Elvis, Jezus i Coca-Cola

Kinky Friedman #6

by Kinky Friedman

Kiedy stwierdzono, że Tom Baker umarł z powodu przedawkowania narkotyków, detektyw Kinky miał co do tego poważne wątpliwości. Jego podejrzenia nasilają się jeszcze, gdy okazuje się, że przepadł gdzieś film dokumentalny, który Baker kręcił na temat naśladowców Elvisa Presleya. Kiedy znika również jedyna osoba, która rzeczywiście widziała ów film, akcja nabiera niezwykłego tempa

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Humor, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Comedy, Detective

Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election for the office of Governor of Texas. Receiving 12.6% of the vote, Friedman placed fourth in the six-person race.

Friedman was born in Chicago to Jewish parents, Dr. S. Thomas Friedman and his wife Minnie (Samet) Friedman. The family moved to a ranch in central Texas a few years later. Friedman had an early interest in both music and chess, and was chosen at age 7 as one of 50 local players to challenge U.S. grandmaster Samuel Reshevsky to simultaneous matches in Houston. Reshevsky won all 50 matches, but Friedman was by far the youngest competitor.

Friedman graduated from Austin High School in Austin, Texas in 1962 and earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 1966, majoring in Psychology. He took part in the Plan II Honors program and was a member of the Tau Delta Phi fraternity. During his freshman year, Chinga Chavin gave Friedman the nickname "Kinky" because of his curly hair.

Friedman served two years in the United States Peace Corps, teaching on Borneo in Malaysia with John Gross. During his service in the Peace Corps, he met future Texas Jewboy road manager Dylan Ferrero, with whom he still works today. Friedman lives at Echo Hill Ranch, his family's summer camp near Kerrville, Texas. He founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, also located near Kerrville, whose mission is to care for stray, abused and aging animals; more than 1,000 dogs have been saved from animal euthanasia.

Series:
* Kinky Friedman Mystery

Reviews

[Angus McKeogh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus Christ! Shalom! Whatever! Kinky Friedman by some weird cosmic coincidence is one of the best writers on the planet. He of course gets no accolades because he writes humorous mystery fiction for the most part. But his insights, compassion, and humanity come bleeding out of his books without arrogance. It’s uncanny how much emotion these little books house. And the story is interesting, unique, and entertaining too. Just a great read. As an aside, the short epilogue to his cat at the end gutted me emotionally, or maybe I’m just a pushover; anyway, I need to read another one of these sooner rather than later.

[Ricky Ginsburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, you have to love the title. Without spoiling anything, it ties the plot together. Next, you have Kinky's wonderful way of telling a story. Sure, being from the New York area makes it easier to picture the scenes and many of the references are now prehistoric, but there's nothing to make even the youngest reader scratch their head in puzzlement.

I remember Joe Franklin just as well as I recall my first quadraphonic receiver and WQIV, the only New York area station to broadcast in quad. That's one of the best things about Kinky Friedman's books - they bring back all those long dead memories.

Is this Kinky Friedman at his best? Not by a long shot, but if you're a true fan, you'll read it twice.

[Diener · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny. Well-written. Kinky is a gifted writer who is probably overlooked by snobby intellectuals because he is so silly. That's the snobs' loss, though.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normalerweise würde ich einen großen Bogen um Bücher mit einem Titel wie diesem machen. Zu offensichtlich ein plumper Versuch, mit einer Kombination von nicht zusammengehörenden Konzepten Interesse zu wecken. Aber was sollte ich tun, mein Schwager schenkte mir das mit den schönen Worten, er selbst habe das schrecklich gefunden aber vielleicht sei das was für mich.

Und ganz falsch wahr das nicht. Ein witziger Krimi. Wobei witzig, ja meist nur witzig gemeint bedeutet. Andererseits.... Was hat vier Beine und einen Arm? Das hat mich bei der Stange gehalten. (Die Auflösung findet sich im Buch.) Der Ich-Erzähler, Kinky, hat unter anderem zwei Freundinnen die Judy heißen, und die er schlau als Uptown- und Downtown-Judy bezeichnet. Eine davon wird ermordet. Oder doch nicht? Es geht um einen Dokumentarfilm über Elvis-Imitatoren.

Kinky, sowohl im Buch als auch im wirklichen Leben war mal Musiker, und ich hörte mir zwischendurch eine seiner gar nicht so schlechten Platten an.

Wie witzig ist das wirklich? Sagen wir, die Behauptung dass die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass ein Bewohner Manhattans mal nach Brooklyn kommt so hoch ist wie für einen Besuch nach Kasachstan, ist nur so schwach komisch. Andererseits, wenn eine Figur einen Ausdruck wie contradictio in adiecto in den Mund nimmt, finde ich das wunderbar.

Der Fall selbst ist so aufregend leider nicht.

