Note: I first wrote this review in 2010 when I first started reviewing books at Goodreads. It was a brief review simply for the fact I read the novel in the late 90s and the details were not as vivid at the time. Now, thanks to the release of the film in 2014 and the rerelease of Cold in July> by Tachyon Publications, I was encouraged to read it again. The first part of this review are my first thoughts in 2010 followed by my new assessment.This hard-nosed thriller by Joe R. Lansdale is easy to dismiss as a pulp fiction suspense novel and nothing more. Yet the author is actually writing a haunting character study about fatherhood and all the problems it entail. This is the genius of Lansdale. He writes thrillers that can be read for pure entertainment yet at the end you are thinking twice about what you read and what it means. And, as usual, he never pulls punches. While not as riveting as the Hap and Leonard novels, Cold in July is still very memorable.------------------With the movie Cold in July coming out in May, I decided to reread this suspense novel written by Joe R. Lansdale. It didn't hurt my decision when Tachyon Publications, through Netgalley, offered me a review copy as their release of the book coincides with the release of the film. It's been over 15 years since I read it and my original review (above) for Goodreads was on spot but without much detail. On the second read, I must say it was as good as I remembered and better. But I may have been flippant when I referred to it as pulp fiction. Cold in July is certainly within the tradition of pulp mysteries and, more precisely, crime fiction. It is also firmly in Lansdale's typical East Texas setting full of blue collar families and characters from the more dubious sides of life. Yet Lansdale has hit a literary note in this novel as he uses the plot and themes to explore father-son relationships. In that way, this novel may be one of his most subtle and maybe even more personal. Considering Lansdale's novels are full of tough and eccentric characters, Richard Dane is fairly mundane. He lives with his wife and son in a small Texas town and owns a picture framing shop. One night he hears an intrusion into his home and ends up shooting the burglar in self defense. He is uncomfortable about the notoriety he receives and feels guilty despite the fact it was self defense. Soon Russel, the father of the man he killed, has just got out of prison only to find his boy is dead. He places himself into Richard's life in the most sinister way. "A life for a life" as he puts it.So now we have a typical story about a man placed in a dangerous situation and protecting his family. But Lansdale is never typical. As the story developed, Richard discovers something have makes him and Russel uncomfortable allies. It's a beautiful if suspenseful buildup to this point and Lansdale makes it work. One of those reasons is that Russel is old enough to be Richard's father and Richard's actual father killed himself when he was young. That made sound strange saying that there exist emotional connections between Richard and the man who wants to kill his family but it's that sort of thing that makes this such a emotionally satisfying book. The loss of a son. The loss of a father. The fear of losing youe child in death or sometimes in other ways than death. These are the themes that drive this excellent story. And no one tells a story better than Lansdale.Lansdale's grit and wits is evident throughout. Halfway through we meet a private investigator that is one of the more colorful characters the author has created and, of course, has some of the best lines. Richard's wife lends a different kind of protective spirit to the book. She in realistic and provides a bit of grounding to Richard's odd quest which she fears will destroy the family. It's that quest that becomes the only weak, if minor, link in this novel. Even with Russel's background, it is hard to accept he would make the decision he does and even harder that Richard would go along with it. Yet Lansdale have built up the delicate rapport each has with the other so well that it does not become an insurmountable leap and certainly does not slow down this exquisite thriller.So I have to say I enjoyed this book more on the second read and, maybe because of my own older age, felt closer for the relationship and the emotions of these men. I originally gave this book four stars but now I would increase it to five. It's a crime fiction classic.
This one starts out with our main character killing a burglar in self defence. The burglar's father, a convict who's just been released from jail, comes after the main character with plans to kill the main character's son in revenge. The plot quickly tangles in a Lansdale fashion, and our antagonist and protagonist eventually join forces to figure out what the heck is really going on. The characters are believable, fun, and really give the impression of being fully developed individuals. It's another quick read, and a great way to spend a Saturday.
