Ten Little New Yorkers

Kinky Friedman #18

by Kinky Friedman

Kinky Friedman has always proven himself to be a master of the offbeat and irreverent, and still manages to pull off a helluva whodunit in the process. Now the Kinkster may have met his match in this superbly crafted, fiendishly clever tale of a murderer who's methodically killing off unsuspecting Manhattan men. Gallingly, all clues point toward Kinky. Greenwich Village is the setting for Ten Little New Yorkers, a tale of murder and mayhem as only Friedman can warble it and featuring his usual suspects, including Ratso -- Dr. Watson to Kinky's singular Sherlock Holmes. As the clues and bodies pile up and the cops strong-arm Kinky as their man, he has to jump through hoops to find the real killer, all the while maintaining his outrage and, of course, his innocence. The murderer may be someone close to Kinky, which leads to a shocker of an ending that will surely take Kinky devotees completely by surprise. With a wink and a nod to Dame Agatha (as in Christie), after which all resemblance to those classic mysteries fades, this is one of Friedman's most complex and irresistible page-turners yet. Cunningly tentous issues of life, death, guilt, innocence, love, loss, and the danger of false confessions, this is Kinky Friedman at his wily, suspenseful, and sacrilegious best.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Humor, Crime, Detective

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2005

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

[Berengaria]

2.5 stars

short review for busy readers:
One of the last Kinky Friedman novels before he "passed over the rainbow bridge" along with the cat.

Not nearly as witty as his decades older works, with a lot of the humour rather juvenile, which is unusual. Seems Kinky was slowly becoming a grumpy curmudgeon!

The highlight of this novel is a visit to Texas to spend time with the residents of the Utopia farm, a never-kill retirement home for aged animals. My fave: a donkey called "Little Jewford" !

It's always a treat to spend time with the Village Irregulars and some of the more savoury police investigators even if the comedy in this one is weak and things are getting rather bleak for the Kinkster, it's still a standard Friedman mystery.

An average 2.5 stars.

[witivisi]

Читати книжки Фрідмана Кінкі це як повернутись додому після довгої виснажливої подорожі, сісти на своє звичне місце, яке все ще тримає форму твоєї дупи, та видихнути.

[Gary Vassallo]

Another enjoyable read. A bit slow in parts but overall a fun read. Felt it operated on a few levels which I really enjoyed. I will definitely read more by this author.

[bigmuzz]

this is my 8th or 9th kinky book and he continues to deliver. like all the other books in this series it contains the same brilliant language and writing style, brilliant characters, brilliant settings and environment, and another nice little mystery for the kinkstah to solve (although i did solve this one myself pretty early in, but the ride is always more fun than the destination). a must for all fans. and as for the shock ending, please kinky, say it isn't so!

[Steve Schimpler]

This is my first Kinky Friedman book and it was absolutely wonderful!! So much insight and great quotes and humor and raunch and just everything. I am going to read all the rest of the Kinkstah's mysteries!!!

[Dennis Rose]

I have read several books by KF but this is by far ...a dud. He spends most of the book lamenting about his lost cat...boring. He goes on and on about penises and taking dumps (Nixons). The last half of the book's action picks up some and then BOOM. He dies accidentally when he falls off a bridge trying to save a lesbian dance instructor. He claims near the end to have solved the case. But I must be dense because I was never able to figure out who committed the crime. If you know who it was please contact me. His other books are exceptionally well written and very funny. I met KF once in a bar...he was a tad rude to say the least.

I found out who did the killings and it is claimed the police arrested the perp but KF, to my knowledge, never says that in the book. Another reason what this book earns only 3 stars.

[Robert Kope]

Really enjoyed this, although i figured out who the murderer was in the first 100 pages or so. The humor was delightful!!

[Kristina Liebute]

Ten Little New Yorkers was like ordering an apple pie with vanilla ice cream and only getting the pie. There was a slightly confusing introduction (maybe I would have been less confused if I read other books from this series, but then again, is that the reader's problem?)
I had a feeling that the author couldn't make up his mind: is my protagonist a slightly nasty, but kind-hearted ordinary New Yorker in his mid-life crisis or is he a fascinating brainiac, solving the big city crime? You can always combine the two, with a bit of more hard work, but the way it felt to me, the author failed to do so.
He kept building up the tension, and even though I knew the killer very early on (another disappointment), it was still kind of interesting to read. And then bam, just like that the book was done. What? I really felt as is the author was like: "yeah, whatever, that will do it". No intriguing pursuit, no painful revelations, confessions, heart break. So much more could have been done with that story line.
So there you go, only an average pie with no ice cream.

[Barbara]

Kinky Friedman feels like a compatriot, about my age, lived through many of the same cultural experiences as me, loves a lot of the same music that I do and has some of the same respect for animals. A few friends have been telling me I should read him for a while. So, when I saw Ten Little New Yorkers on the remainder shelf at the book store, I picked it up. This seems to be the last book of the Kinky mysteries so I probably chose the wrong one to start with but it was enjoyable anyway. My favorite parts were when he was playing himself, remembering a woman who worked for his family and became a life-long friend, talking about his feeling for animals. But, he is a truly funny man. I think my favorite expression might be his use of the word "Nixon" as a synonym for human excrement without taking the time to explain it. His integration of song lyrics into the narrative was fun since he used a lot of my old favorites. After a while though, the one-liners got to be a bit much for me. And, I think it's possible that I like Kinky Friedman, the man, more than I like Kinky Friedman, the writer.

