- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber; New edition edition (6 July 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571195997
- ISBN-13: 978-0571195992
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11.2 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,536,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Roadkill (Masters of Crime)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The Kinkster does it again, outdoing his own genius for the outrageous as he tries to save his friend Willie Nelson from an old Indian curse.Once again holed up in his New York loft, reflecting that his career appears to have taken a turn for the worse, the Kinkster agrees to join his old country music pal on tour for a little much-needed R&R. But Willie has problems of his own, and when he disappears from the tour bus and his lookalike valet is shot through the window of his motel suite, it becomes apparent that Willie is indeed in danger. With a little help from the Village Irregulars, a lot of Jamesons, an Indian buckskin medicine pouch, a silver shell casing, and of course his inscrutable cat, Kinky is soon hot on the trail.
About the Author
Kinky Friedman - commonly known to his many fans as 'The Kinkster' - first found fame as the lead singer of the country-and-western band 'The Texas Jewboys'. He is also the author of a series of highly acclaimed detective stories, featuring himself as the wise-cracking, cigar-smoking, cat-loving sleuth. He populates his novels with many of his friends and associates, portraying them (to their great delight) as villains, cheats and con-men. In the words of the great Willie Nelson, he is the 'best whodunnit writer to come along since Dashiel Whats-his-name'. Kinky Friedman lives in a trailer in the South Texas Hills with two dogs, two cats and Dilly, his pet armadillo.
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First Sentence
YOU COULD SAY the whole adventure began the day I looked in the bathroom mirror and saw the gypsy. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
YOU COULD SAY the whole adventure began the day I looked in the bathroom mirror and saw the gypsy. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Roadkill" is Kinky Friedman's tenth novel and and was first published in 1997. As with his other books, Kinky has cast himself as the amateur-PI hero - though he doesn't take too many liberties. The book's Kinky (unsurprisingly) is a cigar-smoking, cat-loving, espresso-guzzling, whiskey-drinking, ex-country and western performer. As usual, Kinky isn't the only 'real' person to appear in the book : Rambam, Ratso and McGovern - Kinky's 'Village Irregulars' - have all been based on actual friends. While the Village Irregulars turn up in most of Kinky's books, "Roadkill" provides one very notable, non-recurring guest star : Willie Nelson.
As the book opens, it's clear that Kinky is just not going to have a good day. The fact that his career as a PI has taken a slight downturn, not to mention the continuing absence of Stephanie Dupont (she's on silent running in Florida), is causing the Kinster a certain amount of misery. However, it's the conversation he has with Antonio the Indian that adds a healthy dose of panic to his misery. Antonio, who is looking out of the mirror that Kinky is looking into, suggests that now is perhaps the right time for taking a little trip. (Given that Kinky's talking to a figment of his imagination, this isn't necessarily bad advice...even if it's the figment of his imagination who's providing the advice). Not long afterwards, Kinky receives a phone call from his old friend Willie Nelson. Spookily, Willie is phoning from his tour bus and wants the Kinkster to join him on his travels. Naturally, Kinky packs his bags and hits the road...though it soon becomes clear that Willie's life is in danger and he might just need the services of a skilled PI.
"Roadkill" is a very enjoyable, easily read book. Like everything else I've read by Kinky, it's not an entirely serious `whodunnit' and it includes plenty of the trademark one-liners. However, he does occasionally wander off-topic and it's maybe a little more introspective in places than usual. Nevertheless, the book is anything other than a disappointment - if you've enjoyed any of Kinky's other books, you should also enjoy this one.
As the book opens, it's clear that Kinky is just not going to have a good day. The fact that his career as a PI has taken a slight downturn, not to mention the continuing absence of Stephanie Dupont (she's on silent running in Florida), is causing the Kinster a certain amount of misery. However, it's the conversation he has with Antonio the Indian that adds a healthy dose of panic to his misery. Antonio, who is looking out of the mirror that Kinky is looking into, suggests that now is perhaps the right time for taking a little trip. (Given that Kinky's talking to a figment of his imagination, this isn't necessarily bad advice...even if it's the figment of his imagination who's providing the advice). Not long afterwards, Kinky receives a phone call from his old friend Willie Nelson. Spookily, Willie is phoning from his tour bus and wants the Kinkster to join him on his travels. Naturally, Kinky packs his bags and hits the road...though it soon becomes clear that Willie's life is in danger and he might just need the services of a skilled PI.
"Roadkill" is a very enjoyable, easily read book. Like everything else I've read by Kinky, it's not an entirely serious `whodunnit' and it includes plenty of the trademark one-liners. However, he does occasionally wander off-topic and it's maybe a little more introspective in places than usual. Nevertheless, the book is anything other than a disappointment - if you've enjoyed any of Kinky's other books, you should also enjoy this one.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
While perhaps not the very best of the Kinky Friedman series, this still outclasses virtually anything around. The joy of Kinky is the language and the lifestyle. The plots are almost secondary (while always enjoyable). A great read. Keep them coming, Kinky.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
18 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Yaaaayyyy! Kinky discover what a plot is again!
