Blue Suede Clues

Elvis Presley #2

by Daniel Klein

The King Hits Hollywood!

Just finished with the shooting of Kissin' Cousins—and fresh from a headline-making affair with the sizzling Ann-Margret—Elvis Aron Presley is at one devilish crossroads. Should he choose glittering Hollywood, or the temptations of Graceland? Keep making lucrative bad movies, or go back to doing the music he loves? His search for the truly good script that can mean the best of both worlds only creates more chaos between his ruthlessly scheming manager and the industry power brokers who won't take him seriously. Elvis is convinced that he's forever trapped in one hell-bound bargain…

But when a fellow ex-soldier swears he's been wrongly convicted of killing a beautiful starlet, Elvis finds far worse trouble. To uncover the truth, he'll have to search the dark corners beyond Hollywood's bright-hot lights and confront the savage triple-dealing and lethal performances at the real heart of movieland. And only with the help of a discredited defense lawyer, a brilliant Mexican pathologist far ahead of his time, and a skeptical L.A. Times reporter, will Elvis have a prayer of finding the real killer and saving an innocent man's life.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Daniel Klein is the co-author of the international bestseller Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar. He is a Harvard graduate in philosophy and an acclaimed writer of both fiction and nonfiction. When not enjoying the slow life on Greek islands, he lives in Massachusetts with his wife. He is seventy-five years old.

Reviews

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m loving this series of Elvis solving murders books.
I think the author captures how I would expect Elvis to act, crazy and impulsive but with high morals ❤️

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was something new to me- a mystery being investigated by "the King" (uh huh huh!) I picked it up at a library sale and enjoyed it, even though I have a few minor quibbles with it.

First, it was fun because it was Elvis. Watching Klein try to get inside the head of Elvis and bring out the morose, but fun-loving country gentleman was a lot of fun. Getting inside of Elvis' head, even if only in a fictional manner, was fun as we saw his thought regarding the Colonel, Priscilla, Ann Margaret, and making movies. This story occurs at the end of 1963 as Elvis is wrapping up the filming of "kissing Cousins." Elvis is discouraged about the roles he is getting in Hollywood and the infantile entertainment he is churning out. He is resentful towards Col. Parker's business management, and jumps at the chance to do something more interesting when he gets a letter from an old army acquaintance who has been framed for a murder. Off he goes to investigate. He sings his way through Hollywood as he investigates and Klein weaves even the moments of song into the story in a manner that is more seamless than most of Presley's real life films.

The minor quibbles that I had were about things like "White Tower" hamburgers in L.A. I don't recall every seeing one. A bit of research on the internet indicates that they were a much more in the East and people don't seem to recall "White Tower" (a competitor of "White Castle") ever making it to the Los Angeles area. Perhaps author Klein knows better than I.. it just seemed an odd bit of flavor to add if it didn't exist.

More major was the inclusion of a Doctor from Mexico who was working on D.N.A. coding. Using this as evidence gathering just seemed a bit odd and really so far out of place and time as to hurt the novel more than it helped. All it was used for was to confirm that the murder victim had been sexually active with more than one man. I felt Klein could have introduced this information in a less anachronistic way. In other words, he could have stayed in the time period.

Another issue was the introduction of a Blue Volkswagon Beetle. In 1963, there were a few Beetles around, but the term "Beetle" was not really popularized until the late 1960's when it entered VW advertising. The Beetle was fairly rare in the United States, gaining popularity in the mid to late 60's... So, Elvis's repsonse to seeing a VW should likely have included the fact that it was sort of rare instead of commonplace. I could be mistaken about the popularity of the bug-- just going primarily by my recollection and a quick scan of a Wikipedia article.

Despite those quibbles, the novel was fun, the mystery was decent and, heck, it was Elvis.. the king... and that alone made the book a lot of fun. Apparently, there are several others in this series and I will pick them up somewhere along the line just because it was fun...

[Ice · Rating 4 out of 5]

What intrigues most about Klein's treatment of the rock-and-roll icon in this appealing follow-up to Kill Me Tender (2000) is the King's moral center. Belying his image as a jaded, drugged-out corrupter of traditional American values, Klein's Elvis is a man drawn to criminal investigation and the dark side of the human psyche by his abiding purity of heart. This Elvis understands that the pursuit of justice may require confronting perversity, brutality and the gross abuse of power especially in Hollywood.

As the shoot for Presley's 1963 film Kissin' Cousins winds down, Elvis hears from a fellow G.I., now serving a life sentence for murder in a California pen. Drawn into the case, Elvis teams with the has-been lawyer, now full-time alcoholic, who defended the accused in the original trial. Not incidentally, this diversion enables Elvis to slip the clutches of the suffocating Colonel Parker his longtime, anything-for-a-buck manager and rid his mouth of the profound distaste he feels for another in an unending series of slapdash movies and their treacly soundtracks. While Hollywood's fetid underside has been done countless times, accompanying Elvis on his own journey into the abyss affords new pleasures along with the tried-and-true (e.g., ruthless moguls exploiting would-be starlets). Klein unobtrusively renders Elvis's early foray into painkillers, makes convincing Elvis's discovery of Freud and describes an impromptu concert in a way that reminds us what made Presley the astonishing artistic force that he was. (Mar. 16)

Forecast: Faithful to the Elvis of Peter Guralnick's exhaustive two-volume biography, Klein should continue to build up his base among Presley fans. According to the supermarket tabloids, Presley himself called from a phone booth "somewhere in the Midwest" to say he was "tickled pink" with the author's portrayal. Klein's Elvis would seem a natural for a series of made-for-TV movies.

[Leisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved loved this book as much as Book 1.

You HAVE to be an Elvis fan to enjoy the crazy story of Elvis solving murders but it's a great way to spend time imaging "what if!!"

It's funny and actually a fun "who done it" read

[Daelith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad cozy for a quick read. I'd read more of the series if I happen to find them cheap at library sale like I did this one.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting premise - that Elvis sometimes did a little detective work on the side. But it was a bit too hokey for my tastes.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books have got my number. They shouldn't work, but they do!

We discuss the Elvis Mystery series here: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...

[Bear Bahoochie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. The historical time meant the forensic stuff seemed less believable than the inner workings of Elvis's mind which spoiled it a bit for me but over all good.