Mystery Monday: Kinky Friedman

--by Hanje Richards

Because I am a huge mystery fan, "Mystery Monday" was born. Because I like to read mysteries in order, I'm going to list and talk about them in chronological, rather than alphabetical, order.

If an author has written more than one series (and many authors have), I'll talk about different series in different posts to keep things as clear as possible. For those interested in reading some of the featured titles, I've noted at the end of each book's summary whether it's available at the Copper Queen Library or at another library in Cochise County through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

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Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman (born November 1, 1944) 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.

After his music career stalled in the 1980s, Friedman shifted his creative focus to writing detective novels. His books have similarities to his music, featuring a fictionalized version of himself solving crimes in New York City and dispensing jokes, wisdom, recipes, charm and Jameson's whiskey in equal measure. They are written in a straightforward style which owes a debt to Raymond Chandler. And, although he hasn't published a new mystery since 2005, I am looking forward to more of his singularly skewed view of Chandler, noir, and New York.

The recurring character "Rambam,” a New York private investigator and friend of the Friedman character in the books, is based on the real-life investigator, Steven Rombom, who acts as a technical advisor for the real Friedman. Old Peace Corps friend and long time road manager Dylan Ferrero is also a recurring character in Kinky's mystery novels; his character is known for only speaking in rock and roll quotes, a trait taken from real life.

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Greenwich Killing Time (1986) - This is the first of Kinky Friedman's mystery novels. Though most of the books have been set in New York, Greenwich Killing Time is the only one that was written in New York. Some critics have remarked, not unkindly, we hope, that the book smells like New York. If this is true it is no doubt because of the truly visceral voyage one goes through in writing a first novel. It's almost as if your first novel writes you... (available through ILL)

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When the Cat’s Away (1988) - A purloined feline from Madison Square Gardens' cat show is a tip-off to a trail of murders, drug rings and gang wars that only Kinky Friedman can follow. (available through ILL)

Frequent Flyer (1989) - Assisted by his Village Irregulars - Ratso, McGovern and real-life P.I. Steven Rambam - Kinky is on the trail of a missing person, a Nazi conspiracy and a mysterious white tiger with blue eyes. (available through ILL)
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Musical Chairs (1991) - Kinky's latest Greenwich Village adventure begins with an unexpected visit (after 13 years) from, and the subsequent murder of, Texas Jewboys' band cohort Tequila. Kinky shortly realizes that two more former band members have died in the past two weeks, so he ponders life, converses with his cat, garners clues from his dreams, enlists the help of journalist McGovern, and sets up a reunion of the band in order to trap the murderer. (available through ILL)

Elvis, Jesus and Coca Cola (1993) - When an ex-girlfriend disappears, a documentary-in-progress turns up missing, and the screenwriter working on it overdoses, Kinky Friedman takes on a case complicated by murder, mayhem, and Elvis impersonators. (available through ILL)
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Armadillos and Old Lace (1994) - The Kinkster leaves his beloved New York for Texas and the Echo Hill Ranch, his family's home and a kids' summer camp. He barely has time to unpack his cat when he is recruited by Kerr County justice of the peace Pat Knox, who beat Kinky for the job some years back. Four little old ladies, all widows, have turned up dead over the last five months--not an uncommon fate for little old ladies, but although the sheriff listed the deaths as accidental, natural, or suicides, Knox is certain all were murders. (available through ILL)

God Bless John Wayne (1995) - Ace detective Kinky Friedman's is asked is to track down the birth parents of his freeloader friend Ratso, but when Ratso turns up dead, Kinky follows a trail of clues from downtown Manhattan to a Hudson River estate, where a medicine chest reveals the tragic truth. (available at CQL)

The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover (1996) - Two new cases for the Sherlock of 199B Vandam Street: Walk-in D.C. lawyer Polly Price wants him to find her missing husband Derrick, and Kinky's madman buddy Michael McGovern is convinced he's getting phone calls from Leaning Jesus, his old father figure who doubled as Al Capone's chef. (available at CQL)

Road Kill (1997) - Who would slap an Indian curse on a good ol' boy like country singer Willie Nelson? Probably the same person who's been firing shots into Willie's hotel room and sending nasty notes promising the cowboy croo ner a one-way ticket to the big rodeo in the sky. Could it have something to do with the medicine man who got run over by Willie's tour bus one dark night? If anyone can find out, it's ace troubleshooter and well-known troublemaker Kinky Friedman -- on the road again (available at CQL)

Blast From the Past (1998) - Return with us now to those carefree days of yesteryear known as the 1970s. 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. (available at CQL)

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Spanking Watson (1999) - Winnie Katz, the man-hating proprietress of a lesbian dance troupe that thunders daily through his waking dreams. Our hero, lost in a blue-gray haze of Irish whiskey and cigar smoke, takes drastic action. He pens an anonymous, threatening note, hoping -- as only one lost in an alcohol-soaked fantasy can hope -- to then step in as "Ace Private Big Dick" Friedman, and save the day, thus earning the undying gratitude of Ms. Winnie. (available at CQL)

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Mile High Club (2000) - It all starts with a casual flirtation, two people on a flight from Dallas to New York. She's gorgeous and mysterious; he's a private detective. When the plane lands, the detective -- our hero, Kinky -- finds he's been left holding the bag, literally. The woman, having asked the Kinkster to watch her luggage while she visits the can, has taken a powder and somehow vanished. Mystery Woman does turn up again, but not before Kinky has claimed the interest of an array of suits from the State Department, been party to a thwarted kidnap attempt by Arab terrorists, and found a dead Israeli agent parked on the toilet of his downtown Manhattan loft. (available at CQL)

Steppin’ on a Rainbow (2001) - With nothing to do and no one to bother, ne'er-do-well private dick and man-about-town Kinky Friedman ponders life and discusses world affairs with his equally bored cat. His reverie is short-lived, however, when he gets the news that stalwart Village Irregular Mike McGovern has disappeared while visiting Hawaii. Knowing McGovern's penchant for inebriated side trips, Kinky isn't too concerned -- until a few days turn into several weeks.

Worried about their pal, Kinky and his motley crew of comrades head to Hawaii to look into McGovern's disappearance -- and find themselves caught in a big kahuna of a mystery chock-full of ancient myths, sacrificial cults, totems, taboos, and native drinking practices. (available at CQL)

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch (2002) - The Kinkster shuttles between upstate New York and his native Texas in his efforts to solve two cases: one involving a missing 11-year-old autistic child who only says the word shnay and the other concerning a three-legged cat named Lucky, missing from the ranch. Friedman expertly, and not at all heavy-handedly, ties the two cases together with his depictions of a Dickensian orphanage and the animal shelter that lives up to its name. And, of course, there is plenty of the Kinkster's curmudgeonly wit and offbeat observation. (available through ILL)

Prisoner of Vandam Street (2004) - Suffering almost as much from company overload as from his fever, Kinky welcomes a rare moment of calm as he finds himself once again alone in his loft. Resuming his position at the kitchen window, he spots a pretty young woman in an apartment across the street. What he hopes might be titillating turns terrifying, however, as a man joins the woman and proceeds to attack her. Sure that he's witnessed a crime, Kinky calls in the cops, but, upon investigating his claim, they can find neither a victim nor an apartment across the street. In addition, no one else saw or heard anything that would indicate a crime had taken place. Was it foul play or merely a fevered dream? (available through ILL)

Ten Little New Yorkers (2005) - 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. (available through ILL)