Jackrabbit Smile

After trying, and failing, at three other series, slipping into a Hap & Leonard book...hell, slipping into any Joe R. Lansdale book...is like pulling on that most comfortable t-shirt, and those well worn in jeans. There's just something about these books that make me feel good.

It doesn't even matter what this book is about. Hap & Leonard have another case. They meet some good guys, and they meet some real assholes. The assholes all get a butt-kicking.

It ain't the story, so much as how Lansdale, through his POV character Hap Collins, tells the story. And honestly, a more enjoyable narrator you'll never meet. This book has action, it has humour, and it's got a whole lotta heart.

I don't know how Lansdale doesn't sell a billion books. He show more seriously should. show less

“Is this about Jackie or is it about black and white relations, and exactly why have we become the target for an ass whipping when we’re merely asking about a missing lady who turns out to be good at math and is a little kooky?”

Well, that about sums up the plot to this here tale! Another good read and another fine Hap and Leonard novel! The duo get hired by a couple of racists to find Jackie, the gal with the bucktoothed smile. Leads to a whole lotta other characters, and the usual Hap and Leonard misadventures. I wish I coulda learned more about the twins, but other than that, I was totally happy with this story and hope to hell there's another one coming down the pike! Oh, and mazel tov to Hap and Brett!

Eleven novels in (and something like the 18th book with Hap and Leonard, if you also count all the collections that include a H&L story), Lansdale doesn't seem to be slowing down on his greatest creation.

The books are still fun, and I do enjoy the novels more than the shorts, to be honest, however, as a few others are saying, this series is beginning to show its age a touch.

All the usual things happen here.
- Someone shows up to hire the boys.
- The case takes a few complicated turns.
- Hap and Leonard crack wise a lot to each other.
- Hap and Leonard crack wise a lot to others, most of whom don't appreciate the humour.
- Hap and Brett get up to their bedroom hijinks.
- Leonard eats vanilla cookies.
- Leonard upsets someone due to his skin show more colour.
- Leonard upsets someone due to his homosexuality.
- The boys get beaten up a touch.
- The boys beat the crap out of others.
- The boys find a dead body.
- The boys make a few dead bodies of their own.
- Everything works out in the end.

My point is, if you go in expecting this (as I do), then you get some pleasure in ticking off the boxes. However, if you go in looking for the same excitement, danger, and unpredictability of the earlier novels, you will be sorely disappointed. Yes, Lansdale can still offer up some different angles (the mother and son who hire the boys, for instance), but for the most part, this once dangerous series has become rather safe.

Which is a shame.

But also a touch understandable. I know Lansdale plays with their age on a very sliding scale, but there's also a point where, no matter how much he slides that scale, the reader has to wonder how long these two guys can continue their run without facing some serious consequences. show less

Hap and Leonard return to Hap's hometown of Marvel Creek in Joe Lansdale's latest release JACKRABBIT SMILE.

This time around our heroes are hired by a man and his mother to find their missing sister/daughter. The relationship between Hap, Leonard and Brett and their new clients isn't a good one, since both the man and his mom are openly prejudiced against any and all who aren't white. Which, of course, doesn't sit well with Leonard. Will the dynamic duo find the missing girl? Will the people who hired them get their due? You'll have to read this to find out!

The humor Joe Lansdale is famous for is here in spades, but there's a lot of darkness as well. Hap's hometown is full of racism, violence, and both false prophets and profits. (It's show more hard to believe good-hearted Hap came from such an ugly place.) All of this makes for a quick, extremely entertaining read.

If you're reading the Hap and Leonard series, you already know how addicting these books can be. If you're watching the television series on the Sundance Channel, you'll note some similarities between the current season and this book. Both take unflinching looks at the ugliness of racism in all of its different faces and forms; but they do it with bravery and a sense of humor. I think that's what makes this series, (both the books and the television show), so special and enjoyable.

If you're not reading this series or watching the show, what are you waiting for?

Highly recommended!

*Thanks to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This is it.* show less

What can I say, it's Lansdale. Solid writing, great story. I often whine about Stephen King's books being too long. In the case of Jackrabbit Smile, I'll whine that it wasn't long enough....LOL.

This is the 11th novel in the Hap and Leonard series. In this volume, Hap and Leonard have been hired to find a young woman nicknamed Jackrabbit, who went missing in Hap's old home town, Marvel Creek. The place isn't as much of a racist, poverty-stricken hell hole as it was when Hap was a boy, but a segregationist hog farmer called the Professor seems to have taken over most of the local businesses. As the bodies start to pile up, things start to look grim, but the book ends with a surprise twist I didn't see coming. It's a great story.

Hap and Leonard on another adventure. All the usual elements are here, humorous dialogue, bizarre characters, plenty of violence. There isn't a strong plot, but it's always a treat to spend time with these two tough guys.