These two tales are fine; put that in front of "dining" or "wine" and you've really got something. The first novella was published in the 90's. The second short novel is recent, and revisits the characters from the first tale. Both are entertaining in a reliable Lansdale fashion, and it's fun to compare the two works after such a long gap between them.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy!

(One of) Joe R Lansdale’s latest releases is a collection of two novellas: one originally published in the early ‘90s, the other the long-awaited sequel. Like his Hap and Leonard series these stories are crime bordering on noir, with lots of humor and strange happenings.

Of the two novellas I definitely preferred the first, which was near pitch perfect and didn’t overstay its welcome, which I can’t say for the second novella. All these years later Lansdale was still able to nail these characters’ personalities and chemistry, but the story itself really dragged. I found my attention wandering a bit, and some of the humor felt forced—as sometimes seems to happen, for me, when Lansdale’s stories venture too far into the wacky.

Not a bad read at all—what Lansdale is?—but not a favorite.

Plebin Cook, his daughter Jasmine, and bookstore owner Martha, a sturdy woman with a mustache, join forces to look into a fired circus member with some unusual habits. The police won't believe them but Martha and Jasmine are certain the man is a serial killer. But Plebin seems an unlikely savior when Martha and Jasmine disappear in the first novella of this collection. The second story has the three once more in a series of strange and disturbing events, but this time as P.I.s.

Unusual characters, a quirky story and thrills equal not your typical mystery but a very enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Subterranean Press for an advance copy of this book featuring people trying to do right, murderous clowns and the perils of being a bookstore owner.

Crime books can be a lot of things; procedural, noir, cozy, clever and logical even with a foreign taste complete with food and scenic views. Some might be funny, some might be brutal and mean, and some well they just defy description. Joe Lansdale is an author who defies description. Lansdale can mix horror, a little Souther gothic, humor, and good old fashion bad people into a story that can leave a person in stitches, or needing them. Lansdale's characters are all unique, all quirky, capable of great acts of kindness, and even more of violence. They generally don't look for trouble, trouble is always looking for them. The cast of The Events Concerning, two short stories brought together are like that. A good ole boy, just down on his luck, his much smarter daughter with a bright future, and a woman who gave up caring what people ever thought of her, find themselves in strange situations with only a little bit of wits and a whole lot of luck to get them out.

Plebin Cook wants to make his daughter proud, but will settle for periodic bits of happiness, being unemployed with a future not looking so bright. Living about a used bookshop he is offered a job to shelf stock in the store, not great pay, but enough to take his daughter to the circus and maybe dinner afterwards. The circus is a bust, with poodles causing chaos, a clown being punched and other things going wrong. While shelving some new romance titles, Plebin finds a picture in a romance novel that might mean bad things are happening, at least that is what his daughter and new boss think. Something that only these three can stop.

The book is two stories, the first one, which is from the nineties, and a new story featuring the characters a little later on, successful sort of as detectives based out of a bookshop. The first two is funny, weird and a bit brutal. The second is more so, but this one gives the characters more time to shine, to fill in some gaps and grow a bit. Both are really good especially for fans of the writer. Lansdale has a real skill in developing in just a few words his characters, their world and worldview. Plus he can write a sentence that makes you laugh, wince, and gasp all at the same time. The stories go from calm, to suddenly compulsively page flipping, as tension suddenly is ratcheted so tight clothes suddenly don't fit, and the heart is acting like a bass drum in a death metal band. A situation that seems so odd, so crazed in Lansdale's hands seems so real and relatable.

I've long been a fan of Lansdale's buying early Dark Harvest and Night Visions collections. Lansdale's version of the DC comics western Jonah Hex is still one of my favorite comic stories. Two really great stories by a master. I can't wait to read more.

Is there a more entertaining writer working today than Joe Lansdale?

The answer to that question, my friends, is a resounding no.

Anyone who follows this blog, or for that matter anyone who’s read even one Lansdale, already knew the answer to that question. But I offer, as further, unequivocal proof, the wildly entertaining The Events Concerning.

The Events Concerning is actually two linked novellas, The Events Concerning a Nude Fold-Out Found in a Harlequin Romance, and The Events Concerning Two Stabbed Clowns in a Bloody Bathtub. Lansdale wrote the first back in the mid-nineties, and it’s vintage Lansdale, a shaggy dog murder mystery filled with memorable characters, his trademark outrageous humor, and some equally trademark gory mayhem involving a serial killer, mistreated circus dogs, and scattered mannequin body parts.