5/10

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pretty much all of Friedman but this is one of my favorites, probably because of the title. Does it not sum up America? It could sort of be a mantra for me, kind of a Gregorian cha-cha-chant. And the cover is cool. And he's funny. And he lives in an area I know well (the character). And I stood next to him on the street once (the author), hat & all. Boy is he big.

There have been times when Kinky's all that's helped me through the night.

[Max]

This guy makes Hunter S Thompson and the Tiger King seem like Mr Rogers. Kinky Friedman is a Jewish Cowboy who woke up and decided to write fanfiction about himself as a detective and ended up winning 10% of the gubernatorial vote in the state of Texas.

What the hell?

[Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The titles of Kinky Friedman's books are always funny. This one goes beyond being funny. It captures an unmistakable something about the heartland.
It's the real thing!

[Nooilforpacifists · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than a bit contrived, but otherwise a typical Kinky Friedman mystery.

[Oriyah N · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. I found the main character to be extremely unlikable and particularly irritating. The mystery aspect of the book was decent, but not particularly amazing. Elvis was the best part.

[Mindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this cover to cover on my birthday today. Most excellent.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and easy read. Nothing too deep. A fun read, but I can easily see where some women would be put off by Friedman's irreverent, sexist attitude toward women. But, then he is irreverent about nearly everything..

[Sharon Bruder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not enjoying the writing style at first, but at some point, I realized I was really into the book. The story and the characters took me in.

[Adam Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another top quality mystery from arguably one of the best writers around. His writing is absolutely individual, idiosyncratic and hilarious. He can go from pathos to killingly funny in a sentence. As with the other KF novels it is full of memorable and snappy one liners. Sometimes they are so raunchy and startling that you find yourself thinking 'Ooh - did he really write that!'. The plot, as with the other novels is almost superfluous as it is the interaction of the characters and the situations in which they find themselves which are the main interest. In this particular novel a pair of red cowboy boots and a film of Elvis impersonators feature as does the recipe to make Coca-Cola salad. The cat, the key holding puppet head and non-stop cigars are also there, as always. He writes in such a way that you really think you know him as a (slightly eccentric) friend. I was reading this on a train recently much to the annoyance of the other passengers as it kept making me laugh uncontrollably. Kinky Friedman is unique and wonderful.

[Ένας · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ξεχάστε την πλοκή (αν και αυτό εδώ είναι ένας κυκεώνας, περιλαμβάνει μια χαμένη ταινία με μιμητές του Elvis, πολλούς νεκρούς ανθρώπους, μια ζωντανή γάτα και μια γυναίκα που δεν ξέρει οτι το όνομα της είναι Downtown Judy). Η πραγματική μαγκιά του έκτου μυστηρίου του Kinky Friedman, Elvis, Jesus & Coca-Cola, προέρχεται από τον εσωτερικό μονόλογο του - αυτό που θα περίμενε κανείς από τον συγγραφέα του country κομματιού parody ''Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed.'' Αν σας αρέσει να σας διηγούνται τα βιβλία σας σαν "άχρωμες" ασυναρτησίες από την πιο γραφική B movie των ονείρων σας, αυτό είναι ένα κλασσικό A'.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

(read along with When the Cat's Away.)

These are annoying but entertaining little crime novels by Kinky, starring Kinky as himself. They can be funny, and I enjoy the Texas similes and the fact that a guy who writes novels about himself drinking incessantly, smoking countless cigars, and doing coke on occasion, could make a semi-serious run for governor of Texas! Both books were exactly the same but with different plots. Probably, overall, not worth reading.

[Slarson6 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery from the man who founded "Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys", who ran for the governor of Texas under the slogan, "how hard can it be", we are taken into the slightly bent world of part-time detective Kinky "Big Dick" Freidman. His observations of his cat, his lesbian dance instructor neighbor and the "Vandom Street Irregulars" woven within crime solving makes each book hard to put down. Social observations through out this crazy crime book. A lot of fun!

[Monika]

no dobra, przeczytałam nie w oryginale, ale po polsku. Kilkakrotnie zastanawiałam się nad problemem przekładu i jak jakieś sformułowanie mogło brzmieć w mym ojczystym języku. Pani Marta Lis (tłumaczka) wg mnie podołała bardzo. Czyta się gładko i ciekawie, kilka cytatów wartych zapamiętania, jak choćby "życie czasem lubi dopaść cię i ugryźć znienacka w tyłek"... :)

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - what a funny story! There's a non-talking cat, a missing Elvis Impersonator film, and a few dead people... the Village Irregulars are on the case - and Kinky Friedman paves the way for calamity, sleuthing, and not a few alcoholic beverages. If you're looking for enlightenment, laughs, and avoidably a few groans - this is the book for you!

