This book was a fun read. I've watched the H and L series on Sundance and fell in love with these two characters, so when I happened on this book I had to give it a read. I confess I've never read anything by Joe Lansdale until now, but plan to start with the H and L series.

"A long-lost bookmobile opens a wild new chapter in the lives of dysfunctional Texas detectives Hap and Leonard—stars of the hit Sundance TV series.

Hap Collins is a straight, white, liberal, blue-collar tough guy. Leonard Pine is a gay, black, Republican combat veteran. Together, they’re the truest Lone Stars living in America’s most independently minded state. Best friends who’ve shared a succession of low-wage odd jobs that have gotten them into even odder situations dealing with lowlifes, now the duo delivers their own brand of ass-kicking justice as private investigators.

In this brand-new story, a day’s fishing lands Hap and Leonard their biggest catch ever: the Rolling Literature bookmobile. A pillar of rural African American communities in East Texas, the renovated school bus vanished fifteen years ago—along with its driver, Harriet Hoodalay, aka Hoodoo Harry—reappearing just in time to crash Leonard’s pickup into a creek. Behind the wheel was a twelve-year-old boy who didn’t survive the accident.

The kid was clearly running scared, but who was he running from and how did he end up in the driver’s seat of the missing bookmobile? The first solid lead in a case that started more than a decade earlier with Hoodoo Harry, this mystery of a small town’s dark and disturbing past will take all of Hap and Leonard’s wits—and fists—to solve.

Known for his “zest for storytelling and a gimlet eye for detail,” multiple award–winning author Joe R. Lansdale brings his rapid-fire dialogue, no-holds-barred action, and gut-busting humor to this original Hap and Leonard novella (Entertainment Weekly).

The Bibliomysteries are a series of short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors."

Being a addict of the TV show, this is a nice way to ease myself from that to the book series. Which I REALLY must read NOW. Why? Because I can't wait for season three!

This is one terrific read. Every character and every twist is well thought out and I look forward to reading more from this author. Not a cozy but not blood and gore either. Love the relationships!

'Hoodoo Harry' by Joe R. Lansdale is a novella in the Hap and Leonard series. It involves a book mobile and a missing librarian.

Hap and Leonard are complete opposites, and basically brothers. One day while they are out fishing, they almost get run over by a stolen bookmobile driven by a young boy. Thus begins a story that takes Hap and Leonard into a case that is over a decade old and involves a community bookmobile and it's missing driver. There are some surprises along the way and Hap and Leonard both get to shine with their own particular strengths.

At 84 pages, it's a densely plotted story that flies by. I enjoyed this entry into the series and I look forward to reading more about these characters.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Open Road Integrated Media and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This is my first Hap and Leonard book (novella really), and I can't wait to read more. This pairing might be my new favorite PI pair, after Stephanie Plum and Ranger, of course.

I chose this book because it revolved around a Bookmobile, but it was a quick, enjoyable read with interesting characters and a good mystery. I was surprised by the murderer, and I liked the way Hap and especially Leonard dealt with the criminals.

I've seen the Lansdale name lots of times but somehow never got around to cracking one of his books open before. At 71 pages, this novelette is a great size for an introduction to his terrific writing. He has a great narrative voice that is easy to read. The pages just fly by. Much of what's great about this book is in the easy attitude, the offbeat humor, and the fact it is do easy to get into.

A novella in the long-running Hap & Leonard series, mystery/thriller books about a pair of mismatched best friends (one a white straight ex-hippie, one a black gay conservative) in rural East Texas. In this adventure, Hap and Leonard are driving home from a fishing trip when their truck is rammed by a bookmobile driven by a terrified 12-year-old boy. Unfortunately the kid does not survive the crash, and an investigation turns up signs of torture on his body as well as the fact that he'd been missing for a week. Even stranger, the bookmobile itself had disappeared more than 15 years ago, along with the woman who drove it. From that point the adventure takes off, with an investigation, more bodies, fistfights, secret hidden rooms, and an all-out gun battle.

This is a quick read (only 76 pages) and could easily be enjoyed without knowledge of the rest of the series, though it's dark enough (as you could probably guess, when a young child dies on page one) that I'm not sure many would want to. It's funny, it's exciting, it's tense, it's basically everything Joe Lansdale always does well, just in a smaller package than usual.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2101836024

Joe Lansdale’s novella Hoodoo Harry is one in the entry of Bibliomysteries (“a series of short tales about deadly books by top mystery authors”). Hoodoo Harry features Lansdale’s much-loved fictional duo Hap and Leonard, and since it’s a short trip with these two, I’d recommend it for fans rather than newbies.

