Vanilla Ride, by Joe R. Lansdale

Lansdale killed it. He took aim, and hit the target straight up. Again I ask - WHY AREN'T THESE MOVIES YET? Someone give me a few million dollars and I WILL return the investment on a film series. The Hap and Leonard books are practically already written to be films, and they'd be the single best series of crime films ever made.

A full review should be coming. But let me just say a few things:

1. This book is so good that today at lunch I thought I was having an old memory of somewhere I had been. However, I wasn't remembering anything that actually happened to me, I was remembering something in Vanilla Ride. Lansdale is that good of a writer. Word for word, he's probably the best writer working in the genre today. Although I probably shouldn't make that claim. However, if someone thinks I'm wrong, please point me to a better writer so I can be enlightened.

2. Hap and Leonard are two of the best realized and funniest characters in all of the world of genre fiction. No doubt. These guys are hilarious, And ruthless. Wise crackin' killers with hearts of gold and dirty mouths.

3. Vanilla Ride has some of the best action set pieces I've ever read. I usually skim action in books because it's just not all that interesting. However, Lansdale writes it with the skill of a visual master. The four major set pieces in this book are exciting, tense, and full-on entertaining.

So yeah - if you like crime fiction and you aren't reading the Hap and Leonard books, or Lansdale in general, do yourself a favor and rectify that problem pronto.