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sarahetc's review against another edition
4.0
A bummer and a downer of a book, but still worthwhile and wonderful in parts. Lansdale had to prove that Hap and Leonard weren't invincible and he did it in the worst possible way, taking out approximately half the characters we'd come to know and love and walking both Hap and Leonard right to the edge of dead, although at separate times. But they overcome and live to fight-- each other and the world-- another day. Love.
bill_lundeen's review against another edition
It was alright. Had some funny moments, plot was OK
pseudo_ursus's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
2.0
Thus far this was the least interesting of the series. A local girl has gone missing and it appears the KKK might’ve been involved. Endless vignettes about race relations and sex and very little action. Then the ending seemed to be a slight cheat for lack of anything better. Will continue with the series but hopefully it heads in a different direction.
posies23's review against another edition
4.0
Probably closer to a 3.5 than a 4.
Hap and Leonard find themselves in trouble again, this time as they try to solve the mystery of Florida's disappearance. As usual, there's a lot of vulgar humor coupled with dark themes and a undertone of doom and gloom. Darker than the first two books in the series, this one doesn't really come together until the last 1/3, when the various strands of the novel start to gel.
Worthwhile, but not my favorite Lansdale.
Hap and Leonard find themselves in trouble again, this time as they try to solve the mystery of Florida's disappearance. As usual, there's a lot of vulgar humor coupled with dark themes and a undertone of doom and gloom. Darker than the first two books in the series, this one doesn't really come together until the last 1/3, when the various strands of the novel start to gel.
Worthwhile, but not my favorite Lansdale.
kleonard's review against another edition
4.0
Good writing, excellent characters, no superheroes. The Hap and Leonard books are great.
kayloric's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jeanne_i_d's review against another edition
5.0
My favorite Hap and Leonard of the three I have read to date.
misterjay's review against another edition
4.0
Two-Bear Mambo opens with Leonard having just set fire to the crack house next door and feeling no remorse about it. This causes friction with his boyfriend and the police and ends up with the former leaving and the latter tasking the boys to go searching for the missing Florida Grange. From there, the story heads down to a small, backwater town in east Texas where the racism is blatent and the distrust of strangers is legendary. Hap and Leonard's contrary natures get the better of them and soon, there are more fights, blood, questions, and klan members than you could shake a stick at. And all the while, Florida remains missing.
This third novel in the Hap and Leonard series is a lot of fun, while being even darker than the first two. The wisecracks and quips are sharper than ever and the settings just as vivid and just as depressing as ever. At the same time, the sex of the first two novels is cranked down in favor of visceral descriptions of racism and more violence.
While the plot boils and the conversation and descriptions sparkle, the plot is more than a little transparent. When the finale does come, it comes not with a sense of revelation, but a sense of inevitability and obviousness, as if it could not have ended any other way; the clues planted by the author are much more obvious to the reader than to the characters and that feels like a bit of a let down. It felt a little like author Lansdale could not decide if he wanted to tell a whodunnit or if he wanted to tell a crime story. There are elements of both, and both are well done, but they could have been blended together a little better.
As always, Phil Gigante's reading, especially the accents and voices, add a new dimension to an already well told story that makes it well worth the time to listen to, rather than read, the novel.
This third novel in the Hap and Leonard series is a lot of fun, while being even darker than the first two. The wisecracks and quips are sharper than ever and the settings just as vivid and just as depressing as ever. At the same time, the sex of the first two novels is cranked down in favor of visceral descriptions of racism and more violence.
While the plot boils and the conversation and descriptions sparkle, the plot is more than a little transparent. When the finale does come, it comes not with a sense of revelation, but a sense of inevitability and obviousness, as if it could not have ended any other way; the clues planted by the author are much more obvious to the reader than to the characters and that feels like a bit of a let down. It felt a little like author Lansdale could not decide if he wanted to tell a whodunnit or if he wanted to tell a crime story. There are elements of both, and both are well done, but they could have been blended together a little better.
As always, Phil Gigante's reading, especially the accents and voices, add a new dimension to an already well told story that makes it well worth the time to listen to, rather than read, the novel.
scheu's review against another edition
4.0
I wonder if I am giving this book four stars instead of five because for once things didn't turn out okay in the end. Ultimately I respect Lansdale for ending the story the way he did. I think that a little too much happened "off-camera" this time around.