But the best he can come up with is a charismatic, bounty-hunting dwarf named Shorty, a grave-digging son of an ex-slave named Eustace, and a street-smart woman-for-hire named Jimmie Sue who's come into some very intimate knowledge about the bandits (and a few members of Jack's extended family to boot). With no elders left for miles, Jack must grow up fast and enlist a band of heroes the likes of which has never been seen if his sister stands any chance at survival. Then catastrophe strikes on the way to their uncle's farm, when a traveling group of bank-robbing bandits murder Jack's grandfather and kidnap his sister.

His parents have just succumbed to the smallpox epidemic sweeping turn-of-the-century East Texas-orphaning him and his younger sister, Lula. His grandmother was killed in a farm accident when he was barely five years old. Jack Parker thought he'd already seen his fair share of tragedy. That's where Joe Lansdale lives.'Love and vengeance at the dark dawn of the East Texas oil boom from Joe Lansdale, 'a true American original' (Joe Hill, author of Heart-Shaped Box). Too often overlooked in American literature is that lineage descending from our early humorists such as Bierce, and from Twain: regional, darkly comic, bizarre. Lansdale marries story and style in a way most writers never achieve. Nuanced, compelling, darkly humorous and remarkably vivid, THE THICKET quickly becomes a one-sitting novel, told in a voice that would have called Huck Finn himself in from the river. THE THICKET presents Joe Lansdale at his finest - which is to say, at the high-water mark of all storytelling. His name deserves to be whispered with the greats. Joe Lansdale is one of the dark kings of modern mystery fiction, a master of the genre. * Library Journal *Ī gently legendary quality makes this tall tale just about perfect * Kirkus Reviews * This title cannot help but captivate readers. As captivating as the best of Larry McMurtry and written in a style reminiscent of Mark Twain. Storytelling laced with bravado, good humor, action, and heart. Memorable characters, a vivid sense of place, and an impressive body count make THE THICKET another Lansdale treasure * Booklist * It's the perfect mix of light and dark, with plenty of humor mixed in * Houston Chronicle * This latest work reads like a dark version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and feels like a Coen brothers movie. horror, bloodshed and laughs * Shortlist * A master of noir laced with laugh-out-loud black humour.

The thicket joe lansdale