More Kinky Friedman

Kinky Friedman #4-6

by Kinky Friedman

Kinky Friedman, the poet of country music, the misogynist of mystery, the writer, musician and all-rounder, is the author of this collection of tales of murder, mystery and general screwing around. The three novels included in this volume are Musical Chairs, Frequent Flyer, and Elvis, Jesus & Coca-Cola.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Humor

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

[Rhys · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second omnibus of Kinky Friedman's hilarious crime capers. Like the first volume it features three novels. I think it's a better omnibus on the whole than the first one. Of the six novels in both books, the two best can be found here: Frequent Flier in which the villains are Nazis and are satisfyingly defeated is my favourite, but Musical Chairs has the best plot and ultimately is the best crime novel. Kinky Friedman at his finest is mordantly funny and even elegant. His style is masculine but exudes warmth. These novels always have their hearts in the right place despite the occasional awkward moments. I have the third omnibus ready and waiting on my shelves.

[Leigh Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it cos the cat on the cover looked like my beloved parsley. And I was hooked

[Rebecca Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kept putting off reading this one because I'm usually not into the murder mystery, detective type novels but once I got into it, it was really good. I actually read it in two weeks after I got started.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good old Kinkster, reading these stories feels like you've bumped into an old friend: what's not to love? Part The Dude, plenty of one liners, country music, Austin Texas, New York Jewish wit, booze, cigars and the "don't give a damn" attitude. There is also beauty sprinkled among the irreverence. The detective stories are just an excuse for Kinky's life philosophy. Can't wait to get my hands on the first volume. Long live the Kink! A solid 3.5 stars.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perfect for the man who loved reading Mad magazine and never grew out of that humor. Full of one-liners on a constant stream of consciousness.

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odbito!

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Musical Chairs. A fun read, as all of these are. The later ones get a bit tiresome and could use a good edit, but the earlier ones are good fun. Pretty easy to figure out the whodunnit part, though.