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Joe R. Lansdale

Biography

Joe R. Lansdale

Joe R. Lansdale is the author of nearly four dozen novels, including RUSTY PUPPY, the Edgar Award-winning THE BOTTOMS, SUNSET AND SAWDUST and LEATHER MAIDEN. He has received nine Bram Stoker Awards, the American Mystery Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the Grinzane Cavour Prize for Literature. He lives with his family in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Joe R. Lansdale

Books by Joe R. Lansdale

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Humor, Mystery

Charlie Garner’s ex-wife, Meg, has been missing for over a week. Neighbors claim she’s running from bill collectors, but Charlie suspects something more sinister is afoot. Meg was last seen working at the local donut shop, a business run by a shadow group most refer to as “The Saucer People” --- a space-age, evangelist cult who believe their compound to be the site of an extraterrestrial Second Coming. Along with his brother, Felix, and journalist Amelia “Scrappy” Moon, Charlie uncovers strange and frightening details about the compound (read: a massive, doomsday storehouse of weapons, a leashed chimpanzee!) When the body of their key informer is found dead with his arms ripped out of their sockets, Charlie knows he’s in danger but remains dogged in his quest to rescue Meg.

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Mystery

Daniel Russell was only 13 years old when his father tried to kill them both by driving their car into Moon Lake. Miraculously surviving the crash --- and growing into adulthood --- Daniel returns to the site of this traumatic incident in the hopes of recovering his father's car and bones. As he attempts to finally put to rest the memories that have plagued him for years, he discovers something even more shocking among the wreckage that has ties to a twisted web of dark deeds, old grudges and strange murders. As Daniel diligently follows where the mysterious trail of vengeance leads, he unveils the heroic revelation at its core.

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Hard-boiled Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction

Ed Edwards is in the used car business. Burdened by an aging, alcoholic mother constantly on his case to do something worthier of his lighter skin tone and dreaming of a brighter future for himself and his plucky little sister, Ed is ready to get out of the game. When Dave, his lazy, grease-stained boss, sends him to repossess a Cadillac, Ed finally gets the chance to escape his miserable life. The Cadillac in question was purchased by Frank Craig and his beautiful wife Nancy, owners of a local drive-in and pet cemetery. Fed up with her deadbeat husband and with unfulfilled desires of her own, Nancy suggests to Ed that they kill Frank and claim his insurance policy. It is a tantalizing offer, but does Ed have what it takes to see the plan through?

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Short Stories, Suspense, Thriller

Hap Collins looks like a good ol’ boy. But even in his misspent youth, his best pal is Leonard Pine, who is black, gay and the ultimate outsider. Inseparable friends, Hap and Leonard climb into the boxing ring, visit their families, get in bar fights and just go fishing --- all the while confronting racists, righting wrongs and eating a whole lot of delicious food. In OF MICE AND MINESTRONE, Joe R. Lansdale --- along with his daughter Kasey Lansdale’s down-home recipes and New York Times bestselling crime author Kathleen Kent’s introduction --- has cooked up a new passel of tales for you about the unlikeliest duo East Texas has to offer, created by his own self.

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Hap is celebrating his wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Brett (who is also Hap and Leonard's boss), when their backyard barbecue is interrupted by a couple of Pentecostal white supremacists. Judith Mulhaney's daughter, Jackrabbit, has been missing for five years. Well, she's been missing from them for five years, but she's been missing from everybody, including the local no-goods who ran with her, for a few months. Despite their misgivings about Judith and her son, Hap and Leonard take the case. It isn't long until they find themselves mixed up in a revivalist cult that believes Jesus will return flanked by an army of lizard-men --- solving a murder to boot.

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Hap and Leonard are an unlikely pair, but they're the closest friend either of them has in the world. After years of crime-solving companionship, something has changed: Hap, recently married to their P.I. boss, Brett, is now a family man. Amidst the worst flood East Texas has seen in years, the two run across a woman who has had her tongue nearly cut out, pursued by a heavily armed pair of goons. It turns out the girl survived a mob hit, and the boss has come to clean up the mess. Hap and Leonard must save the girl and vanquish her foes before the foes get them first. With a new case to solve and a brand-new challenge to their relationship, will Hap and Leonard's friendship survive? Will they survive?

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

While Hap, a former ’60s activist and self-proclaimed white trash rebel, is recovering from a life-threatening stab wound, Louise Elton comes into Hap and Leonard's PI office to tell him that the police have killed her son, Jamar. Months earlier, a bully cop pulled over and sexually harassed Jamar's sister, Charm. The officer followed Charm over the course of the next couple of months, leading Jamar to videotape and take notes on the cop and his partner. The next thing Louise hears, Jamar got in a fight and is killed in the projects by local hoods. It doesn't add up: he was a straight-A student, destined for better things, until he began to ask too many questions about the racist police force.

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

When Hap and Leonard witness a man abusing his dog, Leonard takes matters into his own fists --- and now the bruised dog abuser wants to press charges. One week later, a woman drops by their new PI office with a proposition: find her missing granddaughter, or she'll turn in a video of Leonard beating the dog abuser. The two agree to take on the cold case and soon discover that the used car dealership where her granddaughter worked is actually a front for a prostitution ring. What began as a missing-person case becomes one of blackmail and murder.

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Western

Young Willie is on the run, having fled his small Texas farm when an infamous local landowner murdered his father. A man named Loving takes him in and trains him in the fine arts of shooting, riding, reading and gardening. When Loving dies, Willie re-christens himself Nat Love in tribute to his mentor and heads west. But the hellhounds are still on his trail, and they brutally attack Nat's love. Pursuing the men who have driven his wife mad, Nat heads south for a final showdown against those who would strip him of his life.

by Joe R. Lansdale - Crime, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Richard Dane has killed a man. He cannot unhear the firing of the gun or unsee the blood on his living room wall. But everybody in the small town of LaBorde, Texas knows Dane acted in self defense. Everybody except Ben Russel, the ex-con father of the small-time criminal who invaded Dane's home. When Russel comes looking for revenge against Dane's family, the two are unexpectedly drawn into a conspiracy that conceals the vilest of crimes.

by Joe R. Lansdale - Adventure, Fiction, Western

When a traveling group of bank-robbing bandits murder Jack's grandfather and kidnap his sister, Jack must grow up fast and enlist a band of heroes the likes of which has never been seen if his sister stands any chance at survival. But the best he can come up with is a charismatic, bounty-hunting dwarf, a grave-digging son of an ex-slave, and a street-smart woman-for-hire who has come into some very intimate knowledge about the bandits (and a few members of Jack's extended family to boot).

by Joe R. Lansdale - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

May Lynn, once a pretty girl who dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star, is now dead. Sue Ellen, her strong-willed teenage friend, sets out to dig up May Lynn's body, burn it to ash, and take those ashes to Hollywood to spread around. But Sue Ellen has some stolen money that her enemies will do anything to get back.