“If there is a writer with a more distinct voice, I don’t know them. Justin Scott, author of the Ben Abbott mysteries Trust the English language to observe as closely as Joe’s line, ‘thin and flexible as a feather.’ The man can write.” “ Things Get Ugly is packed page by page with writing lessons for both beginners and old pros hoping to improve: Get right to it. Lavie Tidhar author of Central Station and Neom It should stand next to Leonard’s Three-Ten to Yuma as a remarkable testament to the power of short fiction.” As they do indeed in the seminal retrospective that is Things Get Ugly, where vicious people do vicious things to each other beautifully. Lansdale is the bard who sings America: in gem-hard, polished prose that never lets up, no matter how ugly things get.

“The spiritual heir to both Walt Whitman and Elmore Leonard, Joe R. Alex Segura, bestselling author of Secret Identity There’s a reason Lansdale is among the greatest, and this book showcases his knack for shady characters, rural noir, and an innate ability to get to the heart of what drives us all. “A potent blend of stories from one of the all-time greats, Things Get Ugly is the kind of collection you never want to end-as it shows the versatility and command of the craft only a legend like Lansdale can execute. No matter how they begin, things are bound to get ugly-and fast. Lansdale brings his legendary mojo and witty grit to harrowing heists, revenge, homicide, and mayhem. In this collection of nineteen unforgettable crime tales, Joe R. A lonely man engages in dubious acts while pining for his rubber duckie. A brother and sister travel to Oklahoma to recover the dead body of their uncle. Bear is not alerting us to the dangers of forest fires, he lives a life of debauchery and murder.

In the 1950s, a young small-town projectionist mixes it up with a violent gang. Lansdale is a national fucking treasure.” “Pulpy, blackly humorous, compulsively readable, and somehow both wildly surreal and down-to-earth. Cosby, author of the New York Times bestseller Razorblade Tears In this career retrospective of his best crime stories, Lansdale shows exactly why critics continue to compare him to Elmore Leonard, Donald Westlake, Flannery O’Connor, and William Faulkner.įoreword by S. Lansdale (the Hap and Leonard series) returns to the piney, dangerous woods of East Texas.

Things Get Ugly: The Best Crime Stories of Joe R.

The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale