Joe Lansdale, winner of the British Fantasy Award, the American Mystery Award and three Bram Stoker Awards, is up to his usual tricks in Rumble Tumble. Set in the Southern States, it"s basically a crime story with a liberal dose of Lansdale"s uniquely dry humour. Hap Collins is unsettled in his life. His home in Oklahoma has been destroyed by a tornado and he feels that he"s becoming too old to be a night club bouncer. He must also face the decision whether to leave his lodgings with long-suffering friend Leonard and move in with his girlfriend, Brett. Brett comes with her own set of problems, though, not the least of which are an ex-husband (whom she has set fire to) and her wayward daughter, Tillie. Brett persuades Hap and Leonard to help rescue Tillie from her life of drugs and prostitution in Texas. On their way they pick up a string of odd characters. These include Herman, an ex-preacher and hit man who has turned his hand to selling prairie dogs to the Japanese, and Herman"s brother, Red, a hard-nosed midget who joins the party together with Leonard"s adopted son, an armadillo called Bob! In order to reach Tillie the motley crew finally take to the air before finding themselves up against the Bandito Supremes. --Pat Naylor