Rusty Puppy

Finished October 5
Rusty Puppy by Joe R. Lansdale

This is the first book I've read in the series set in Texas featuring Hap and Leonard, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hap is a middle-aged man in a serious relationship with Brett, who also owns the detective agency where he and Leonard work. Hap is also the father of a young woman Chance, a fact he has only recently discovered. He is pleased with this discovery and has made her a part of his life. Hap describes himself as a white trash rebel. Leonard is a gay, black, Republican, Vietnam vet. Leonard is not long out of a serious relationship. The two men have been friends a long, long time, and that shows in their banter. They are both wise asses, and sometimes don't know when to shut their mouths. They are also both good guys with good instincts, and that shows too.
As the book begins, Brett and Chance are both sick with the flu, and Hap and their dog Buffy are hanging at the office. When a woman who lives across the street from the office comes in wanting to hire them, Hap listens to her story. Even though she hasn't got much money, Hap takes on the case to find out what really happened to her son, who was murdered. She's told him of one witness who says that the cops are the ones that committed the crime, and Hap sets out to find the guy.
The case takes Hap and Leonard into the projects, where they find people who may have seen things, young men protecting their territory, and a girl with an attitude. Leonard dubs her the four hundred year old vampire dwarf, in a way that lets you know he is both irritated by her and awed by her.
The case also takes them into the territory of a police force that has an reputation for not just turning the other way, but being heavily involved in local crime. One local place, an abandoned mill, now is used for more nefarious purposes, such as getting rid of dogs and other unwanted beings in the toxic pond created from sawdust and mill runoff.
I liked the duo and their inner goodness. I also liked the rollicking nature of the book.