Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Devil Red (Hap & Leonard) by Joe Lansdale


In this sequel to Vanilla Ride Hap and Leonard are back. Hap is getting more plagued by his conscience by the day, troubled by his violent ways these days. It doesn't help Leonard takes him along to beat up some gangbangers to get an old lady's money back.
When they are hired by their PI friend Marvin to investigate a cold murder case he will have to come to term with those violent ways, though, as he has to encounter the assassin called Devil Red. And when Vanilla Ride returns there will be hell to pay.
Another great violent but funny and sometimes even moving story you just can't understand why Quentin Tarantino didn't buy the film rights yet. Think about it, Bruce Willis as Hap, Samuel Jackson as Leonard... instant box office hit!
Until that happens though, just buy this one and love every page of it.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Dance In The Dark (Scott Elliott) by Terence Faherty


Scott Elliott, Terence Faherty's historical PI is back, this time in 1969. Still a Hollywood op, he sets out to find a missing girl and stop a shipment of marijuana from being smuggled. He ends up at a Woodstock-like music festival, complete with biker security guys (never a good idea).
Meanwhile, he has to deal with the fact his son is MIA in Vietnam, causing some marital problems.
The story was a bit light on tension and suspense for me, but there's enough of a mystery and action to make it a thrilling enough read. The real fun comes from the view it gives you of that specific time periode, complete with references to Star Trek, Batman,Woodstock and cheap sci-fi flicks.