About the Author

Joe R. Lansdale is the internationally-bestselling author of over fifty novels, including the popular, long-running Hap and Leonard series. Many of his cult classics have been adapted for television and film, most famously the films Bubba Ho-Tep and Cold in July, and the Hap and Leonard series on Sundance TV and Netflix. Lansdale has written numerous screenplays and teleplays, including the iconic Batman the Animated Series. He has won an Edgar Award for The Bottoms, ten Stoker Awards, and has been designated a World Horror Grandmaster. Lansdale, like many of his characters, lives in East Texas.

Reviews

Crime Reads Most Anticipated Crime Fiction
AFPL Journal Best Books of the Week "It doesn't get much better than one of the best crime writers in the business serving up brand new stories featuring his most iconic characters. Lansdale isn't just a brilliant storyteller with heart, he's also funny as hell, with tales of mummified dachshunds, homicidal bookmobiles, and a psychopathic hunt club. This collection is an absolute blast and a gift to all of us devoted fans."
--Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Revelators and The Heathens "If you already know Joe Lansdale, you don't need me to tell you to read Born for Trouble. If you don't, you're in for a hell of a ride. Pulpy, blackly humorous, compulsively readable, and somehow both wildly surreal and down-to-earth. Lansdale is a national fucking treasure."
--Christa Faust, author of Money Shot "This is the 20th 'Hap and Leonard' book and it's just as good and fresh as the first, offering high voltage action mixed with down-home humor. Hap's white, working class; he spent time in federal prison for refusing to be drafted during the Vietnam War. His best friend, Leonard, is almost his opposite: Black, gay, with serious anger issues. Hap's a Democrat, Leonard a Republican. And though Hap doesn't like violence--Leonard doesn't care--violence finds its way to him no matter what he wants. The five stories in this collection are set in and around the fictional East Texas town of LaBorde. The two are investigators there by default as much as talent, but once started on a case, they never give up and aren't afraid of anything or anyone. One case involves a dead dachshund, whose mummified corpse is being held for ransom. Another involves a vanished bookmobile and generations of missing children. In still another, Hap and Leonard are chased through the woods by a killer who gets his jollies by tracking and killing helpless people with a crossbow." VERDICT This collection will appeal to anyone who ever enjoyed the quirky crime novels of Elmore Leonard or Charles Willeford."
--Library Journal "If you've met Hap and Leonard before, you won't be surprised to hear that these latest stories are a treat; if you're a Hap-and-Leonard virgin, well, I'll overlook the fact that you've spent your recent years living in a cave and congratulate you on the adventure upon which you're embarking."
--Lawrence Block, author of the Matthew Scudder mystery series "Proves once again that no one writes a short story like Lansdale."
--Crime Reads "Each entry in the new anthology stands alone in being funny, dark, readable, and thought provoking. A joy from start to finish."
--Manhattan Book Review "Born For Trouble finds Lansdale penning some terrific tales. They are suspenseful and sometimes laugh out loud gems of story from one of our country's finest storytellers, featuring two of his most beloved characters."
--Considering Stories "You could call Born for Trouble a collection of stories. But that's like calling Paradise Lost by Milton a poem. Born for Trouble is a road map through 20th-century crime fiction, and your guides are two of the greatest, most intriguing characters ever created, Hap and Leonard. Rambunctious, complex, and endlessly fascinating, these two best friends offer a clear yet sometimes painful view of America in general, and East Texas in particular."
--S.A. Cosby, author of Razorblade Tears "Joe Lansdale's Hap and Leonard stories are right up there with Richard Stark's Parker books to me. With a prose style that makes it all look easy, he continues to write about these characters until I feel like they're old friends coming for a visit, or taking me on a road trip that I know is going to go wrong, but I want to go on anyway. An inspiration to all of us who make our living in the crime fiction section, Born for Trouble is yet another masterclass in how it's done."
--Ed Brubaker, author of The Fade Out "Each story in this outstanding collection is like a full-ass novel boiled down to pure muscle, bone and mayhem, served up the just the way you like it."
