This shirt book was very good brilliant dark funny st time a bit corky to say the least but I think others will love this dark book as I did

I’m just gonna say it—Joe Lansdale is a national treasure who should be talked about in the same breath as American writers like Twain, Steinbeck, and Faulkner. His novels and short stories, most set in East Texas, confront violence, racism, and poverty in language that can be both lyrical and downright ugly, sometimes in the same sentence. And unlike those other fellas (Twain excepted) he’s often howlingly funny. He’s also a better dialogue writer than any of them.

I love all of Lansdale’s work, but the Hap and Leonard books are my absolute favorites. After all this time—the first, Savage Season, was published in 1990—Hap Collins and Leonard Pine have grown into complex, fully realized characters. Lansdale has done something downright profound with the many novels and short stories that make up their history. He’s let them age. In the new novel, Hatchet Girls, Both Hap and Leonard are feeling the years, feeling their own approaching mortality. They aren’t quite as spry as they used to be. Hap especially. Leonard isn’t quite as willing to admit he’s slowed down a step.

Hatchet Girls starts with a murderous, meth-crazed hog, and then things go off the rails. Any Hap and Leonard novel is rife with violence and danger, and Hatchet Girls has plenty of that. There are drug-dealing gangs, and a group of hatchet-wielding young women let by a psychotic woman with a taste for vengeance. Lansdale has a real knack for describing explicit violence that’s very much in evidence here. The action, punctuated by moments of black-as-pitch humor, is non-stop. As the bodies, and assorted body parts, pile up, the danger, to Hap, Leonard, and their loved ones, feels real.

Speaking of loved ones, Brett and Pookie are deeply involved in the story, and their appearance is welcome as always.

A new Hap and Leonard novel is always a cause for celebration. It’s like when good friends who have been away for awhile come back for a visit, ready to make up for lost time, hit the town, get rowdy, and generally fuck shit up.

Hatchet Girls drops August 19, 2025, and is available for pre-sale now.

If ya made it this far along with Hap & Leonard you'll love this one. A little more gorey than usual and the overall case is a little rushed. But really we're here to spend time with the boys & they're getting old, so enjoy it while you can. I'm not sure how this one would read for a novice of the series.

Thank you Netgalley and Mulholland Books for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

This was a different, corky with some dark comedy and sometimes adventurous. From the beginning I struggled being interested in the book and parts just felt cheesy and forced comedy. There was a lack of character depth was distracting for the story but I did appreciate the imagery the details provided which did help your imagination create images while you were reading.

If you appreciate mystery with some adventure, corky dark comedy, that can be slow paced reading, a unique atmosphere for a story then I think you would like this book.

Hatchet Girls really had the classic mojo juice of the very best of the Hap and Leonard tales and I had to force myself to conserve pages, so I didn't read it all in one sitting. When this series is really cooking, all I want to do is sit and read about some of my favorite characters.

Special Thanks to Mulholland Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

This short novella was a unique, twisted dark comedy! I was initially intrigued by the cover of this book, so I went into reading this book blindly. It came with mysterious vibes, adventure and strange characters. I was really confused at the beginning of this novel because it seemed like there was just a lot going on at once. It was a bit overwhelming at the beginning of the book. It ended up being somewhat of a fun novel, but I just could not connect to the characters in the story. The lack of character depth along with a meth hopped hog was just not my kind of storyline. I did like the atmospheric location, how it was fast paced and how it came with vivid imagery. There’s a diverse set of characters, a clear thesis and a clever plot. Some of the themes explored in this book are friendships and relationships, societal revenge, the unpredictability of life and confronting danger. Be sure to read the content warnings! Overall, I give this a 2.75 stars out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Joe R. Lansdale and Mulholland Books for this electronic arc of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I think fans that love to read pitch black humor thrillers, along with some adventure, would really enjoy this! The author is well known for his uniqueness and his books are loved by many!

This book is expected to be published on August 19, 2025!

Lansdale does it again. I will always read anything the man writes. Hap and Leonard have been a favorite from the beginning. They get into some doozies. This book was so much fun, per usual. Keep writing Joe!

From the cover to the blurb I was convinced I was going to love this book. This sounds like the type of book that would be right up my alley but alas I did not care for it and ended up DNF’ing. Hopefully the right audience finds this book.