The TV show might be canceled but the books go on, raucous and vulgar and violent but also tenderhearted and foerce in their anger at injustice and blind hatred.

Hired, despite the unmissable presence of a homicidally disgusted Leonard, by a pair of white supremacists to find a missing young woman, PI boss, and now Hap's wife, Brett dispatch the pair to their old hometown to track her down, inevitable disturbing the usual ant's nests of unpleasant types. Drama unfolds, as you might expect.

With an elegaic opening that has you worrying slightly that Lansdale is turning into James Lee Burke, fears are quickly dispelled. Hap may be getting wistful in his old age, but Leonard is only getting more obdurate and unforgiving despite - or who knows, perhaps even because of - a happy ongoing love affair. Lansdale's usual sure touch carries us through the twists and turns and outsize personalities with flair.