''Freezer Burn'' is a 1999 crime novel by American writer

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 ...

Plot summary

Down on his luck, loner, loser, Bill Roberts tries his hand at robbing the fireworks stand across the road from his house. Things don't go well, and he barely escapes with his life into an

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region consi ...

swamp. A day later, his head swollen with insect bites, he stumbles into a low rent traveling

freak show A freak show, also known as a creep show, is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with ...

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

. His appearance allows him to fit in, and seeing no other way to escape his predicament, he joins the group and travels with them putting on shows. Befriended by the group's leader, John Frost, who has a dead twin's arm attached to his chest, Bill soon has eyes for John's luscious wife Gidget who is, besides Bill, the only non-freak among them. The show's main attraction is the mysterious Iceman, who has his own trailer. Soon Frost trusts Bill with running the Iceman act. As Bill gets closer to Gidget, he soon realizes she has plans of her own, and remaining the wife of a sideshow freak isn't one of them.

Editions

This book was published both as a

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

by Crossroads Press and as a

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 has been 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 ...

by several different publishing houses.

References

External links

Joerlansdale.com.
The author's official website. {{Joe R. Lansdale Novels set in swamps Novels set in Texas Novels by Joe R. Lansdale American mystery novels 1999 American novels Works by Joe R. Lansdale