Blast from the Past

Kinky Friedman #11

by Kinky Friedman

Return with us now to those carefree days of yesteryear known as the 1970s--when the Bee Gees were bigshots, all sex was safe, and smoking in public wasn't a hanging offense. In the heart of New York's Greenwich Village, Jewish cowboy Kinky Friedman is trying to survive as a country crooner at the Lone Star Cafe. And--thanks to a trigger-happy stalker--he's also just plain trying to survive. But who would want to blow away a lovable guy like the Kinkster? Are they really gunning for Kinky's houseguest, Barry Freed, a.k.a. Sixties radical Abbie Hoffman? Could there be a connection to Kinky's current girlfriend, Judy, who swears she's being followed by her old paramour, who perished in Vietnam? It's enough to drive a mild-mannered musician into the dirty business of detective work. But then, being shot at, almost blown up, and threatened with violent death will do that to a person.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Humor, Crime, Noir, Mystery Thriller, Collections

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

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

[Perry Whitford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes meets The Dude from The Big Lebowski.

Kinky Friedman is undoubtedly the world's most famous - not the mention the world's only - Jewish country-singer \ novelist \ politician from the state of Texas, a cigar-chomping, Willy Nelson-adoring iconoclast and humourist in a cowboy hat.

In his novels, he appears very much as he is, only he fancies himself as a modern day Sherlock Holmes to boot, solving mysteries assisted by his posse of real life countercultural friends and a steady diet of Jameson's whiskey, Peruvian marching powder and projectile vomit.

In Blast from the Past, his old friend, political agitator and founder of the Yippies, Abbie Hoffman, in hiding from the authorities during the post-Watergate United States, suddenly shows up on the scene with an assassin in tow.

'The Kinkster', or 'The Kinkstah' or "Pinky, I mean Funky, I mean Stinky, I mean Kinky" if you're not into the whole brevity thing, agrees to investigate alongside his lowlife Dr. Watson surrogate - the journalist and biographer Larry 'Ratso' Sloman - only to discover that the assassin's target may not be Hoffman afterall.

Whether or not you really like Friedman depends a lot on how you take to his (for me) less than amusing and often unappealing idiom of deadbeat hipster slang such as 'dumper' for toilet, CPA (current pelvic affiliation) for girlfriend, or 'not exactly fartin' through silk' which, in its own crude way, is kind of self explanatory.

As mysteries go, this one is not exactly fartin' through silk.

That said, if Kinky ran for office in my constituency I'd probably vote for him, he's a fun guy. However, just like his similarly grubby friends, I wouldn't want him hanging around too often or sleeping on my sofa.

[Timothy M. Gorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was kind of an origin story/flashback. All the characters from past books show up. Interesting and entertaining. One hole in the story, and this wouldn't be a spoiler. Kinky talks about the ubiquitousness of answering machines. The story takes place in 1979. Answering machines didn't really get widespread use until 1983-84.

[Snakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book. Sadly I’ve read his series a little out of order and this is the last one for me. I loved these books and can’t recommend Kinky’s writing enough. Nobody should miss these quirky mystery novels.

[Giovanni Gelati · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that everyone has a set of novels they like to read on occasion that are just offbeat, a bit of a different flav, something that is going to shake up the usual mix to help keep everything fresh and provide added perspective. The Mighty Kinkster is just the thing. Kinky Freidman , a former Jewish Country music star, Texas Monthly columnist, and former candidate for the governship of the great state of Texas 2006, has written a series of novels that star, you guessed it, himself. Surprise!
The Kinkster has surrounded himself with a motley group of characters that call themselves “The Village Irregulars”. The setting for the novels has this group of lovable characters living in and around Greenwich Village in New York City. Where else could they be? The plotlines are insane; the dialogue is quick and funny. At times it’s just laugh out loud funny. I have read almost all of them in the series; it has taken awhile. Reading them back to back to back is not an easy thing. I would liken it to too much lemon in the lemonade; you just kind of pucker up and cringe. Taken in small doses, reading this on the beach or poolside, chuckling at the insanity of it all is fun. Caution and warning, these novels possess no social redeeming value, other than how strong friendship is. That is all I can gather from them, but hey, what else can you expect from a novel that has characters like Ratso, Rambam and Abbie Hoffman?
Looking for a departure, something that is going to make you laugh and tilt your head and say “No way, did I just read that”. This is that novel. Shake it up a bit, go backward to go forward, try to think like the Kinkster for a little bit, you may look at things differently for a little bit and laugh.
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[bigmuzz · Rating 5 out of 5]

the first book i read from kinky, and what made me a huge fan of his...

