Savage Season: A Hap and Leonard Novel    by Joe R. Lansdale Order:  USA  Can Vintage, 2009 (1990) Hardcover, Softcover, Paperback, CD Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth Joe Lansdale's Savage Season introduces readers to an odd pair. The scene, East Texas. Hap Collins, white with a weakness for women. Leonard, gay, black, Vietnam vet. Somehow they teamed up and have a fairly good relationship. Their conversation is slanted on the rough side. If you are the least bit squeamish, this book will elicit a few blushes as well as cries of horror for the atrocities that are inflicted upon some of the characters, Hap and Leonard included. Hap and Joe are on the trail of lost money – quite a bit of money, in fact. The problem? They have to team up with the nitwits who know where the money was last seen, but not much else. Hap's ex-wife is the one who got them into this mess. She has never gotten over the sixties and is still trying to save the world – one section at a time. She wants the money to go to a worthy cause, such as buying guns to start an insurrection. Some dreams never die. (Keep in mind this cleverly written book was first published in the late '90s.) This whole scheme was to involve as few people as possible, but Hap can't imagine operating without Leonard by his side. They're a team. Good thing. They pull each other out of some pretty bad situations in this first book of a series. Together they face more than any one hundred people would face in three lifetimes. Savage Season is one of a genre that used to be called hardboiled. And is it ever. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews