Book Review of THE DONUT LEGION by Joe R. Lansdale

THE DONUT LEGION by Joe R. Lansdale (Mulholland Books, March 2023) Hardcover, 304 pages. 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . . .

In this standalone, Edgar-award winning author, Joe R. Lansdale, whom "few can match" (Booklist) beams a light on an East Texas town where a QAnon-style, evangelist cult is brewing trouble. 

Charlie Garner has a bad feeling. His ex-wife, Meg, has been missing for over a week and one quick peek into her home shows all her possessions packed up in boxes. Neighbors claim she’s running from bill collectors, but Charlie suspects something more sinister is afoot. Meg was last seen working at the local donut shop, a business run by a shadow group most refer to as ‘The Saucer People’; a space-age, evangelist cult who believe their compound to be the site of an extraterrestrial Second Coming.

 

Along with his brother, Felix, and beautiful, randy journalist Amelia “Scrappy” Moon, Charlie uncovers strange and frightening details about the compound (read: a massive, doomsday storehouse of weapons, a leashed chimpanzee!) When the body of their key informer is found dead with his arms ripped out of their sockets, Charlie knows he’s in danger but remains dogged in his quest to rescue Meg.

 

Brimming with colorful characters and Lansdale’s characteristic bounce, this rollicking crime novel examines the insidious rise of fringe groups and those under their sway with black comedy and glints of pathos.

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     In his inimitable folksy style, Joe R. Lansdale skewers religious cults, ufologists, gun fanatics, extremists of all stripes, and fringe groups in a biting, often hilarious mystery revolving around a Jim Jones-like evangelist for extraterrestrials coming to save the Earth. The Garner brothers are extremely likable characters, and I hope he finds another story for them in the future.

     I love reading Joe R. Lansdale for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, he's a natural story-teller whose style speaks to everyone. He's also an inventive creator of homemade colloquialisms and observations that create some incredible and amusing images. Here's a few examples . . . . .

• Page 47: Felix turned his attention back to the duo. Muscles seemed angry enough to fart a rain cloud with residual lightning. The other man looked a little nervous, like a supportive brother who was rethinking things about the debt of kinship. 

• Page 48: Felix shoved Muscles into his brother again. That pinned the backup brother between Muscles and the wall - - a brotherly sandwich. The smaller man's arms were waving out behind Muscles like a traffic cop trying to slow a speeder.

• Page 51: He was quite old. His nose was large, and his head was too. He was bald except for a circle of hair around his temples that looked like a brown ring inside an uncleaned toilet.

• More of Page 51: The package was wrapped in brown paper. For him to have carried it upstairs was akin to a donkey with broken legs trying to wiggle his way up a greased playground slide. The skin on his arms shook like a loose suit as he settled himself. If one of his bones broke, he'd probably collapse into a puddle.”

Sometimes the imagery is so vivid it evokes other senses, like smell. For example, 

• Page 103: The bathroom was off to the side and barely large enough to turn around in. It had a peeling tile floor and a toilet with a crusty pee-stained interior thick enough for turds to build lakeside condos on. Last time it had been cleaned was the day it came from the factory.