In his newest genre-bending thriller, LOST ECHOES, six-time Bram Stoker Award winner JOE R. LANSDALE writes, as always, with the ease of a man born to the task. Meet young Harry Wilkes, of Mud Creek, who hears “dark sounds” from violent events of the past in the places they occurred. The creepy cacophony drives him to alcoholic reclusion until he meets fellow drunk Tad, a Shen Chuan sensei who proposes they partner up to practice martial arts as a path to sobriety and to banish their respective demons. Harry makes the pact but unwisely lets a cop (his girlfriend-to-be) lead him to the scene of an unsolved, decades-old murder. Mayhem ensues. Lost Echoes coasts a bit—you can almost picture the author scratching his chin as he ponders where to steer the plot—and old-school fans will continue to wax nostalgic about the raucous and much-beloved Hap and Leonard series that Lansdale abandoned several years back. But in the long run, this is probably just where he pauses to catch his breath.