[Vickie Garner · Rating 2 out of 5]

First time reading a Friedman book. Alot of smart ass banter to start it off. At anout 100 pages in, I was wondering if there was really a plot. I hung in there and eventually, a plot surfaced. It was a standard identity swap for the bad guy causing a weak reason to kill his ex wife and Kinky. The ending was sudden so there was no thriller there. The end did state that some of the story really happened and some didnt. Well, I guess take that however you want.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big fun: a grown-up giggle in most every paragraph. This, I think, is the kind of giggle kids get from Rick Riordan novels... I'll be reading more Kinky, but reading makes me want to hear his fine songs again. This novel has all his old pals in it, or at least a lot of 'em. That's better than any coherent plot.
Recommended.

[Lisa Stethem · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy kinkys books. I only read these in the bathroom but I usually get some good chuckles outa the stories and have developed an unhealthy relationship with the characters. I love that this book takes you back to the beginning.

[Daniel LeSaint · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been awhile but I seem to remember this being a fun read. If I recall correctly, it starts off with him playing chess with his cat (maybe it wasn't his cat, just a cat, I can't remember) and it had a number of other laugh out loud moments throughout.

[Michael Alan Grapin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Kinky Friedman book so I wasn't already familiar with the characters but soon began to find them interesting. Despite some odd humor and repetitive jokes and jibes this quick read offers a well crafted mystery and an engaging plot.

[Ronn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I dont think I want to read any more Kinky Friedman books. I liked the early ones a lot. The last one I read was pretty disappointing. This one left me colder than cold. I have three or four more waiting to be read, but They just moved way down the priority list.

[IRA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one from the Kinkster!
Nice to get some background on the Village Irregulars.
Stephanie DuPont....

[Sandie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great as always!
He is such a hoot!

[Mark Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absurd, silly, and fun.

[Susan Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just found this on a give-away pile in a closet, which means I read it. . .probably 15 years ago. I'm donating it to the library tomorrow.

[Olly Colluphid · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good Kinky mystery. Usual mix of one liners, insults and puerile behaviour...

[Big Hard Books & Classics · Rating 3 out of 5]

This I prequel. It was great fun revisiting ole Kinky!

[Harold Walters · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of silly.

[Luseride · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written as a prequel Blast From the Past looks back into the past to introduce us all into the particular way in which Kinky goes from a barely employed musician to a barely employed musician and private eye.


With the unique mixture of humor, satire, irony, and crudeness that is the Kinkster you will either love it or hate it. There is a tremendous amount to drinking and drugs along with unhealthy living in general. Of course being chased by a madman is not very healthy for living either.


If I had not read any of Friedman's work before and enjoyed it I probably would have stopped after about chapter three. Luckily I had read him before and about chapter six it got better and was enjoyable. The off putting was not the writing, I just do not enjoy reading about people getting high or drunk ever other page.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been sitting around on my bookshelf for quite a while. Picked it up the other day and read it straight through. I love Kinky's mysteries even though he is wildly inappropriate. Love the throw-back gumshoe expressions. A few phrases in this book had me laughing out loud because they were so clever. There is always an element of sadness/reverie in the books that hooks me in every time. Long time Kinky Friedman reader.

[Corrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinky Friedman is just a fun read. If you want the bizarre, the strange, the country, did I say strange? Read this book. It was hilarious and off-putting but a great introduction to such an unusual character. Some great quotes in this book too. What I love most I think is that my father-in-law recommended it to me.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been absessively reading all the Kinky Friedman novels the past month and I've learned a few things: always have a shot of jameson before starting any day, try wearing a sarong around the house, consult your cat on all possible matters, and treat adults like children and children like adults.
Working pretty well for me so far.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quite entertaining read. Kinky is unlike any author I have ever read. The way is brain works and the way he writes was more entertaining than the actual plot though. But if you want a quick, entertaining, and pretty funny read (like a beach book for example) I would recommend a Kinky Friedman book.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a fun read. Nothing serious, but lots of funny (and Raunchy) one liners. Irreverent and silly in places but that is to be expected from this author.
Late sixties, early seventies counter culture of New York was really only a very small minority of "Kinky" hipsters. The rest of us were just not cool enough!

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one that was different from my usual. Very funny. Funny as in bizarre and maybe you need to be high to get it funny...not ha ha funny. It was a little go back in time or not?, rockstar, and detective mystery all in one.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great light reading from the Kinkstah. The ending of the framing sequence was spectacularly weak, though -- to the point that I'm almost certain I'm missing some context. But the main plot (a flashback to 1979) is a lot of fun, and as always, his voice is terrific.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinky's mysteries are fun mainly for their irreverance and eccentric characters. The mystery itself is usually not an intricate Ms. Marple-esque puzzle, but ride to solution is entertaining.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny and fun.

[katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I enjoy Kinky Friedman's whimsical wordplay, I just couldn't care about the story.

[Pat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kinky in New York. Meets Jill who sees her ex-husband who supposedly died in Vietnam.
Boring.