--Duane Swierczynski, author of Revolver and Breakneck "'Born for Trouble'--well, you can say that again. Hap and Leonard are a raucous, daredevil duo with more lives each than the proverbial cat, and really, thank goodness for that. Their adventures are a pleasure to follow, the hijinks and shenanigans anchored by the warmth of camaraderie and a steady flow of excellent jokes."
--Stephanie Cha, author of Your House Will Pay "There are writers who are prolific and writers who are brilliant: Joe R. Lansdale is one of the few who is both, and we are lucky to have him. It's good to see Hap and Leonard again, especially now."
--Christopher Farnsworth, author of Blood Oath "The stories are great: outlandish but grounded, fast-paced, and both funny and touching. They're brisker than the full-length books, reading like novelisations of movies that haven't been made yet. . . . As ever, Landale's prose--as narrated by Hap--is light and fast. There's that comfort and confidence that the best American popular fiction has. Stories told by a proper storyteller."
--Eamonn Griffin, author of East of England "Joe Lansdale's compassion and humanity have touched thousands of readers, me included, right where we live. Of all his vivid and lived-in characters, none are as beloved as Hap and Leonard, and this new collection will delight Hap and Leonard fans all over the world."
--Lewis Shiner, author of Glimpses and Frontera "Opening it up and reading through the stories, filled with warm banter, cold violence and a sense of place that you can feel in your bones. . . well. It's like slipping into a pair of comfortable old shoes, which may also happen to be a little bloodstained."
--Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews "Join the growing horde of Hap and Leonard fans."
--Bookgasm "These are excellent tales by a skilled storyteller."
--Tzer Island "Hap and Leonard. Joe Lansdale's trademark sense of humor. (If it's not trademarked, it should be.) Interesting mysteries and vivid characters. Masterful story-telling. All of which add up to this: Joe Lansdale is a national treasure."
--Char's Horror Corner "With such a great cast of characters exchanging sparkling dialogue and rude similes that make you laugh out loud, who cares about the plot? Raymond Chandler didn't and, like him, Lansdale's carries you along with his writing."
--SF Crowsnest 5/5 stars. "The stories are violent, outlandish, over the top, and hysterically funny."
--Nonstop Reader "Any new offering from Nacogdoches author Lansdale that includes his beloved characters Hap and Leonard is welcome. I worried the short story format might lose the luster gained by Lansdale's gift for a long narrative. Nope. Turns out he possesses a gift for intricate storytelling. This collection is a welcome addition to the Hap and Leonard story."
--Preview "Everyone should have a little Hap and Leonard in their lives. Heartily recommended."
--Ginger Nuts of Horror "Another page turner I couldn't put down. . . . well plotted, highly entertaining, and a lot of fun. That said I strongly recommend this book."
--Scrapping and Playing Praise for Joe R. Lansdale "A folklorist's eye for telling detail and a front-porch raconteur's sense of pace."
--New York Times Book Review "An American original."
--Joe Hill, author of Heart-Shaped Box "A terrifically gifted storyteller."
--Washington Post Book Review No one currently working the field demonstrates more convincingly and joyously the deep affinity between pulp fiction and the American tall tale."
--Kirkus "Like gold standard writers Elmore Leonard and the late Donald Westlake, Joe R. Lansdale is one of the more versatile writers in America.
--Los Angeles Times "While Lansdale's work is as varied as the regions of Texas, there is one common link through all of it: his brilliant storytelling."
--Grimdark Magazine Praise for the Hap and Leonard collections [STARRED REVIEW] "Last seen in the novel Honky Tonk Samurai, Lansdale's incomparable East Texas crime fighting duo show their chops in this remarkable story collection."
--Publishers Weekly "Full of humor, gritty drama, and insightful observations."
--Publishers Weekly

"The dialogue throughout is worth the price of admission, not as stylized as Elmore Leonard's but laden with the same irresistible combination of relaxed badinage and playful threats."
--Kirkus "Compelling. Hilarious. Poignant."
--NY Journal of Books "East Texas charm, profane wit, and strong characterization, with enough snappy dialogue to keep a smile on your face."
--Adventures in Genre Fiction