Rating: 
Summary: A Texas-style, Depression-era Western, not to be Missed
Review: A twister is raging through the small town of Camp Rapture, Texas. It's raining to beat the band. Wind is god-awful and the head cop in town is raping and abusing his wife Sunset, so called because of her flaming red hear. However, Sunset does not give in easily, she gets Pete's pistol, the one he uses in his job as town constable, and kills him. The town is sympathetic and in no time at all, and with the help of her mother-in-law who owns the town's sawmill, she's takes over his position.
Meanwhile, east near the Louisiana border, a good-looking, guitar-player named Hillbilly hops a freight going west. Two men in the car jump him and Hillbilly kills them, but not before his guitar is destroyed in the fracas. Now he needs money for another guitar, so he heads to Camp Rapture and a job at the mill.
Sunset needs a couple deputies and since work is the four letter word Hillbilly hates most, he volunteers. The next day a dead baby, packed in a jar, and the body of a local prostitute are discovered and now the tale takes off. The story at times seems a bit low key, but the tension always seems to be on the front burner, if that's possible. Mr. Lansdale has put many unforgettable characters in this memorable, often humorous, suspense-packed novel. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Lansdale's "The Bottoms" and I remember thinking books don't get any better, well they do. Pick up this one and you'll see what I mean.
Rating: 
Summary: not very satisfying
Review: By this time in his career, Joe R. Lansdale has certainly worn a comfortable groove in his storytelling saddle. SUNSET AND SAWDUST reads very much like other novels Lansdale has published in recent years (notably The Bottoms and A Fine Dark Line-two other recent non-Hap `n' Leonard novels). The humor, the atmosphere, the plotting, and the East Texas vernacular are all quintessentially Lansdale. If you're a returning reader, you'll find yourself right at home for another stay (much too brief though it may be) with your favorite mojo storyteller.
What gives SUNSET AND SAWDUST some extra kick, however, is a sense that even if Lansdale has covered similar territory in the past, he's still examining it with a hungry and restless eye. His use of a female protagonist, the redhead constable Sunset Jones, might be just the ingredient that keeps SUNSET AND SAWDUST so fresh and unpredictable. Lansdale has always written convincing female characters, but it's fun to see him examine the whole boy-girl thing from the other side of the fence.
The enduring Lansdale theme of people with power behaving badly towards people without it is at play once again in SUNSET AND SAWDUST. But the main character, the recently self-widowed redheaded constable who is on the lookout for a killer and also a moral center, helps muddy up that notion quite considerably.
There's also an arsenal of well written supporting characters in SUNSET AND SAWDUST that helps keep the novel well balanced and fun to read. A noticeable progression in some of these characters' front porch philosophizing adds to the overall adventurousness of the novel. SUNSET AND SAWDUST doesn't just sit there. . .it reaches out into the dark and does its damndest to grab hold of something.
And it succeeds. I've been a fan of Joe R. Lansdale's writing for almost fifteen years now, and I'm happy to say that he's just getting better at what he does. As a writer, it's always a challenge to remain true to one's evolving self, and with SUNSET AND SAWDUST Joe has risen to that task admirably. The saddle might be well worn and comfortable, but Lansdale certainly hasn't fallen asleep at the reigns.
Rating:
Summary: Sunset herownself
Review: By this time in his career, Joe R. Lansdale has certainly worn a comfortable groove in his storytelling saddle. SUNSET AND SAWDUST reads very much like other novels Lansdale has published in recent years (notably The Bottoms and A Fine Dark Line-two other recent non-Hap 'n' Leonard novels). The humor, the atmosphere, the plotting, and the East Texas vernacular are all quintessentially Lansdale. If you're a returning reader, you'll find yourself right at home for another stay (much too brief though it may be) with your favorite mojo storyteller.
What gives SUNSET AND SAWDUST some extra kick, however, is a sense that even if Lansdale has covered similar territory in the past, he's still examining it with a hungry and restless eye. His use of a female protagonist, the redhead constable Sunset Jones, might be just the ingredient that keeps SUNSET AND SAWDUST so fresh and unpredictable. Lansdale has always written convincing female characters, but it's fun to see him examine the whole boy-girl thing from the other side of the fence.
