shows the beginning of their relationship, and gives Leonard's uncle Chester some good moments, too.

I'll call this my 2017 Texas read for NancyNova's 2017 50 States reading challenge.
2017 states read (7/51): AL ▫ CA ▫ IN ▫ MS ▫ NY ▫ TX ▫ VT

Headed out as a wishlist tag - enjoy!

Released for Secretariat's 2017 Never Judge a Book By Its Cover Challenge (week 4: cars & trucks) and Davros-10's 2017 TV Challenge.

USPS tracking: 9549 0104 3301 7032 1255 19
ETA 2/21/17

Thanks for sending Hap and Leonard my way as a wishlist tag! I've recently discovered Lansdale and really enjoy his writing. Also saw the first season of the TV series which was also enjoyable. Looking forward to reading this.

I've had this book on my shelves for a few years now but have put off reading it because I wanted to get caught up with the Hap and Leonard novels. I have now read the novels up to Rusty Puppy (which I plan on reading next) and along the way I have also read several of Lansdale's stand-alone novels...all of them very enjoyable. Lansdale has become one of my favorite writers. I also really enjoyed the Hap and Leonard TV series and hated to see it end after just three seasons. Sadly, the actor who played Leonard, Michael K. Williams, died recently. He was a great actor appearing in other shows including The Wire and Boardwalk Empire.



This book was a collection of Hap and Leonard stories that gives a good taste of their exploits and are sort of teasers to get you into the novels. It was published about the time the TV series came out and contains the following:

1. Hyenas: One of my favorites in the collection about a man whose brother is lured into a possible bank heist and may be putting his life at risk until Hap and Leonard get involved.

2. Veil's Visit: Another good story about the lawyer who represents Leonard after he is charged with arson in the burning of a crack house in his neighborhood.

3. Death by Chili: This was a lighter piece with Leonard trying to figure out whether a person committed suicide or was murdered for his chili recipe. Lansdale includes his own chili recipe as an added bonus.

4. Dead Aim: This one was a rather grim story of a woman who hires Hap and Leonard to get her daughter back but she is really not telling all the story. Some unexpected twists and turns.

5. The Boy Who Became Invisible: This one takes place when Hap was in school and is a sad story about bullying and its consequences.

6. Not Our Kind: Another prequel to when Hap was in school and first met Leonard. His classmates don't take kindly to Hap's friendship with a black homosexual but they find out to leave it alone.

7. Bent Twig: Another of my favorites in the collection. Hap's girlfriend's daughter, Tillie, is missing and not for the first time. She has been involved with drugs and prostitution and her life is at risk.

Also included is Lansdale's interview with Hap and Leonard and his narrative of how Hap and Leonard came to be.

I really enjoyed all of this collection. It contained all of the dark humor and violence that is Lansdale's trademark and it is especially very entertaining! Highly Recommended.

Sending to a PaperbackSwap.com reader in Texas. Enjoy!

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