Mucho Mojo

Hap and Leonard are back in this second installment of the series by Joe Lansdale (see also my post for the first book in the series, Savage Season). The characters are starting to grow on me. The first book ended with both men injured and Leonard seriously so; he is still getting around with a cane. He has just learned that an uncle who helped raise him has died. That uncle also disavowed Leonard when Leonard declared that he was gay, so they have not spoken in years. Nevertheless, Leonard asks Hap to drive him to the funeral and there they meet uncle Chester's attorney, the attractive young black attorney, Florida Grange. Turns out uncle Chester was getting a bit disoriented in his later years, but he left Leonard his house, a sizable chunk of money and a key to a safe deposit box. The house is in serious need of repairs and is now next door to a drug dealers' lair in the poor part of LaBorde, Texas. They move into the house to fix it up so Leonard can sell it and they begin to uncover some really disturbing things...like a child's skeleton and child pornography magazines buried in a trunk under the floor.
Leonard is convinced that, no matter what else was wrong with Chester, he would never harm or kill a child and he enlists Hap's help to prove Chester's innocence. Hap and Florida get involved, Hap and Leonard help the ancient lady across the street fix her porch, and eventually they also burn down the drug house after the death of child hooked on heroine. Great local color, frank discussions about prejudice and racial bias on both sides, and a taut plot line all make this a worthwhile read. More details about the characters here.