The enduring Lansdale theme of people with power behaving badly towards people without it is at play once again in SUNSET AND SAWDUST. But the main character, the recently self-widowed redheaded constable who is on the lookout for a killer and also a moral center, helps muddy up that notion quite considerably.
There's also an arsenal of well written supporting characters in SUNSET AND SAWDUST that helps keep the novel well balanced and fun to read. A noticeable progression in some of these characters' front porch philosophizing adds to the overall adventurousness of the novel. SUNSET AND SAWDUST doesn't just sit there. . .it reaches out into the dark and does its damndest to grab hold of something.
And it succeeds. I've been a fan of Joe R. Lansdale's writing for almost fifteen years now, and I'm happy to say that he's just getting better at what he does. As a writer, it's always a challenge to remain true to one's evolving self, and with SUNSET AND SAWDUST Joe has risen to that task admirably. The saddle might be well worn and comfortable, but Lansdale certainly hasn't fallen asleep at the reigns.
Rating:
Summary: Noir in Overalls
Review: First of all, I am a Lansdale fan. I discovered his books about four years ago and I have read nearly every thing he's written. Lansdale keeps getting better and better. The location of nearly all of his books is in East Texas. I spent some time in East Texas approximately 12 years ago; it has a unique culture that Lansdale has captured and passes on in his stories.Sunset and Sawdust is set in the Great Depression. It begins with a tornado and a murder. Sunset Jones, shoots and kills her law enforcement husband in self defense as he beat her and later tried to rape her. At the same time, a tornado is blowing down the house around her. To Sunset's surprize, her mother-in-law, owner of a lumber mill, supports Sunset and uses her political pull to appoint her as the first female constable in East Texas. Of course, no Lansdale book is complete without him attacking sexism and racism. Sunset has a mystery to solve. A dead women and a dead baby, both covered in oil, are discovered in the rich soil on the farm land owned by an African American farmer. The woman is Sunset's dead husband's mistress. Was he the father of the deceased baby? Also in this story, another character from Lansdale's The Big Blow makes his appearance in this tale. Lansdale creates some of the best characters and creepiest villians. Sunset has to battle two of them, an aging boxer, who is still deadly with his fists, and his half brother who is not only evil, but has a split personality. Lansdale is quite a wordsmith. His prose is like sitting at the feet of a masterful story teller and listening to him spin a tale. His one-liners, metaphors, and similes are priceless. I like the way Lansdale describes the dirt and grime of a little, filthy, lumber town. He goes into such detail that you can almost smell the feces and want to take a shower afterwards to wash the sawdust and sweat off of you. If you like noir set in the Depression in East Texas, read Landale's The Boar, The Bottoms, and The Big Blow (early 1900's). I would also recommend one of Lansdale's mentor's books, Neil Barrett's Piggs (described as the Sopranos, barefoot and in overalls).
Rating:
Summary: A Fine Novel by an American Treasure
Review: I first read a Joe R. Lansdale story in an anthology entitled NIGHT VISIONS. It was one of a series of volumes published by a wonderful and sadly defunct company named Dark Harvest. Dark Harvest, as might be gathered from its name, published horror literature, and was so reliable that one could pick up any title it issued and be happy. I'd never heard of Lansdale before NIGHT VISIONS, and after reading his stories in that volume I never have never forgotten him. Lansdale's work effortlessly cuts across genres; while he tends to find himself classified in the western, horror, and suspense genres, his work and his talent are too big and too strong to be confined to any one area. He writes like an angel with the mindset of Hieronymus Bosch. If there were a soundtrack to his novels, it would be ZZ Top fronted by Trent Reznor, with The Sons of the Pioneers on vocals. While Lansdale's work is set in this world, he's definitely writing about the part of the town where the buses run few and far between, if at all. SUNSET AND SAWDUST combines all of the finest elements of Lansdale's talents, making the Depression era East Texas towns of Camp Rapture and Holiday the setting for a dark morality tale with Biblical overtones. The story begins with Sunset Jones killing her husband Pete in self-defense in the midst of a devastating windstorm. The late departed Pete was the constable of Camp Rapture and the son of Marilyn Jones, three-quarter owner of the sawmill which is the lifeblood of the town. No one is more surprised than Sunset when her mother-in-law proves to be unexpectedly understanding of Sunset's actions, and sees to it that Sunset succeeds Pete as town constable. Sunset, to everyone's