  Slurp, 2008-06-30
"Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola" is Kinky's sixth novel and was first published in 1993. 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. Naturally, Kinky isn't the only 'real' person to appear in the book - for example, Rambam and Ratso, of the 'Village Irregulars', have real-life incarnations.
Tom Baker, a recently deceased Irish actor, rather than the former Doctor Who - was a good friend of the Kinkster. Tom's final project had been a documentary on Elvis impersonators - a documentary that has, apparently, gone missing. Baker Senior, meeting Kinky for the first time at Tom's wake, is obviously aware of the Kinkster's reputation as a PI and requests our hero's help in retrieving it. Naturally, Kinky agrees - he doesn't think it too hard, believing it's sitting somewhere obvious and has just been overlooked...
Unfortunately, Kinky's life is about to take a complicated turn, with the return of Downtown Judy. Downtown Judy is one of Kinky's many former lovers, who never actually realised she was known as Downtown Judy. (This was largely because Kinky was spending a great deal of time, in a horizontal position, with an Uptown Judy at the same time - something that Kinky, obviously, wasn't about to share with her). Although Kinky isn't at all upset about spending some time in her company again, he isn't too impressed about being restricted to a cuddle on the first night. Unsurprisingly, one Judy leads to another...but not necessarily in the manner Kinky would have liked. He's disturbed, mid-cuddle, by a friendly neighbourhood homicide cop called Cooperman - who's at Uptown Judy's, with his partner, on business. While there's no sign of a corpse, there are reports of a gunshot, a large pool of blood on the floor, drag marks heading towards the door and a notepad with Kinky's name and number beside the bed. Kinky isn't in a great position to help the investigation...IIt's been a while since he'd seen her - but even he when he was seeing her, he didn't know a great deal about her. (Due to the large quantity of Colombian marching powder that was disappearing up his nose at the time, he probably didn't know a great deal about himself either). Cooperman is rather vague about the case, but tells him Uptown Judy had been in trouble for a while - and also advises him to keep well away from the case. It's not bad advise : Kinky later finds out that Uptown Judy's father was a mafia Don, who'd been dealt with in a very final way five years previously by a rival family.
Events conspire against Kinky however. One of Tom's assistants on the Elvis impersonators project was a man known as 'Legs' - in fact, he'd been the first to notice it was missing from the lab. Naturally, Legs is someone Kinky is keen to meet - though Tom's ex-assistant fails to arrive at the meeting they arrange. There's a very good reason - Legs has been killed, in very similar circumstances to Uptown Judy...right down to the notepad featuring Kinky's name and number. Cooperman isn't too impressed either and, given that neither he nor his partner are especially fond of the Kinkster, Kinky knows they'd be happy to appoint him the most obious suspect.
"Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola" delivers pretty much what you;d want from a Kinky book : it's not an entirely serious 'whodunnit', but it is a fast moving and very easily read book. It's also packed with superbly delivered one-liners and - while his quips won't be to everyone's tastes - it was a book I thoroughly enjoyed.
Great Stuff!, 2006-08-04
Friedman works hard at being a down-home, profane guy but writes great stories that are packed with literary and historical references that show how deeply aware and knowledgeable he is. It is not showing off, but illuminating both plot points and historical connections. His work is not for everyone, a knowledge of the culture, especially from the 70s on, is essential to get all the references but well worth the attention. His wit and humor has many levels but is dead on funny, if you share his perspective. The mystery aspect is well designed and sometimes quite dark. He connects each book with prior books, especially with his group of friends that are linked to each new work. I recommend this book as well as all his other books.
Great memeory for Kinky Friedman., 2005-12-06
In "Elvis, Jesus & Coca Cola", Kinky Friedman has continued his entertaining mystery stories with jocular just plain fun. He is really Richard Friedman, who grew up on Nottingham in West University with a great group of friends. He has a memory that is better than an elephant, and he uses it in several of his novels in a vicarious way with humor and innocence. Richard is a very talented writer. His twists and turns in this book are reminicscent of " Musical Chairs" which also utilizes his memory of his boyhood friends. He has to solve mysteries of two different Judy's, a problem that many of us folks would probably enjoy just for the heck of it. He already has great reviews, but another will not hurt. Imos is correct in his brief review on the back cover of the paperback version. When this man becomes Governor of the State of Texas you will all wish that you had read his mini mystery. Be sure to read the bottom of page 82 in the paper back version of his book. He is a real artist with talent that is voluminous. Cheers to the man and his cigar.
Dale Haufrect, M.D., M.A.
Medical Director
Micro Light Corporation of America
Houston, Texas
I laughed, I didn't cry, I finished it quickly, 2005-02-09
Beach read. That pretty much somes it up. The chapters are fast and furious, with several great lines that are worth highlighting. A few times I laughed out loud. The plot wasn't that great, and the ending was a bit predictable. The two biggest problems were the recap ending(this is how it was done, my dear Watson...) and the plot was flimsy. But, if you are looking for something to kill a few hours, you could do worse.
Fine entry in the Kinster's mystery files..., 2004-01-07
Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola might possibly be the least imaginative of the plot lines in the Kinky mysteries (at least up to that point). It involves two of Kinky's lady friends, cleverly dubbed Uptown Judy and Downtown Judy, who are unaware of the other's existence until one of them is killed and the Village Irregulars pounce on the case.For fans of the series, however, the plot lines are secondary to the humorous anectodes of our hero and the everyday situations that he finds himself. Kinky's friends are all featured extensively throughout the novel, which results in a number of hilarious boozy gatherings in various bars, restaurants and a gay burlesque theatre. The infighting between Ratso, Rambam, McGovern, Brennan and Kinky's new neighbor and her two yapping dogs make up for any shortcomings in the detective yarn. I always seem to read these out of sequence, but I remember this as one of the last great entries in the series. Soon, Friedman would start resorting to new twists (including a trip to Hawaii that would make the Brady Bunch writers cringe). These books are always the best when it's Kinky and his friends drunkenly stumbling through a new case, snapping off one-liners and stories from Kinky's Texas roots and days as a country singer. Good stuff.
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