Of Mice and Minestrone by Joe R. Lansdale, Kathleen Kent, Kasey Lansdale

Hap is a young white boy who has Leonard, a black young man, as a best friend.  They have several adventures together.  Many of them includes fights.  These guys are tough and don't back down.

Tachyon Publications and Edelweiss let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published April 30th.

The laws have changed and the black can now enter restaurants they were banned from before.  But the attitudes haven't changed.  They get nasty comments.  Some people don't want to serve Leonard but they do.

This is an anthology of stories.  Two of them stood out to me.   One was about boxing.  The owner paid them to fight the men they were training.  When they are called again to spar, the young man really has no fight in him.  They plan to put him in a fight with someone who could kill him.  They know what will happen, so Leonard steps in for Ty.  The owner doesn't like that but he does have to have the fight.  Leonard wins and when he asks for the prize money they refuse to pay him.  The beaten fighter decks him, raids his wallet, takes his share of the money and gives the rest to Leonard.  Leonard gives it to Ty for college.

The other story I liked was about a camping trip.  Leonard is back from Vietnam and the other man just got out of jail.  They are not good boys but they have good hearts.

Besides the stories,  the last part of the book is full of Southern recipes.  They are down home recipes so they should be good.

The Thicket by Joe R. Lansdale

When a sickness hits town and his parents die, Jack knows he'll have to take care of his little sister and move on, but he doesn't know how.  His grandpa tells him to gather his things up, he'll get the wagon and take them to their aunt's house up north.  He doesn't even remember his aunt, but he does what he's told.  However there is more trouble coming...

Mulholland Books and Net Galley allowed me to download an ebook of this story for review (thank you).  It was published September 10th, so you can grab a copy now.

This not a pleasant story.  It's authentic, mean, and a bit twisted.  Nobody is all good or all bad; they're just men trying to survive.  The bandits don't care about anyone, they just use them and kill them.  

As Jack and Lula get on the ferry with Grandpa, men ride up on horses and demand the same passage.  When Grandpa talks back, the man shoots him.  If that wasn't a bad enough loss, the boat is hit by a water spout that tosses everyone around.  When Jack wakes up, he realizes that he's on the opposite shore from his sister and the bandits have ridden off with her.  She's very young and he fears for her.  No one wants to go against those bandits.

He finds two men brave enough for such an adventure.  He has his property to barter with and that seems enough incentive.  The fact that one is a big black man who has a pet wild hog and the other one is a midget doesn't bother Jack.  It's their bravery and spirit that matter to him.

Mr. Lansdale puts some interesting twists in this story.  I could have never anticipated the ending.  This is a tale that holds your interest and makes you wonder what's going to happen next.  There is graphic death portrayed in the story, so don't read it if that bothers you.  I found enough other good points to keep reading and hoping that it would all work out.

Just remember, it's dangerous in the thicket.  You don't want to go in there.

Happy reading.