''Bad Chili'' is a 1997 crime

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reas ...

by American author

Joe R. Lansdale Joe Richard Lansdale (born October 28, 1951) is an American writer and martial arts instructor. A prose writer in a variety of genres - Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense - he's also written comic books and screenplays. Se ...

. It is the fourth in the series of books featuring Lansdale's longtime protagonists

Hap and Leonard Hap and Leonard are two fictional amateur investigators and adventurers created by American author Joe R. Lansdale. They are the main characters in a series of twelve novels, four novellas, and three collections of stories and excerpts. They are ...

. The two characters couldn't be more different; Hap is a white working class laborer who went to prison to protest the

Vietnam war The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, and Leonard is a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, black,

Vietnam vet A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and oth ...

with serious anger issues. Both are experts in the

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

and are the best of friends.

Plot summary

Hap returns from his off-shore

oil platform An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...

job to discover that his best friend Leonard is being framed for a series of murders. The first of these is a biker who stole Leonard's boyfriend, and the second is Leonard's ex-boyfriend himself. The two of them set out to find who the real killers are and clear Leonard's name.

Editions

This book was first published by the now defunct

Mojo Press Mojo Press is a now-defunct small press which primarily published science fiction, horror, and western books and graphic novels between 1994 and 1999. History Mojo Press was founded in 1994 by publisher Ben Ostrander and managing editor Richard ...

with only 500 signed copies. It was then published as a mass-market

trade hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occas ...

Mysterious Press The Mysterious Press is an American publishing company specializing in mystery fiction based in New York City. The company, founded in 1975 by Otto Penzler, has been associated with various publishing companies over the years, most recently with Gr ...

. It was re-issued as a

trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...

in May 2009 by

Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Vintage Crime/Black Lizard is the corporate amalgamation of Random House's Vintage Crime, and Random House's 1990 acquisition, Black Lizard, a major publisher of classic crime fiction. History Vintage Crime/Black Lizard was founded in June 1 ...

books.

References

External links

Author's Official WebsitePaperback Publisher's websiteAuthor's Publisher Website
{{Joe R. Lansdale Novels by Joe R. Lansdale American crime novels 1997 American novels Novels set in Texas Works by Joe R. Lansdale