—Jenn Myers
Well, simply put, I loved it. After trudging through "Loves Lies Dying" and getting a bit of an OD on Harry Dresden, this book brought me back to what a book should be. It's crisp and suspenseful, without being long overindulgent. The writing is tight and to the point, still the characters develop brilliantly and naturally. I mean I truly enjoyed reading this, every word of it. Not just tried or wanted to or kind of enjoyed it. This is the real deal. You'll have plenty of suspense, action, drama, and - much like "The Drive In," though more so in this book - just the perfect amount of commentary on society and individual humans to make the book important but by no means preachy. Unless maybe I spent a month re-reading it with the close-reading skills of a sentient electron microscope I honestly couldn't even tell you what Mr. Lansdale's party affiliation is. The dialogue and descriptions are as stripped down and direct as possible without being stiff. And there is nothing stiff about this novel. The sparsity of the descriptions and the dialogue creates such a great juxtaposition between page-turning suspense and the want to slow down and savor the characters, that the narrative moves beautifully - almost as it were on it's own greased track and you are struggling, joyfully to keep up. For example: Meet Jim Bob Joe Luke: A fifty-ish Private detective who had been a Green Beret and studied martial-arts. Supposedly now "best Detective in East Texas, and the includes the police!" Let's meet him, shall we? ..."I could see the man stretching beside the door, and he looked like a washed-up country and western singer. He was tall and lean and wore a straw hat with a couple of anemic feathers in it. He had on a white cowboy shirt with thin green stripes on it and faded blue jeans and boots that often looked they had waded though water and shit...." and he says things like - "Yeah he wants to [do something righteous*] But that don't mean to stand around here in this sweat-box with this good-looking lady perched on that rotten chair like a parrot.Let's gregardless, Landso over and get some air-conditioning. I do better when I have a big ole steak under my belt and a couple of lone-stars to ride on top of it. I don't do my best thinking when I'm sweating like a Cuban whore..."There are better quotes and situations from both Jim Bob and the other characters (no bad ones, at lease nothing memorable) but the ones I could find flipping through the book were all Spoilers. Regardless, after you read this book you'll realize that Lansdale has a knack for East Texas vernacular, because he's lived there all his life. And does not judge - nor pull no punches - for the middle class or the poor. Thaey just speak differently. And the middle class came from the poor. He just wants to be, as an author, HONEST. This is how they talk! Shit, I never made them talk that way, I just wrote it down. And just because I wrote it down does not make me share the ideas, nor does it make them bad people. That last paragraph was all mine. Anyway, Lansdale, so far as I have experienced him so far, is tight, funny, a bit gruesome depending the novel, and utterly captivating.Horror fan or not, read "Cold in July." It's family - who I'm assuming has watched at least a decent amount of Law and Order SVU - friendly fun.I will honestly say that it was the best (all around, may not win in sub-categories) book I've read all year.Read it. Read it. And read it.(Not three times in a row, but I was just trying to impress the imperative.) Soon, Alex. (Not to mention that Mr. Lansdale is very, very funny. In an very understated way.)Read it.
—Alex Budris
Well. This just fucking rules. Shootemups and badguys turned goodguys and goodguys turned badguys and snuff films and twistyplots and crooked feds and tough, mean dudes who look (in my head) like Danny Trejo, and all that stuff that makes crime fiction fun, but with more to it than bam-bam and dames and bam-bamming dames and dames getting bambammed. It's a smart little study of suburban malaise, nature/nurture, parental ineptitude and the dynamics of male relationships, tucked inside what appears at first to basically be a regurgitation of the regurgitation of Cape Fear. Is not! Addictive and fun and surprisingly nuanced, with a memorable, hilarious, almost William Gay-esque in his dialogue private investigator character who's just begging to be played by, I dunno, Don Johnson? I can't wait to see the movie version featuring a moustached Dexter Morgan Fisher, the closeted undertaker frame-builder cowboy serial killer blood spatter analyst whose day gets made in Texas.
—Paquita Maria Sanchez