surprise, actually takes her duties seriously, and while there are those who are extremely uncomfortable having a woman filling the duties of the office, she manages to acquire a grudging respect from the citizens, particularly after she assists law enforcement in Holiday to defuse a particularly violent situation. The bizarre discovery of the bodies of a woman and a newly born baby on the property of the only black landowner in the area, however, lead Sunshine into an investigation that individuals in both towns would rather not see completed. Lansdale is known for creating frightening but realistic characters, and he is at the top of his game here, introducing the unlikely pair of McBride and Two as well as the enigmatic Hillbilly. Another of Lansdale's stylistic trademarks, colorful metaphors and turns of phrase, are in good supply here, peppered throughout the narrative like the Burma Shave highway signposts of old. The outcome of the apocalyptic ending is, as usually the case with Lansdale, impossible to predict; it seems at times as if Lansdale himself is surprised at the denouement. This, perhaps, is at it should be. After more than twenty years of writing, and at a point in his career where a less enterprising writer could happily phone in an annual novel, Lansdale continues to challenge and to surpass himself. This is a work by an American treasure who has yet to receive his full and rightful due. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Rating: 
Summary: A cracking good read
Review: I recently developed an interest in Joe Lansdale after hearing all the hype about "Bubba Ho-Tep," a film version of one of this author's short stories directed by Don Coscarelli of "Phantasm" fame and starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. I knew about Lansdale before the hoopla surrounding the film reached a fever pitch, of course, but he is one of those writers I unfortunately kept putting on the back burner in lieu of other "must read" stuff. On an excursion to the library recently I decided to finally check out something-anything, really-from this author. Since I couldn't find the short story collection containing "Bubba Ho-Tep," I settled on "Sunset and Sawdust" largely because it looked like it is his newest book and because it was the first one to catch my eye. I am happy to announce that I enjoyed this book despite a few minor reservations. I ended up enjoying "Sunset and Sawdust" so much that upon finishing it I immediately went back to the library to pick up another one of his books. Set in the heat parched environs of Camp Rapture (known to the local employees as "Camp Rupture"), East Texas during the Great Depression, "Sunset and Sawdust" tells us everything we would want to know about a spirited firecracker named Sunset Jones. The adventure begins when Sunset (so named because of her mane of bright red hair) murders her abusive husband during a tornado strike. Regrettably for Sunset, her husband Pete was the town constable and the son of the primary owners of the local saw mill. It takes a lot of guts to stroll into the mill and tell Pete's parents what she did, but Sunset is the type of gal who always lives up to her responsibilities. Predictably, the men in the area despise the fact that this uppity woman dispatched her spouse. After all, everyone expects a woman in 1930's Texas to keep her mouth shut and fulfill her marital obligations. Oddly enough, Sunset's actions lead her mother-in-law Marilyn Jones to take a stand against her own husband's abusive practices. Moreover, Marilyn goes so far as to pull strings to get Sunset appointed town constable. Backed up by Clyde, a rough and tumble mill worker, and a roving hobo named Hillbilly, Sunset puts on a badge and pistol to assume her post as law officer for the mill town. A series of events soon leads to impending troubles for Sunset Jones. In her husband's files, she discovers a document recording a strange event that took place on a nearby farm owned by a black man named Zendo. According to Pete's written recollections, the farmer discovered the body of an unborn infant, encased in an earthen jar and covered in oil, buried on his property. Constable Pete Jones took the body and buried it in an unmarked grave with little public fanfare, which makes Sunset suspicious enough to reopen the case. Soon, Zendo's plow turns up the corpse of a woman, also covered in oil, on another piece of his property. The two shocking discoveries soon lead to a series of confrontations that threaten Sunset Jones, her bond with her daughter Karen, and her relationships with Clyde, Hillbilly, and Marilyn. It seems some bad people with an eye towards making a bundle off the new local commodity have been up to some very bad things, and the only person ultimately standing in their way is Sunset Jones's meddling. Several subplots, including Jones's reconciliation with her long lost father, the appearance of two goons from up North, and a local black moonshiner named Bull all help move the story to its violent conclusion. "Sunset