Bad Chilli by
Joe R. Lansdale
pbk out October 98
(Indigo)
at £5.99
A buddy novel and a novel of suspense which is also full of laughs. Can you think of anything better? Joe R Lansdale is back again with another Hap and Leonard adventure.
While Hap is laid up in hospital, under supervision for rabies, he hears that Leonard has gone missing and is suspected of murder by the police. Like the good buddy he is, Hap gets out of his hospital bed and goes looking for his friend.
Great opening. Hap and Leonard and a rabid squirrel in the woods.
But this time around Joe Lansdale doesn't quite manage to keep up the pace. He is trying too hard in this novel, and it shows. You can see where he's been working on the seams. The jokes are forced, so they don't come across as funny. It reads as though the author is under real pressure, which is a pity, because he works much better when he's laid-back.
Hap gets himself a really over-the-top and quite unbelievable girlfriend called Brett, and there's the usual array of baddies, but the glue that holds it altogether wasn't there for me.
(
John Baker
- author of the Sam Turner mysteries and one of Britain's most highly acclaimed writers)
Bad Chilli by
Joe R. Lansdale