The second novella is brand new and continues the story with an equally fun, equally shaggy tale that will introduce you to the world of clownie sex parties—like furries, but with clown makeup instead of animal costumes. As an aside, I’m assuming Lansdale made this particular kink up, but I so want it to be a real thing, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it was.

But I digress.

Anyway. Our protagonists in both stories are a motley trio of folks who sort of accidentally fall into sleuthing—Plebin, a middle-aged schlub who’d rather read a book than hold down a job; Jasmine, his teenage daughter; and Martha, the grumpy, sarcastic bookstore owner who rents out the apartment Plebin lives in. In the first story, a trail of clues lead them to believe that a sadistic circus performer is a serial killer looking for his next victim. By the second story, our three heroes are running a detective agency together, and a simple case leads to somewhere unexpectedly darker, stranger, and bloodier.

Both novellas have satisfyingly convoluted plots, with plenty of time set aside for the deadpan, profane, often hilarious dialogue that’s another Lansdale trademark. Lansdale is the best dialogue writer this side of Elmore Leonard, so that is very much a good thing. And if he wants to make this a continuing series, it’s fine by me (as long as Hap and Leonard keep showing up regularly).

Pick up The Events Concerning. I promise you’ll be entertained.

Joe Lansdale is a national treasure!

I'm always excited to read something new from the man and this volume was no exception! The Events Concerning apparently was released back in the 90's under a different title and was expected to become a series, but it never happened. Now, the novella and a short novel have been bundled together in this edition. The only thing better than a new Lansdale is TWO new Lansdales, or at least, they're new to me.

The first tale's entire title is "The Events Concerning a Nude Fold-Out Found in a Harlequin Romance" which introduces us to Martha, book shop owner extraordinaire, Plebin, avid reader and good dad, and his daughter Jasmine. In the 90's this would have been a very different read. In the present time, it's easy to see the seeds of Hap and Leonard here, or at least, I imagine I see those seeds. Featuring Joe Lansdale's trademark brand of humor, this was a semi-sweet little mystery.

The Events Concerning Two Stabbed Clowns in a Bloody Bathtub is the short novel here and it picks up years later on a new case that has ties to the first story. Reading about the un-self conscious Martha, I found myself laughing out loud at her sheer grit and honesty. Plebin, who sometimes steals books from Martha's shop and then returns them after he's read them, is a true gem of a character as well. His low self-esteem doesn't seem deserved because his daughter Jasmine is smart as hell and she's a good person too. In any case, all of these characters were plenty fun to read about. And when you toss in clown suit orgies, how can you really go wrong? Seriously, who else would write about a such thing?

This is why I call Joe Lansdale a national treasure. He's American through and through and his stories reflect just that. Tales of ordinary Americans in often extraordinary circumstances. There is always humor and there is also that keen sense of observation-especially in regards to human nature; and that makes his stories ring true, even if he is writing about clown suit orgies.

If you're looking for a quick and super entertaining read, you can never go wrong with the Champion Mojo Storyteller, Joe R. Lansdale!

Available on November 30, 2022

*Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

I just finished Joe R. Lansdale’s The Events Concerning 2 story collection and had a lot of fun. I read the first novella “The Events Concerning a Nude Fold-Out Found in a Harlequin Romance” back in the nineties and enjoyed it. Mr. Lansdale finally got around to writing the short novel sequel “The Events Concerning Two Stabbed Clowns in a Bloody Bathtub” to finish this book. This has Lansdale’s classic combination of banter, humor and occasional violence. The (initially) amateur detective trio reminded me of the Hap and Leonard series that I also enjoy, although there is a little more emphasis on humor in this book. Anyone who enjoys the Hap and Leonard books should enjoy this collection as well.

This was such a unique read! A scary thriller based off of a scary thriller. This story has almost EVERYTHING and we are lead into it by a cute little cat. Unexpected and seriously unique, this was an excellent thriller!

Another wonderful mystery/adventure from the master his own self, Joe R. Lansdale. This collection of two novellas follow each other in succession with two cases being investigated by two new characters, Plebin and Martha (and sometimes Jasmine). They’re great characters, and the cases are fun, but the best thing of all is the writing. Nobody can turn a phrase quite like Lansdale, with pithy metaphors and hilarious dialog that made me laugh out loud. I loved every word and really hope there will be more Events Concerning in the future.