9 Sep 1997
Format:Hardcover
Read the Kirkus Review for the story summary, so I'll cut to the chase here. Kinky tells a lot of road stories about Willie Nelson, Tom T. Hall ("loved all his songs and both his melodies") and offers a ribald quote from Kris Kristofferson about Farrah Fawcett-Majors that will make you spit milk through your nose. These stories make "Roadkill" a far more entertaining book than "The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover" in which he seemed to spend far too much time talking about himself. Kinky is capable of spinning a mystery plot -- "A Case of Lone Star" is still his best -- but "Roadkill" shows Kinky can be ribaldly funny, still capable of making the inner 13-year-old boy on some of us laugh out loud
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
The kinkster is back to please his fans &outrage his critics
28 July 1997
Format:Hardcover
Talk about being in a funk (and not being George Clinton). Kinky
Friedman's career as the New York City Sherlock Holmes is going no where;
his love life has no pulse; and when he looks into a mirror, he sees a
street corner philosopher mouthing trivia B.S. staring back at him. Kinky
realizes that it is time to put the show on the road to regain his mental
health. When his old friend Willie Nelson invites him to go on tour with
the band, the Kinkster feels that his life has turned around. However, from
almost the minute Kinky enters the surreal world of Willie, it is obvious
that something troubles the country legend. Everyone on tour expects Kinky
to find out what has upset Willie's karma and fix it.
Friedman's career as the New York City Sherlock Holmes is going no where;
his love life has no pulse; and when he looks into a mirror, he sees a
street corner philosopher mouthing trivia B.S. staring back at him. Kinky
realizes that it is time to put the show on the road to regain his mental
health. When his old friend Willie Nelson invites him to go on tour with
the band, the Kinkster feels that his life has turned around. However, from
almost the minute Kinky enters the surreal world of Willie, it is obvious
that something troubles the country legend. Everyone on tour expects Kinky
to find out what has upset Willie's karma and fix it.
After a little careful sleuthing and a talk with Willie to confirm his
findings, Kinky realizes that the man believes that he has been cursed by
an Indian shaman and is waiting to die. The Kinkster is determined to pull
his friend out his funk, but before he can begin, a band member takes a
bullet intended for Willie. Indian curse or something more mundane like a
person with a grudge, the private detective plans to ferret out the truth.
In a world slowly being bored to death, thank goodness Kinky Friedman
periodically writes an entertaining novel that brightens up the mood of the
readers. The Kinkster's irreverent humor, political mumbo jumbo, and
off-colored jokes are a joy to behold. Though some mystery fans might find
ROAD KILL a shade offensive, Kinky delights in being taken stone cold
serious as a comedic writer writing a droll mystery.
Harriet Klausner
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A Cosmic Romp
1 Oct 1997
Format:Hardcover
Kinky Friedman, the self-proclaimed Last of the Landless Texas Jewish Singing Cowboys, is in a deep-purple funk in his loft in Noo Yawk City, despite heroic efforts of his friends and his cat. Willie Nelson is scraping the emotional bottom, too, thinking his tour bus has killed a native American medicine man and someone's trying to kill him. Put these two chess-playing cowboys together and you have the funniest, yet gripping, mystery novel of the year.
Willie invites Kinky to travel with him to try to find the killer, who Kinky suspects is one of Willie's 83 ex-wives. Kinky finds a new bunch of buddies, Ben, Booger, Gator, and two cigar-smoking, wise-cracking native Americans, who, along with his Village Irregulars, to help hi sift the facts from the road grit.
Kinky's inimitable use of a good plot as a springboard to literary, social, political, and philosophical musings continues to illustrate his broad grasp of literature and history. His anecdotes about celebrities in the entertainment business provide an extra spark.
So, here's Kinky at his best, on a cosmic romp across the country with the legendary Red Headed Stranger. Don't miss this one!
This book elevates Kinky from the cult status he has enjoyed. Lookout for the best seller lists!
Willie invites Kinky to travel with him to try to find the killer, who Kinky suspects is one of Willie's 83 ex-wives. Kinky finds a new bunch of buddies, Ben, Booger, Gator, and two cigar-smoking, wise-cracking native Americans, who, along with his Village Irregulars, to help hi sift the facts from the road grit.
Kinky's inimitable use of a good plot as a springboard to literary, social, political, and philosophical musings continues to illustrate his broad grasp of literature and history. His anecdotes about celebrities in the entertainment business provide an extra spark.
So, here's Kinky at his best, on a cosmic romp across the country with the legendary Red Headed Stranger. Don't miss this one!
This book elevates Kinky from the cult status he has enjoyed. Lookout for the best seller lists!
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