For those unfamiliar with Hap and Leonard, they live in East Texas, outside of mainstream culture by scraping a living at menial jobs as field hands or day laborers. Later in the series, they work at a detective agency run by Hap’s girlfriend, Brett. Hap and Leonard’s close friendship substitutes for other familial relationships, and while these two men are the best of friends, especially during humorous bantering sessions, they seem like an old married couple. Hap Collins is white, Leonard Pine is gay, black, a Vietnam vet. Digging back in Hap and Leonard history, Hap, who was a member of the counter-culture, refused to go to Vietnam, and served time. The two men operate as a team, with Hap as our narrator, so the novels clearly lean towards the Hap side of things. Hap is often troubled about acts of violence that take place while Leonard isn’t troubled by moral questions.

In Hoodoo Harry, Hap and Leonard are on a fishing trip when a bookmobile barrels towards them:

As we came over the hill. the trees crowding in on us from both sides, we saw there was a blue bus coming down the road, straddling the middle line. Leonard made with an evasive maneuver, but by this point the trees on the right side were gone, and there was a shallow creek visible, one that fed into the private lake where we had been fishing. There was no other place to go.

Hap and Leonard survive the accident, but the driver of the bookmobile van doesn’t. Turns out the driver, am orphaned boy named James, had been “couch surfing,” and picking up odd jobs in Nesbit–a town with an ugly history. Hap and Leonard are troubled by James’s death, and although his death was caused by a horrendous accident, they feel responsible. The fact that James was covered with cigarette burns and had clearly been tortured before his death indicates that he was running, terrified from some awful fate. And then there’s a question about the bookmobile. It disappeared 15 years ago along with its driver, Harriet Hoodalay, otherwise known as Hoodoo Harry. This was a cold case until the perfectly preserved missing bookmobile plows into Hap and Leonard.

Where has the bookmobile been for the last 15 years? Where is Hoodoo Harry and why was a runaway child at the wheel of a vehicle he couldn’t handle?

Anyone familiar with Hap and Leonard, who typically take on the cases of the disenfranchised, can guess that these unlikely best friends will investigate the case and find the answers. Race issues, as always, float to the top of the tale. Hap and Leonard operate in East Texas and Nesbit is one of those out-of-the-way unpleasant little towns where everyone appears to know everything about all the mostly unsavory residents.

The tale also includes Lansdale’s signature style and that is occasionally crude. It goes with the territory:

When I came to, I was lying on the ground on my side by the edge of the creek. I was dizzy and felt like I’d been swallowed by a snake and shit down a hole. My throat was raw, and I knew I had most likely puked a batch of creek water.

For Lansdale fans, this tale is a short, fun trip, but it’s probably not the best place to start if you’re new to the Hap/Leonard team

Review copy

Good quick read. First time reading the author, but will be reading more. Two friends are involved in an accident after fishing. A 12 year old book driving a bookmobile is involved in the accident and dies. But the bookmobile that was being driven, has been missing for many years along with the librarian Thus begins this lil gem of a short book that will hold your interest until the end. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review..

First published in 2016; published digitally by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road on August 1, 2017

Hoodoo Harry is Joe R. Lansdale’s contribution to the Bibliomysteries series of stand-alone mystery stories by popular crime writers in which books, bookstores, libraries, or manuscripts play a central role.

Hap and Leonard are run off the road by a bookmobile bus in a part of the country that is still fighting the Civil War. The bookmobile disappeared fifteen years earlier, along with its driver, Harriet Hoodalay, who was known after her disappearance as Hoodoo Harry.

A 12-year-old kid whose unfortunate life is cut short was driving the bus. Of course, Hap and Leonard make it their business to find out why. They engage in their usual wisecracks and make their customary observations about how “neighborliness” in East Texas now consists of shooting anyone who comes too close to a home or business after dark … or maybe even in daylight.

The story blossoms into a murder investigation with multiple victims. Like most of the Hap and Leonard series, this isn’t as powerful as Lansdale’s best work. Hoodoo Harry is an average Hap and Leonard story, which means it entertains. That’s all it’s meant to do, and since it succeeds, I recommend it.

RECOMMENDED

For the fans of Hap & Leonard --- I was almost disappointed. The story ended too soon.

Thank you NetGalley. I do so enjoy what can only be called "Redneck Noir." Joe Lansdale is a master.

Although it was a short read, it had all the requisite carousing and butt-kicking I've come to expect from Hap & Leonard and a very satisfying wind up.

