Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing change of scenery for the Kinster
Review: I snarf down Kinky Friedman books like candy, Lord knows I do, but the last few leading up to Armadillos and Old Lace had started making me antsy for a new scenario or two. Kinky's adventures in the Big Apple have always been long on laughs and his special brand of folksy/freaky asides, but a little shy on new plot twists. Adding fresh air to the series is this volume, which takes place over a summer on Kinky's Texas ranch. This neck of the woods is so gushingly dear to his heart that you can almost hear the children playing and the crickets chirping. A whole new cast of characters are on board to replace the irreplaceable Village Irregulars, including the Kinkster's father and a young green-eyed love interest. The cat, of course, comes along for the shaky ride and never fails to jump onto unfortunate spots on Kinky's sleeping body. Also keep an eye open for Kinky's new companion, a talking car that spouts bits of wisdom at appropriate times. The "mystery" portion of our tale comes, as usual, almost as an afterthought, but it's an interesting one to say the least. Some old ladies are getting offed on their birthdays and the local judge and sheriff are clueless. What can you do? Bring in Kinky Friedman, amateur detective from the Big City. Who would've thought that you'd find serial killers and intrigue in Kerrville? This was the best entry since Greenwich Killing Time and I laughed longer and louder than any of them. Kinky takes his time getting to the story, with plenty of tales of times gone by and bits of wisdom from the famous (and infamous) figures from his past. Kinky's vocabulary has, at this point, become almost another language filled with terms like "rain room", "agitato", "killer bee" (def: fantastic, usually referring to chicken fried steak), "taking a Nixon", and "Jewish shepherds". You might not get it, but if you do you'll discover a friend for life in Kinky Friedman.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing change of scenery for the Kinster
Review: I snarf down Kinky Friedman books like candy, Lord knows I do, but the last few leading up to Armadillos and Old Lace had started making me antsy for a new scenario or two. Kinky's adventures in the Big Apple have always been long on laughs and his special brand of folksy/freaky asides, but a little shy on new plot twists. Adding fresh air to the series is this volume, which takes place over a summer on Kinky's Texas ranch. This neck of the woods is so gushingly dear to his heart that you can almost hear the children playing and the crickets chirping. A whole new cast of characters are on board to replace the irreplaceable Village Irregulars, including the Kinkster's father and a young green-eyed love interest. The cat, of course, comes along for the shaky ride and never fails to jump onto unfortunate spots on Kinky's sleeping body. Also keep an eye open for Kinky's new companion, a talking car that spouts bits of wisdom at appropriate times. The "mystery" portion of our tale comes, as usual, almost as an afterthought, but it's an interesting one to say the least. Some old ladies are getting offed on their birthdays and the local judge and sheriff are clueless. What can you do? Bring in Kinky Friedman, amateur detective from the Big City. Who would've thought that you'd find serial killers and intrigue in Kerrville? This was the best entry since Greenwich Killing Time and I laughed longer and louder than any of them. Kinky takes his time getting to the story, with plenty of tales of times gone by and bits of wisdom from the famous (and infamous) figures from his past. Kinky's vocabulary has, at this point, become almost another language filled with terms like "rain room", "agitato", "killer bee" (def: fantastic, usually referring to chicken fried steak), "taking a Nixon", and "Jewish shepherds". You might not get it, but if you do you'll discover a friend for life in Kinky Friedman.
Rating: 
Summary: Love him or leave him on the shelf
Review: Look - you either dig Kinky Friedman or not. He is rude, crude, at times lewd, always a dude. His New York digs could get a little claustophobic to me, so I was glad to see him head out to his family's home and kids' summer camp - Echo Hill Ranch. As usual, whatever he turns his hand to somehow evolves into grand highjinks, but everything works out in the end. This time he get's drawn into the suspiscious deaths of 4 little old ladies. No pony for Kinky - he rides the range in Dusty, his late mom's talking Chrysler looking for clues and trying not to join the old ladies on the other side of the rainbow. Needless to say, Justice (and Kinky) triumphs, but not before his usual stirring of the hornets nest investigative style makes him equal numbers of friends and enemies. Oh, go ahead and read it - you know you want to!