and Sawdust" doesn't stick to a single genre. Elements of humor, murder mystery, and action adventure wind their way through the book. At times, Lansdale goes straight for the funny bone with the slangy banter between Sunset, Clyde, and Hillbilly. Clyde's reasoning for burning down his house is quite amusing, as is our red headed heroine's methods of enforcing the law. So often does Lansdale slather on the hilarity that we often forget the novel is a mystery. Why are those bodies in the fields? Who put them there and why? Who are they? These questions, and Sunset's attempts to discover the answers, pop up with increasing frequency as the book heads to its shoot 'em up denouement. The inclusion of several fistfights, gun battles, and general mayhem spices up the novel as well. I think there is something for everyone in "Sunset and Sawdust," even for horror fans. The character known as Two is one of the creepiest villains I've seen in a book for some time. Yep, all sorts of readers should have a rollicking good time with this entertaining read. I did have a few problems with the book. The biggest difficulty is how anachronistic the whole thing is in reference to race relations. Imagine a 1990's mentality towards social relations implanted into Texas of the 1930s. I increasingly had doubts that Sunset and Clyde could have gotten away with the things they were doing in favor of the local black populace. Too, Sunset's appointment as town constable despite the murder charge hanging over her head was completely unconvincing. You can't tell me someone wouldn't have worked behind the scenes to bring her down. Lansdale tries to deflect problems in this area by having Marilyn use her clout as mill owner to help Sunset get the job, and also reveals a rather heavy handed overt plot to remove Sunset from power, but it's all rather shaky. Still, the novel overcomes these troubling quandaries easily by slathering on the humor and creating engaging and fully developed characters. I readily recommend "Sunset and Sawdust" despite these slight problems.
Rating:
Summary: A cracking good read
Review: I recently developed an interest in Joe Lansdale after hearing all the hype about "Bubba Ho-Tep," a film version of one of this author's short stories directed by Don Coscarelli of "Phantasm" fame and starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. I knew about Lansdale before the hoopla surrounding the film reached a fever pitch, of course, but he is one of those writers I unfortunately kept putting on the back burner in lieu of other "must read" stuff. On an excursion to the library recently I decided to finally check out something-anything, really-from this author. Since I couldn't find the short story collection containing "Bubba Ho-Tep," I settled on "Sunset and Sawdust" largely because it looked like it is his newest book and because it was the first one to catch my eye. I am happy to announce that I enjoyed this book despite a few minor reservations. I ended up enjoying "Sunset and Sawdust" so much that upon finishing it I immediately went back to the library to pick up another one of his books. Set in the heat parched environs of Camp Rapture (known to the local employees as "Camp Rupture"), East Texas during the Great Depression, "Sunset and Sawdust" tells us everything we would want to know about a spirited firecracker named Sunset Jones. The adventure begins when Sunset (so named because of her mane of bright red hair) murders her abusive husband during a tornado strike. Regrettably for Sunset, her husband Pete was the town constable and the son of the primary owners of the local saw mill. It takes a lot of guts to stroll into the mill and tell Pete's parents what she did, but Sunset is the type of gal who always lives up to her responsibilities. Predictably, the men in the area despise the fact that this uppity woman dispatched her spouse. After all, everyone expects a woman in 1930's Texas to keep her mouth shut and fulfill her marital obligations. Oddly enough, Sunset's actions lead her mother-in-law Marilyn Jones to take a stand against her own husband's abusive practices. Moreover, Marilyn goes so far as to pull strings to get Sunset appointed town constable. Backed up by Clyde, a rough and tumble mill worker, and a roving hobo named Hillbilly, Sunset puts on a badge and pistol to assume her post as law officer for the mill town. A series of events soon leads to impending troubles for Sunset Jones. In her husband's files, she discovers a document recording a strange event that took place on a nearby farm owned by a black man named Zendo. According to Pete's written recollections, the farmer discovered the body of an unborn infant, encased in an earthen jar and covered in oil, buried on his property. Constable Pete Jones took the body and buried it in an unmarked grave with little public fanfare, which makes Sunset suspicious enough to reopen the case. Soon, Zendo's plow turns up the corpse of a woman, also covered in oil, on another piece of his property. The two shocking discoveries