Joe lansdale creates a small work here, a little puppy, business as usual with his master craftsmanship, always on point dialogue, sentences, lucid, lean and straight to the meat of the tale, injustices to be sorted with thee memorable duo Hap and Leonard. Honestly he could write ingredients on back of a product and make it sound interesting. The story may seem like a slightly mellow books on wheels kind of mystery, but don't be deceived by it what lurks within is a tragedy and a real bullet to the heart for the duo. This small work he has condensed with quality, this tale may take some authors 300 pages to do the job he's done, it's a short one but what he's done with it that is great and all for a couple of bucks or pounds or whatever currency you choose.

New to the Hap and Leonard series by Joe R. Lansdale, I went into this novella with an open mind. I'm on record for accepting mysteries and the cover looked like the book had a humorous bent to it, so I bit. Goodness! I do get myself into some very unusual books! Well, more appropriately a novella--VERY short read--and thought this would give me a break from profound emotional fiction.

It did.

As has been previously noted, Hap Collins is a straight, white, liberal ex-hippie to Leonard Pine's gay, black Marine veteran. These two couldn't have less in common except they are both blue collar, Lone Star state residents. They manage a job of sorts--private investigations--and this one is triggered after they are rammed by an errant bookmobile on their way home from a pleasant day fishing.

Unfortunately, the 12 year old driving the runaway bookmobile dies in the accident and couldn't relate the circumstance of the newly surfaced bookmobile, which had been missing for 15 years along with its librarian/driver, Hoodoo Harry, better known as Harriet Hoodalay. Hoodoo Harry was a poor black lady delivering books out of the rural African American community of Nesbit.

Told in gritty first person from Hap's POV, the dialogue runs from Texas down home to city raunchy...I didn't see that and I didn't hear that...but I did. It's probably pretty standard dialogue given the character's backgrounds and definitely lends a load of authenticity.

It's actually Hap's sweetie who suggests they follow the old route of the bookmobile and coordinate with LaBorde Chief of Police, Marvin Hanson, (their law enforcement buddy), who reluctantly fills in some missing pieces. Their interviews with the townsfolk quickly solves the whodunit.

As a reader of a series offered in a short novella, I was left with questions regarding the protagonists. It is not understood how these two ever got together and they could have used a little more fleshing out.

This novella download was offered by Open Road Media and NetGalley and I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to read and review. Can you handle a little crude or vulgar dialogue? Then this is a recommended read for those who enjoy fast and tight mysteries with unusual central characters.

Another fun little story starring Hap and Leonard, who can't seem to stay out of trouble for a minute. This time, they get wrapped up in a missing book mobile, a 12-year old driving it, and the horrific things he was trying to escape from.

I really enjoy this series and Joe Lansdale's writing.

This is a short mystery, on of a series of stories commissioned by Bibliomysteries. I guess it's ok but it was over before I could appreciate it.

I received a review copy of "Hoodoo Harry" by Joe R. Lansdale (Open Road Integrated Media) through NetGalley.com.

I'm not going to bother to review online.

Loved it!! A quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Hap and Leonard back with their crazy humor that had me laughing out loud. Highly recommended!

This is a short story/novella that is easily read stand alone. It is part of the Hap and Leonard Series and has two great characters that solve mysteries and crimes. Best friends, Hap and Leonard are as different as can be but work together just fine. Set in Texas you get a bit of history of a small black settlement established by survivors of the civil war. When a bookmobile that went missing 20 years ago runs Hap and Leonard off the road they are on the case that leads to a serial murder suspect. A fast moving quick read.

I enjoyed this short story. The characters are familiar feeling. Though this story is short, it was lengthy with imagination. The lead characters of Hap and Leonard are great. I do wish there was a chance for more deep thought. Though the gruesome discovery at the end was exciting. The book starts with a crash and ends with a crash. It was fun, and light to read. I want to read more about the lead characters and the towns they visit. I look forward to buying the book officially.

Let's start off with a few caveats: 1. I knew this was part of a series but had gotten the impression that it was a stand alone in a series of somewhat related stories. 2. I did not know there was an actual tv series about the two main characters. I thought the characters were on the tv show. 3. It was book and murder related so had I known the first two caveats I probably still would have read it.

There is no way Hap and Leonard should be friends. They are almost as polar opposite as two guys can get. But this binds them together even more. And together they track down the killer of a bookmobile driver and several kids after almost being killed by said bookmobile. Before my review gets longer than the 72 pages that make up this story, I will say that now I need to find out if I get the Sundance channel and track down some chronological listing of other stories in this series.

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

<i>'That damn sure does fall into the range of peculiar.'</i> Boy howdy, it sure does. Hap and Leonard are back and in fine fettle. As always, it is the back and forth between these two that is so entertaining. Wicked and witty is their banter as they look into why a bookmobile that has been missing for 15 years has suddenly reappeared. What clandestine doin's have been taking place within its interior? They may not do it pretty, but Hap and Leonard will get to the bottom of it and put paid to the bad guys.