Patti Abbott, Mucho Mojo, Joe R. Lansdale (from 2011)
Mucho Mojo is the second installment of the Hap and Leonard series by Joe R. Lansdale and a worthy follow-up to the first one. It concerns the disappearance of a number of 8-10 year old boys over a period of 10 years in a small town in Texas. It was very well done, of course, although I did find it improbable that such a long string of disappearances would get so little attention from the authorities given certain similarities. But all in all, I enjoyed this book immensely.
What I wanted to talk about here are the considerable strengths I found in this novel--almost amazing ones.
This is a novel by a white writer set entirely in the black community of a small town--and it never seems patronizing or inauthentic. Hap is virtually the only white character.
Secondly, Lansdale is able to write, almost obsessively, about sex without it seeming prurient or pornographic. His sex is tender and graceful.
Third-he is able to create believable characters with a few strokes of his keyboard. Truly, he can find a feature or embellishment to give them something to make them stand out.
Fourth-he can insert humor gracefully at even the darkest moments.
Fifth- he can use profanity without seeming crass.
What a writer. I am in awe.
Sergio Angelini, IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE, Sherwood King
Yvette Banek, MURDER, MAESTRO PLEASE, Delano Ames
Bill Crider, KYLAR, Gregory MacDonald
Jame DiBiasio, SIAM, Lily Tuck
Ed Gorman, A MEMORY OF MURDER, Ray Bradbury
Nick Jones, Parker Books, Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake)
George Kelley, BINARY, Michael Crichton
Margot Kinberg, THE CHALK CIRCLE MAN, Fred Vargas
Evan Lewis, WHITMAN AUTHORIZED TV EDITIONS
Steve Lewis/Willian Deeck, GALLOWS WAIT, James Corbett
Todd Mason, WILD RIDERS, Lee Hoffman
Neer, IN MATTO'S REALM, Frederick Glauser
Juri Nummelin, KUBERT, David (Day) Keene
James Reasoner, GEW GANGSTER, Joe Kubert
Richard Robinson, ORCHESTRATED BY DEATH, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
R.T., CRITIQUE OF CRIMINAL REASON, Michael Gregorio
Ron Scheer, THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, Mart Twain
Michael Slind, DARKER THAN AMBER, John D. MacDonald
Kerrie Smith, THE BIG SLEEP, Raymond Chandler
Kevin Tipple/Patrick Ohl, THE RISING OF THE MOON, Gladys Mitchell
TomCat, DEATH KNOCKS THREE TIMES, Anthony Gilbert
Prashant Trikannad, THE BIG FIX, Vikas Singh
10 comments:
I have nothing. Too busy to write my notes.
Yes, Lansdale is pretty good isn't he? And he's a hoot in person too.
Jeff M.
Lansdale is great. I need to read more of his stuff. He dispenses great writing advice via Facebook, too.
Major props to any Americans with posts today. I'm still recovering.
Patti, thank you for including my review.
Yeah, Lansdale is a major talent for sure.
Thanks as ever, Patti :-)
If it's not too late, Patti. I'm working on a FFB post as we speak. Had to rest up (didn't get up until noon today and I'm not ashamed to admit it!!!) Thanksgiving was wonderful but very fatiguing playing with a three year old and entertaining a six month old and then there's all that eating and celebrating....Exhausting! But in a good way of course. Rocky and I need a vacation. Ha!
With less good reason than Yvette, I too am running late, as usual of late. But, indeed, Lansdale deserves the kind of success here at home he's getting in one of my ancestral nations, Italia. (The bright Italians read Lansdale...the stupid ones keep re-electing Berlusconi.) He's been doing brilliant work, and rarely less than good work, for quite some time...
Finally: WILD RIDERS, Lee Hoffman
http://socialistjazz.blogspot.com/2013/11/ffb-wild-riders-by-lee-hoffman-signet.html
ID word: swebass...
Swe Swebass's BadTailed Splah, perhaps..
I've mailed my lists with Yvette's, Ed Gorman's, and Karyn Reeves's added:
Yvette Banek, MURDER, MAESTRO, PLEASE, Delano Ames http://yvettecandraw.blogspot.com/2013/11/fridays-forgotten-or-overlooked-book_29.html
Ed Gorman, A MEMORY OF MURDER, Ray Bradbury http://newimprovedgorman.blogspot.com/2013/11/forgotten-books-memory-of-murder-by-ray.html
Karyn Reeves, THE LONELY PASSION OF MISS JUDITH HEARNE, Brian Moore http://apenguinaweek.blogspot.com/2013/11/penguin-no-1343-lonely-passion-of-miss.html
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