soon lead to a series of confrontations that threaten Sunset Jones, her bond with her daughter Karen, and her relationships with Clyde, Hillbilly, and Marilyn. It seems some bad people with an eye towards making a bundle off the new local commodity have been up to some very bad things, and the only person ultimately standing in their way is Sunset Jones's meddling. Several subplots, including Jones's reconciliation with her long lost father, the appearance of two goons from up North, and a local black moonshiner named Bull all help move the story to its violent conclusion. "Sunset and Sawdust" doesn't stick to a single genre. Elements of humor, murder mystery, and action adventure wind their way through the book. At times, Lansdale goes straight for the funny bone with the slangy banter between Sunset, Clyde, and Hillbilly. Clyde's reasoning for burning down his house is quite amusing, as is our red headed heroine's methods of enforcing the law. So often does Lansdale slather on the hilarity that we often forget the novel is a mystery. Why are those bodies in the fields? Who put them there and why? Who are they? These questions, and Sunset's attempts to discover the answers, pop up with increasing frequency as the book heads to its shoot 'em up denouement. The inclusion of several fistfights, gun battles, and general mayhem spices up the novel as well. I think there is something for everyone in "Sunset and Sawdust," even for horror fans. The character known as Two is one of the creepiest villains I've seen in a book for some time. Yep, all sorts of readers should have a rollicking good time with this entertaining read. I did have a few problems with the book. The biggest difficulty is how anachronistic the whole thing is in reference to race relations. Imagine a 1990's mentality towards social relations implanted into Texas of the 1930s. I increasingly had doubts that Sunset and Clyde could have gotten away with the things they were doing in favor of the local black populace. Too, Sunset's appointment as town constable despite the murder charge hanging over her head was completely unconvincing. You can't tell me someone wouldn't have worked behind the scenes to bring her down. Lansdale tries to deflect problems in this area by having Marilyn use her clout as mill owner to help Sunset get the job, and also reveals a rather heavy handed overt plot to remove Sunset from power, but it's all rather shaky. Still, the novel overcomes these troubling quandaries easily by slathering on the humor and creating engaging and fully developed characters. I readily recommend "Sunset and Sawdust" despite these slight problems.
Rating:
Summary: His best yet
Review: I tell stories to my wife at night. Usually they put her to sleep. Then I started telling her Lansdale stories. She couldn't get to sleep until I told her the whole story--or at least as far as I had read. Then I started to deplore my recitations, style of my origin not being of his genius. He lets us see just and only what he wants us to see or, rather, what the story needs us to see. Lansdale is the storyteller. A few other are, not many. Hamsun occurs to me as another. The storyteller has one mistress--the story. On this one, I had to read the whole thing to my wife, word for word. Until she could sleep.
Rating:
Summary: wacky wonderful tale
Review: In Depression Era East Texas, Constable Pete Jones assaults his wife Sunset before he rapes her. Badly abused and bruised, and in fear that he will one day kill her and beat the rap, Sunset takes Pete's gun and kills him. While she murders her spouse, a cyclone destroys most of their home. She is not charged with homicide not because she was protecting herself, but because no one liked the abuse of power pistol Pete. After healing, Sunset is elected to complete Pete's term as constable though most doubt her capability to do the job. As she sets out to prove her worth, Sunset investigates the corpse of a baby that leads to a second dead body, crazy grasshoppers and Klansmen, and unethical oil dealers all leading to her beating the bushes questioning folks who seem more at home in a chainsaw massacre. The setting is typical Lansdale, which means East Texas. The cast is also typical Lansdale, which means eccentrics running loose outside the asylum.' The era is atypical Lansdale as he takes the audience back to the 1930s. The results is typical Lansdale, which means a wacky wonderful tale that seems just out of control yet somehow comes together to provide readers especially the author's fans with a fabulous crazed time. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Another Lansdale masterpiece!
Review: Joe Lansdale returns to the bookshelf with another in a long line of suspense masterpieces. Politically incorrect, but writing with far more authority than anyone on the New York Times bestseller list, Joe Lansdale is an American original. At this point in his career it doesn't matter what topic he tackles, you just know it's going to be good.
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