 It’s been said before, and I’ll echo the sentiment: “Joe R. Lansdale can do no wrong.” Whether writing low-brow profane pulp tales of the bizarre, or beautiful literary quests of the great human condition, Lansdale’s work is consistently entertaining, punchy, and meaningful—which is how one can perfectly sum up this book, Of Mice and Minestrone: Hap and Leonard: The Early Years. This book is a collection of short stories that tie into Lansdale’s HAP AND LEONARD series (7 novels and counting, along with three recent seasons on Sundance TV), which can be labeled as crime thrillers (each a non-consecutive, standalone adventure), and a departure from his normally supernatural works. The HAP AND LEONARD series revolves around the two eponymously-named characters, Hap Collins—a straight, white man, who’s an idealistic ex-con (prison, due to being a Vietnam War conscientious objector)—and Leonard Pine, a gay, black ’Nam veteran. They’ve been best friends since childhood, growing up in East Texas through the 1960s through ’80s. Both men are skilled fighters in different styles (naturally leading into slews of hard-knuckle fight scenes), but they’re even more skilled in the art of quick-wit banter (as is a trademark of all Lansdale writing). The stories in this collection take place when Hap and Leonard are teenagers, just coming into themselves. The first story “The Kitchen” is a bit of an outlier in this book, and the least eventful—just a recollection of family gatherings with cooking and relatives and storytelling, although it does successfully set the atmosphere and voice of Hap Collins for the rest of the book. The remainder of the stories are pure Hap and Leonard, though, exciting tales with twists of violence and humor as well as reflection and embroilment of racial difficulties and social justice of the era, particularly as it applies in East Texas.  The headlining story is “Of Mice and Minestrone,” a tragic tale of domestic abuse and a murder, and how they relate. Everything about this just pulls at the heart strings, and there’s no happy ending for anyone, but it helps to define Hap’s sense of injustice for the rest of his life. “The Watering Shed” was mostly a badass fight vignette regarding a racist and what becomes of him. “Sparring Partner” was a rich, multilayered story of corruption in local boxing, and another tale revolving around badass violent fighting. And lastly, if “The Kitchen” was an opening tale relating to “quieter times” and food, then “The Sabine Was High” is its counterpart in closing, another tale of introspection, friendship, and eating. Food, in fact, is a major theme running through all the stories, talkin’ on about Southern dishes, how they’re best prepared, the culture that goes along with them, and other delectable foodie musings. To tie all this together, and as an added bonus, Lansdale’s country singer-and-author daughter, Kasey Lansdale, pens in an ancillary section on recipes and cooking anecdotes, titled “Good Eats: The Recipes of Hap and Leonard.” All-in-all, an excellent pairing of crime writing tales, blood-soaked friendship, and Southern grits. Five out of Five stars.  Eric J. Guignard Author, Technical Writer, Adjunct Professor Email: eric.guignard@gmail.com Blog | Twitter | Amazon | Goodreads | LinkedIn www.ericjguignard.com www.darkmoonbooks.com • Out now! My Bram Stoker award-winning fiction collection That Which Grows Wild (Cemetery Dance, 2018) • Out now! My debut novel Doorways to the Deadeye (JournalStone, 2019)   the heart and soul of horror fiction reviewsComments are closed.
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