Hap Collins and Lester Pine in trouble again
This is book 2 in the Hap & Leonard series by Lansdale. I've been reading these on and off for a few years but somehow missed reading this one. I was also a fan of the cancelled TV series and I did see season two of the series which was based on Mucho Mojo. This came out in 2017 so I didn't remember a lot of the details but the book brought a lot of it back to me.
When Leonard's Uncle Chester dies, he leaves him a house. Leonard decides to fix it up along with Hap's help which leads to the discovery of a chest under the floorboards which contains the decimated body of a young boy along with some kiddie porn mags. So was Uncle Chester the monster this appears to make him? Leonard doesn't think so and seeks to find out how and why the body got there. This leads to a decades old case where young boys have disappeared and possibly been killed. The disappearances seem to happen during August every year and may involve a Baptist preacher.
This book introduces several characters that appear in later novels including the beautiful Florida Grange who has an affair with Hap and becomes their lawyer, and Lt. Marvin Hanson the only black cop in town. The novel is also filled with Lansdale's usual violence and racial epithets and is not for the easily offended. But as usual, I really enjoyed this one and will be looking forward to reading more in the series. I've already read up to the fifth book, Rumble Tumble, and hopefully will get to the next one, Captains Outrageous soon.
When Leonard's Uncle Chester dies, he leaves him a house. Leonard decides to fix it up along with Hap's help which leads to the discovery of a chest under the floorboards which contains the decimated body of a young boy along with some kiddie porn mags. So was Uncle Chester the monster this appears to make him? Leonard doesn't think so and seeks to find out how and why the body got there. This leads to a decades old case where young boys have disappeared and possibly been killed. The disappearances seem to happen during August every year and may involve a Baptist preacher.
This book introduces several characters that appear in later novels including the beautiful Florida Grange who has an affair with Hap and becomes their lawyer, and Lt. Marvin Hanson the only black cop in town. The novel is also filled with Lansdale's usual violence and racial epithets and is not for the easily offended. But as usual, I really enjoyed this one and will be looking forward to reading more in the series. I've already read up to the fifth book, Rumble Tumble, and hopefully will get to the next one, Captains Outrageous soon.
