Great Hap and leonard story. Like this one, but Vanilla RIde was better. ( )

Another bawdy and bloody tale featuring Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. There are no taboos here but there is a disturbingly high body count in a novella running right around 200 pages. Every post mortem bowel evacuation is evocatively detailed as Hap & Leonard fumble around in the dark tripping over dead bodies trying to find a serial killer. Not for the squeamish, but bags of fun for everyone else. ( )

The last few chapters really carry this book! ( )

The eighth novel featuring working class misadventurers Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. The East Texas duo, who can be as dangerous as they come if that is what’s needed, this time get in over their heads with their eyes open by agreeing to do some investigating for an old friend who’s opened a P.I. business. Weirdness and violence ensue, a Lansdale trademark. The title refers to a professional assassin, and as soon as that revelation dropped, I knew we would soon be seeing Vanilla Ride, the assassin we’d met in the previous book. She was a fascinating character; no way Lansdale could resist exploring her more deeply. I’d have been disappointed otherwise. Lansdale seldom disappoints. ( )

Hap and Leonard unite the great cultural and political American divide, with Hap the white straight bleeding heart liberal and Leonard the black, gay hang-'em-high conservative, bonded together forever by a sense of friendship that encompasses love, duty, honour, justice, brotherhood and all that good shit. I think a fairly heavy case can be made that they deserve to be a lot more iconic. One day they'll make a TV series out of the books as good as Justified if not better and the dream will come true halleluia.

Investigating a double murder unsolved by the police, our heroes find out more that they want to about vampire cults, are reluctantly drawn back to the Dixie Mafia and become the target of a world-class professional assassin. Along the way, Leonard has to deal with a break-up and Hap has to cope with a sudden rush of PTSD. Then there's all the usual violence, mayhem, scatalogical humour and general smart-arsery that makes these books such a liberating shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. So damn good the damn good has to wear a coat and tie. ( )