just like quarry, i recently discovered hap and leonard through the tv series. i watched it because i really like the work of jim mickle and nick damici, the two men behind the tv show. In fact, his last film – Cold in July – was also an adaptation of a Joe R. lansdale’s book there’s a season 2 of the show this year, but before that, there’s still the books.
what is hap and leonard about?
so, it’s a lansdale creation full of fun, violence, great dialogue and characters. The story takes place in the 1980s, in the fictional town of Laborde, in East Texas. We follow Hap Collins, a white working-class worker who served time in federal prison for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War, and his best friend, Leonard Pine, a gay black Vietnam veteran with anger issues. they are as different as friends. the two regularly end up in a lot of trouble doing amateur investigation to solve various crimes.
You are reading: Hap and leonard books in order
The first book was published in 1990 and the series is still alive and kicking after all these years. Hap and Leonard can be found in novels, novellas, short story collections, and soon in comics.
books by hap and leonard in order:
at first, there were only novels and then, like all hap and leonard stories, things got a bit complicated. some novels were published and quickly sold out. With the help of the Sundance TV show, help came in the form of a new book, and more surprises to come next year!
- Wild Season: When Hap’s old girlfriend Trudy struts her stuff with a scheme to make big bucks, Hap and Leonard cautiously get involved. just as the money is acquired, hap and leonard quickly lose control of the situation.
- lots of mojo– leonard learns that his uncle chester has passed away. Hap helps his friend clean Uncle Chester’s house and they discover a dark secret under the rotten floorboards of the house: the little skeleton buried in a trunk.
- The Mambo of the Two Bears – Hap and Leonard travel to a small, racist Grovetown to search for their Florida investigative attorney friend. While he was looking for information on a black man who allegedly hanged himself in the notorious Florida jail, he disappeared.
See Also: Best Methods to Burn Audible Books to CD – Tunelf
- bad chili – when the man who stole leonard pine’s boyfriend shows up in a ditch and is singled out for the murder, hap vows to clear his name. things only get more complicated when leonard’s ex turns up dead too.
- rumble tumble: hap volunteers to help his girlfriend, brett, get her daughter back from a life of prostitution on the outskirts of oklahoma. city. As always, things get complicated.
- Death by Chili: Another short story that can be found in the new Hap and Leonard anthology. It’s about a man who was killed for his chili recipe.
- Scandalous Captains: After rescuing a local girl, Hap receives a big reward and decides to use some of the money on a sea cruise shared with leonard. They end up stranded in Playa del Carmen with muggers, a mysterious elderly fisherman and his daughter, and a sticky web of intrigue and violence.
- Vanilla Trip: Leonard is asked to rescue a teenage girl from a drug dealer. everything goes according to plan, until hap and hap discover that the dealer is a member of the dixie mob.
- devil red – when their friend marvin asks hap and leonard to investigate a cold case double homicide, they found out that both victims were going to inherit a lot of money, and one of them was running with a vampire cult. a little digging reveals a lot of murders.
- hyenas: It’s a novella and the first two editions published by the underground press are out of print. now, it can be found in the new hap and leonard anthology. hap’s girlfriend, brett, ends up being kidnapped by a gang of bank robbers, so the two friends set out to rescue her and stop the robberies.
- target killed: Another sold-out novel, but can also be found in the New Hap and Leonard anthology. In it, Hap and Leonard agree to provide protection for a woman harassed by her violent future ex-husband. things soon get complicated, as usual.
- honky tonk samurai: Blackmailed into working for a woman named lilly buckner who wants her missing granddaughter found, hap and leonard agree to take on the cold case and soon discover the The used car dealership where the granddaughter worked is actually a front for a prostitution ring.
- briar patch boogie – a hap and leonard novella. Not a complete new story, now published in Born for Trouble: The New Adventures of Hap and Leonard. Hap and Leonard go on a fishing trip in a dilapidated cabin with a sunken boat and no electricity. soon, they run into some trouble.
- coco butternut - another novel in which hap and leonard, with the help of chance (hap’s daughter) and brett (hap’s girlfriend of hap), are working to recover the stolen dead and mummified body of a dog named Coco Butternut. Now, it can be found in Born for Trouble: The New Adventures of Hap and Leonard.
- rusty pup: a woman named louise elton walks into hap and leonard pi’s office to tell them that the police have killed her son, jamar. she wants to know what really happened.
- Blood and Lemonade: This is a mosaic novel published to promote the second season of the TV show. It is the origin story of Hap and Leonard. (more in the comments section thanks to rick klaw)
- cold cotton – a novella by hap and leonard that can be found in born for trouble: the new adventures of hap and leonard. Hap and Pine are up to their ears in trouble once again, when a perverted psychotherapist client and his family end up dead with a crazy, nympho niece as the prime suspect.
- hoodoo harry: another hap and leonard novella, now you can find it in the born for trouble short stories collection. A day of fishing sees Hap and Leonard make their biggest catch: the rolling library of literature.
- Hare Smile: Hap is celebrating his wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Brett, when a couple of Pentecostal white supremacists interrupt their barbecue at the backyard. they are not very happy to see leonard, and no one is happy to see them, but they have a problem and only hap and leonard will take the case.
- sad onions – published story for the first time in the odd partners anthology, now available in the born for trouble collection. Returning from a fishing trip, Hap and Leonard nearly run over a woman who runs out into the street to greet them. There has been a car accident and her husband is dead. But was it really an accident?
- Elephant Surprise: In the midst of the worst flooding East Texas has seen in years, Hap and Leonard encounter a woman who nearly had her tongue cut out, chased by a pair of heavily armed thugs. Turns out the girl survived a mob hit and the boss has come to clean up the mess.
- Of Mice and Minestrone: A collection of five short stories that take us from happiness and adolescence from leonard to leonard returns from vietnam: the kitchen, of mice and minestrone, the water shed, the training partner and juniper was drugged.
hap and leonard: origin stories
there are some stories that deal with hap and leonard when they were young. all can now be found in the new hap and leonard anthology.
See Also: Great Books to Read with Your Kids in February | Awesome Booklist for Families
the boy who became invisible – is a story about when he was a boy growing up on the banks of the Sabino river.
not our class: the origin story or how hap and leonard met. it took place in high school when they became friends.
the visit of the veil: if possible, read it before the captains. scandalous. This story is a collaboration with Andrew Vachss. Leonard has a lot of trouble with his next door neighbors who have a crack house that he has burned down. this one ends up in veiled court, a lawyer created by vachss.
hap and leonard: the comics
soon hap and leonard will be making their comic book debut with an adaptation of the books, always a good way to find out if this is your kind of story. Also try the TV show.
- hap and leonard: savage season – a graphic novel adapting the original story that is also the basis for the first season of the sundance television series.
if you like hap and leonard you might also want to check out our c.j. box reading order, or our guide to the elvis cole and joe pike series by robert crais. for those who like comics, criminal may be for you. feel free to follow us on twitter or facebook to discover more series of books.
See Also: Jon Del Arroz – Book Series In Order