[Jordan McPeek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dragged this one around for years. Finally got around to pulling it off the shelf. Enjoyed some of the one-liners but never really got into the plot or the characters. To be fair, I hardly seem to read anymore, playing with the phone during my commute instead. So I read this book over a period of several months.

[Matt Riggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was serviceable, but the characters were interchangeable, and the writing style was trying so hard to be hip and funny that it felt like a labor to read it. For example, the first sentence of chapter 9 is: "I was one clean shirt away from hanging myself from the shower rod." The writing did get easier to read as the story progressed, but overall: meh.

[Federico · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a book of atmospheres and street cirners. Even if there are not many descriptions (thanks gods), Kinky Friedman succeeds in making you live in NY, a NY more degraded and dirty than nowadays NY but a lot of time more interesting. Being a cat lover, then, the epilogue made me shed some tears

[Rachel C · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this for bookclub. It was an easy read, however I don't care for this Texas author. His writing style is very off-putting to women. I assume he is a male chauvinist by the way he wrote the book. Otherwise, I might have enjoyed his dry sense of humor.

[Andy Mascola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine a Lebowski-like detective except instead of smoking weed & drinking White Russians, Kinky’s exaggerated version of himself smokes cigars & drinks Jameson from a bull horn. Full of humor & fun characters, liked it a lot.‬

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't count the number of times I have read this awesome little book, but it is numerous. There are some excellent one-liners and a perfect cast of eccentrics coming together to solve a neat little mystery. One of my desert island choices.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

who told him he could write?

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only reading this because Willie Nelson told me to. The best thing about this book is its title - mostly unreadable.

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mystery at its lowest. It was okay, but I am jettisoning this flotsam to eBay.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third in my post-Kinky death tribute read. This is almost as much fun as the previous two, but there's something a tad too unbelievable about the solution and the fact that it takes so long for Friedman to see it.

This starts off as a search for a missing film, then Kinky's lover Uptown Judy disappears. The two cases surely aren't linked? But maybe they are. Cooperman and Fox, the NYPD's answer to Lestrade, aren't going to solve it. So it is up to Kinky Friedman and his Baker Street irregulars to sort it all out, which includes not just the usual members - Ratso, Brennan, Rambam, McGovern - but a female member, Downtown Judy. Who is another of Kinky's lovers.

The more they dig the more mysterious things become. But it seems likely that they're all in above their heads. Again.

The writing is as good as always. He definitely has that noir tone that the writer of American private detective stories has to adopt, but with an additional sparkle of wit. Friedman can be funny and not funny. The book version of Friedman would be one of those people that's good to know but with a touch too much self-indulgence for you not to get irritated by him. Unless you were equally self-indulgent, of course. And who isn't?

I have got my hands on 'The Kinky Friedman Crime Club' so this isn't the last Kinky Friedman review you'll be getting from me. These three have reminded me of how much I enjoy the stories, the writing, and the characters. It does mean going back in the Friedman timeline to the first three books he wrote but what is time but an illusion. If modern physics is right there's no such thing as now. Everything is happening all at the same moment. Past, present, and future mean nothing.

But I don't understand modern physics. I have to take a lot of it on faith, which makes it a religion in its own way. A religion, but with more equations.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just thought of this book because we will be cooking ham with Coca-Cola for ham & havarti sandwiches this afternoon (see our Nueva Receta blog for details), and we therefore have the unusual situation of Coca-Cola in the house.

Looking it up, I noticed it was published August 1, 1994, just a few weeks after our arrival for what would be three years in Texas. My high rating is based on my clear recollection of laughing out-loud throughout the book, finding it full of nice Texas details, and for a line about Richard Nixon that stays with me over 20 years after reading it.

Friedman's writing is a lot like that of Carl Hiaasen, except that Kinky puts his own alter-ego into the stories. He is an enigma, the perennial gadfly of Texas politics. I have only been in a room with him once -- when he played at The Narrows in Fall River in June 2012; he has apparently been back several times. His people still introduce him as "the Governor" even though his one run for the office was far from successful.

Bottom line: read this if you are in the mood for a very irreverent escape.

[Don Siegrist · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good book to read on an airplane; fast paced but weightless. Kinky writes in the first person as an amateur sleuth investigating multiple murders in NYC circa 1990's. Imagine The Thin Man, but instead of Myrna Loy Kinky is aided by a group of goofy Damon Runyan characters who seem to know everybody and anybody in NY. And like Nick Charles in the The Thin Man, the Kinkster (as he likes to refer to himself) is sloshed throughout the book but is somehow able to out-smart everyone.

An absurd premise and plot plus the dumbest ending to a crime novel ever published. But it does contain the occasional funny line as all the characters engage in clever banter; tossing off one bon-mot after another. Oh if only people actually talked like that. The book has no intrinsic value but is an easy read.