[Christopher]

A year or so ago, I read an article in the New Yorker about a cowboy named Kinky who was running for governor of Texas (apparently, they'll give that job away to anyone. Look in the White House.) It turns out he's also written something like 25 books. Not mind bending stuff here, but a quick and enjoyable read nonetheless. Murder mystery centered on a whiskey swilling tough guy detective (think of the guy in the first third of Sin City) framed for the murder of a rapidly increasing number of New Yorkers. A lot of good word play, amusing sarcasm, and even a song about boogers. All this for six bucks. Kinky for President!

[Kimberly]

I read this for my local bookseller's mystery bookclub and enjoyed it. I'm sure I missed a lot as I've never read a Kinky F book before and didn't have any understanding of the characters, especially Kinky. I consider this a "guy's" author as references to taking a dump, casual sex, and genitalia were present throughout. I liked when Kinky started thinking because that is when the book is best: being Jewish, living in New York, missing his cat, and just plain anything that comes to mind is a fun read. The mystery/PI aspect of the books is nonexistent. If that is what you are after.....this isn't that book.

[Rich]

I have read almost all of the Kinky Friedman, Detective books and they are fun, easy reads with some interesting twists and turns. While this fit the formula as well, it was less fun with fewer twists and turns. All the Vandam Street Irregulars are there but they somehow lacked some of the passion and interest of the prior books. This would have to be considered an average book and a below-average tale in this series.

While it looked like this might be the last of the series, it seems another detective novel is on its way. I will definitely read that one and look forward to a more interesting tale along with renewed interest and passion in all the characters after a 10-year layoff.

[Carol]

I like Kinky Friedman....the fact that he may be bonkers helps. He is funny, very crude to the point of rudeness...I like that in a Cowboy story teller from NYC via Texas hill country...Kinky is known as the Sherlock Holmes of Greenwich Village. In this book Larry "Ratso" Sloman, Kinky's "Watson", writes the Prologue leading the reader to believe old Kinky stepped on a rainbow. The cops are looking at Kinky as a suspect in a rash of homicides.Kinky has to find the real killer. Plus his cat is missing. He loves his cat..

[Cora]

I really hate to put down funny guys, because their work is so hard. However, I enjoyed few smiles as I read through this (intentionally) ridiculous detective story. The humor was dated,and I felt that, at times, Mr. Friedman was trying a little too hard for a laugh. I also had a hard time keeping track of who was whom, as several of the characters had multiple names. This is the first one of his books I've read, and it's prompted me to try another, for comparison. This one was published in 2005. Perhaps I'll try looking for something he wrote prior to the 21st century.

[Jamie]

This is the last in the Kinky Friedman series. The series overall is fun, enjoyable and humorous. However, I hated that the series had to end on this note. The ending was abrupt, not at all what you are expecting (in some series that would be a good thing), and not consistent with the series. If feels as if after so many years of writing, Kinky Friedman was just ready to walk away. I really hate that. Perhaps he will write another one to follow this one up, just to answer many of the unanswered questions. Bummer.

[Denise Stephenson]

This is the last mystery novel Mr. Friedman has written starring the Private Dick, Kinky Friedman. I was sad because I love his mystery novels.

The book was very Sherlock Holmesian in the way the character Kinky Friedman was killed off. And I loved who the protagonist in the book was! Took me totally by surprise.

I hope this isn't the last of the Kinky Friedman mystery novels, but if it is, what a way to go!

[Alyss]

This book was an enjoyably quick read. The mystery kept me enthralled while the characters were, as always, colorful. I felt the ending lacked quite a bit though. It's almost as if the author decided that he just wanted to stop writing and so decided to just kill everyone off... Boom... That's it... last chapter... done... I was quite surprised by this ending... and that was the end of it...

[Holly Neal]

Great, but this one is probably better enjoyed if you've read enough of his other books to have had a few experiences with the recurring characters. If you're a Kinky fan like me though, it's a good one.

[Ronn]

Kind of light-weight, even for Kinky, but still enjoyable. And necessary to read before what comes next. I admit that I did what Holmes always advised against: I theorized in advance of having all the facts. But it turned out I was right.

[Marni]

Kinky broke my heart with the ending.....why?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!

[Hayseed]

I tried this one out, lots of foul language, and rambling, not my style, was interesting to see what this fella writes, but not a fan of the style.

[Craig]

Another fun, witty, detective novel...

[Zack]

the end of the line

[Rhonda]

Well, ya gotta love the Kinkster no matter what, but oh dear. I do keep remembering this one line, describing some drunk as "fairly badly [or seriously; I forget:] monstered," which is endearing.

[Marybd18]

"it's half-past time to get down to business."

[Vonn New]

Only Kinky can make me laugh while reading about a serial killer.

[Susan]

I miss Kinky

[Chris Robinson]

Fun book. Cannot help but have a blast reading the pictures painted by Kinky!

[Jamie]

WHAT??? I love the Kinky Friedman books - the ending of this one HURT! I am still shaking my head. So if you are fan...fair warning...

[Big Daddy]

Typical kinkster
Lots of chuckles, humorous
Fun light reading

I enjoyed it