Rating:
Summary: Love him or leave him on the shelf
Review: Look - you either dig Kinky Friedman or not. He is rude, crude, at times lewd, always a dude. His New York digs could get a little claustophobic to me, so I was glad to see him head out to his family's home and kids' summer camp - Echo Hill Ranch. As usual, whatever he turns his hand to somehow evolves into grand highjinks, but everything works out in the end. This time he get's drawn into the suspiscious deaths of 4 little old ladies. No pony for Kinky - he rides the range in Dusty, his late mom's talking Chrysler looking for clues and trying not to join the old ladies on the other side of the rainbow. Needless to say, Justice (and Kinky) triumphs, but not before his usual stirring of the hornets nest investigative style makes him equal numbers of friends and enemies. Oh, go ahead and read it - you know you want to!
Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable, below average book....
Review: Read this book one day when you are just too tired to do anything constructive. When reading something more challenging (like that management theory book or even a GOOD novel) seems to require just too much effort. You want something that will allow your brain to pass over the words with something like 10% of your normal attention span. AND you still want to be entertained..... Actually, this one is a bit better than Elvis, Jesus & Coca-Cola. Better writing (not so totally repetitive), better plot (the motive and the crimes are actually believable), but still trite (for example, the sheriff hates the detective, as in so many who-done-it stories). I enjoyed it, even though it falls into the classification of Pure Trash. It's great that a book that is clearly below average can actually fill a niche and I do recommend it to anybody who is amused or intrigued by the title (perhaps an indication that you might like the other constructions of the author), who is not a snob about always reading great literature, but who can also enjoy reading through a story just to fill time (luckily, not too much time).
Rating:
Summary: Nice change of pace for Kinky
Review: This book was a nice change of pace for Kinky, since he got out of NY and the somewhat claustrophobic environment of his little flat on Vandam Street. Here Kinky goes back to the family kids ranch run by his dad in Texas, where he plans to help out and relax for the summer until he is dragged into a weird case involving old ladies dying under suspicious circumstances, all on their 76th birthday. With the help of a talking car and a former political rival, Kinky forges ahead and battles bees, society women and hermits to save the day. Kinky is his usual cigar-chomping, Jameson's swilling self, but with a tad more tenderness and a bit less sarcasm since he spends a lot of time around kids in this book, and the setting brings about some much-needed nostalgia. Friedman is always funny, but in a very jaded way, so it was nice to read about his character reminiscing about childhood and his family a bit. As for the mystery, like all Friedman books it is almost secondary to the author's trademark wit and uncanny observances. I did enjoy seeing Kinky work his way through a mystery without having Rambam (his professional PI friend) solve the whole thing for him. While some readers will miss the NY setting and long for more action involving the Village Irregulars, I for one enjoyed a respite from Ratso. 4 stars for an enjoying, very readable Kinky Friedman book.
Rating:
Summary: Nice change of pace for Kinky
Review: This book was a nice change of pace for Kinky, since he got out of NY and the somewhat claustrophobic environment of his little flat on Vandam Street. Here Kinky goes back to the family kids ranch run by his dad in Texas, where he plans to help out and relax for the summer until he is dragged into a weird case involving old ladies dying under suspicious circumstances, all on their 76th birthday. With the help of a talking car and a former political rival, Kinky forges ahead and battles bees, society women and hermits to save the day. Kinky is his usual cigar-chomping, Jameson's swilling self, but with a tad more tenderness and a bit less sarcasm since he spends a lot of time around kids in this book, and the setting brings about some much-needed nostalgia. Friedman is always funny, but in a very jaded way, so it was nice to read about his character reminiscing about childhood and his family a bit. As for the mystery, like all Friedman books it is almost secondary to the author's trademark wit and uncanny observances. I did enjoy seeing Kinky work his way through a mystery without having Rambam (his professional PI friend) solve the whole thing for him. While some readers will miss the NY setting and long for more action involving the Village Irregulars, I for one enjoyed a respite from Ratso. 4 stars for an enjoying, very readable Kinky Friedman book.
Rating:
Summary: excellent laid-back thriller with life philosophy underneath
Review: This was the first kinky novel that I read, and it will not be the last one. Actually I've for the time being begun with "Frequent Flyer", which really seems good, too. Great that we have this genius among us, who turns paperback literature into a milestone on the Parnass mountain. Read it!
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