Act of Love

Compared to Lansdale's typically high-quality output, this novel is pretty substandard. The characters never quite gel, the dialogue is rough around the edges, and the plot's "guess which character is the killer" is the kind of stuff best left to made-for-tv movies. Even the violence and brutality lack that hard edge one expects from Lansdale's books. His later novels delve into the horrors of the criminal mind and the sadness of the troubled soul much more effectively than this rather hackneyed attempt. I would only recommend this to a Joe R. Lansdale completist, and even then, hesitantly.

Act of Love is one of Lansdale's earliest, if not the earliest, books. AoL's writing lacks the polish or homespun humor that readers would come to expect from Lansdale. Yet, he showed a great deal of potential that would be realized in his later works. Be forewarned, Act of Love is not for the squeamish or the easily offended. The novel centers around Houston police detective Marvin Hanson, who has the unenviable task of bringing down a modern day Jack The Ripper. The killer is very unpredictable in his methods much like the aforementioned Jack. For instance, one night he'll[choose]a prostitute in a slum-ridden section of the city. The next night, he'll [choose] someone from an affluent suburb. When a few (emphasis on FEW) of the killer's patterns become apparent, everyone becomes a suspect - especially Hanson himself. Hanson not only has to contend with the killer, he has to coexist with his partner Joe Clark as well. Both Hanson and Clark are mutually suspicious about one another. And to make matters worse, Hanson has to restrain himself around an amoral tabloid reporter who likes to further his career by besmirching the Police. Those expecting the humor of Lansdale's Hap and Leonard novels, which incidentally Hanson appears in starting with Mucho Mojo, may be disappointed. Act of love is still a solid mystery if you have a strong stomach. Overall rating: 4.5 stars

Turn on a light and check all your locks. You'll need that sense of security while reading this novel. We're so numb to serial killer fiction at this point that it's difficult to remember a time when this genre was relatively unknown. ACT is one of the first, and Lansdale adds his incredible touch to make it a unique and chilling novel of a horrific killer and the men trying to catch him. Lansdale doesn't ease into this subject: the first few pages describe a grotesque murder, the first of the "Houston Hacker", a self-proclaimed hunter of women. Enter Marvin Hanson and Joe Clark as the cops assigned to solve the series of grisly murders. Hanson is a unique character for horror fiction: he's a black cop in the South. He's disgusted by the murders and takes on a personal vendetta against the Hacker. Lansdale leads the reader on to various possibilities as to the identity of the killer without totally giving away anything until near the end. Do not doubt: this novel is not for the squeamish. Lansdale never pulls any punches in his novels; these murders are grotesque. The novel is packed with scenes depicting racial and gender hatred so prevalent in society; there are loads of racial slurs between some of the characters. If you can read this without cringing, check your pulse. Lansdale is always worth the read. He's a master storyteller. This edition is especially worth it for the intro written by Andrew Vachss as well as the afterword written by Lansdale himself; he explains how the novel came into being, and it's an interesting saga.

I recently discovered the great talent of J. Lansdale and I'm thunderstruck! Landsdale has an unbelievable way with words. This book is a simple serial-killer novel, but Lansdale's magical touch makes it so much more than that. Recommended.

I read this book after finishing Mucho Mojo and what a difference, but Joe Landsdale is soooooooo talented in anything he sets his mind to, I just went with the book and I have read many books over the past several years like this, but to have come out in the very early 80's it was groundbreaking for this style and I would recommend it just because Joe gives it a whole different feel than your typical serial killer novel.