Vanilla Ride

A Hap and Leonard Novel #7

By: Joe R. Lansdale

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Hap Collins is an east Texas redneck, with a liberal bent, and a weakness for Texas women. Leonard Pine is a black, gay, Vietnam veteran. Not who you'd normally pick for best friends but there you go. Together they share an affinity for the martial arts and are a bundle of trouble, but trouble is what they love.

When an old friend of Leonard tells him that his daughter is dating an abusive, no-good drug dealer, Leonard does the only thing a man of his disposition would do: he offers to get her back, and invites Hap along for the fun. Wrapped in the Texas heat, they raid the drug dealer's hideout, rescue the girl, cause general chaos, and then proceed to teach the dealer a lesson by flushing ounces of raw cocaine down the toilet. That was their first mistake.

Turns out the lowly hoods are pawns in a vast crime operation known as the Dixie Mafia, and when the Mafia comes calling for Hap and Leonard an all out car chase gunfight ensues, people die but Hap and Leonard come out on top.

Their second mistake, however, was busting up one of the Dixie Mafia henchmen, who happened to be undercover FBI. Now they find themselves under arrest with only one chance to clear their name. The FBI has a Mafia man who is ready flip, but he will only do it if they can assure safe passage for him and his son. The problem is his son has skipped town with a load of the Mafia's money - some three hundred thousand dollars worth. In exchange for a clean slate, the FBI wants Hap and Leonard to find him and make sure he and the cash are returned safely.

Not even Hap and Leonard can imagine the killers they will come up against this time. Suffice to say, they are big, fast, and deadly, but none of them are as smart or lethal as the legendary Vanilla Ride, who Hap and Leonard are just about to meet.

©2009 Joe R. Lansdale (P)2009 Brilliance Audio

One of the best H & L books

Loved it through and through. Bright, vibrant characters, all with a little gray in them, a clear, focused plot, and a brutal climax. Highly entertaining. The narrator has these books down to a science too.

Vanilla Ride is Well Worth Your Morning Drive

First, Phil Gigante has both the depth and creativity to bring a great cast of characters to life in this Hap and Leonard #7 mixture of humor, unflinching violence and a narrative that seems second nature after the first chapter.

It continues to mystify me how Hap and Leonard were truncated as a series on the small screen. Joe R. Lansdale much like F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack series, there is a real knack for putting you in a front seat for a scenario where Hap and Leonard continue to find ways to help friends and get into the worst predicaments. By now, it's a given that these two lifelong friends care deeply for each other and are quick to the fray. This story blurs the lines between FBI, a friend's need to rescue a family member from a drug dealer which leads to a showdown with Dixie Mafia hitmen.

Although it is a stand-alone, do yourself a favor and start from day one then sit back in your vehicle or get lost in your walk with two guys who you cannot help but root for the whole way.

Silly fun

I'm discovering Mr. Lansdale's works backwards -- having listened to this most recent book first -- but it held up to my newcomer ears; and I will definitely listen to the others. I love humor in my escape fiction, and Hap and Leonard provide abundant humor. I enjoy the idea of these two unlikely partners working so well together to make things right, using whatever violence and testosterone the situation requires. Phil Gigante provides a good reading, distinguishing the various voices from each other expertly.

Perfect duo.

Perfect macho beat em up duo without being dumb and silly. Also best narrator, Phil

Christopher Ryan Grant please !

the Hap & Leonard stories are great. but they need to be narrated by Christopher Ryan Grant ! ! ! he does the best Jin Bob Luke !