The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover – Kinky Friedman

©1996 Simon & Schuster, New York

[Before moving on with the review, I ought to explain that I haven’t really jumped off the deep end on a Friedman kick, I just have several of his stories (as well as other magnificent authors) on my TBR shelf. I picked up J. Edgar Hoover before remembering that I hadn’t read John Wayne yet, so I had to do a pick up and come back to this one.]

Every private investigator—live or fictional, professional or amateur (male that is)—has the dream of a leggy blond bombshell with pouty lips walking into their life with a desperate case that must be solved. Perhaps we have Sam Spade to thank for that. In his ninth appearance as himself in fiction, Kinky Friedman meets just such a client. Polly Price is worried about her missing husband Derrick, and on the advice of a friend in Washington, she shows up on the Kinkster’s doorstep in New York with a healthy retainer and a sad story.

Throwing a wrench into the works and keeping Kinky away from the missing person case is the fact that his long-time friend Mike McGovern has decided to go nuts by seeing his long-dead acquaintance and mentor, Leaning Jesus, who just happened to be the chef for Al Capone in the gangster’s heyday.

The story moves rather quickly and the writing is classic Friedman—brassy with an irreverent political incorrectness that most standup comics would envy. The pages are filled with innuendo and suggestive puns that are characteristic of the writer, but what else would you expect from a man named Kinky?

Not to spoil the ending, I won’t tell it here, but readers will be slightly disappointed in the lackluster resolution of this outing for the Kinkster. Notably missing from this volume are members of the Village Irregulars who often help with the solving of the mysteries. To make up for the missing group sessions, We get to see Kinky spend more time talking with the cat, whining about Ratso—his usual “Watson” and the subject of the last book, and finally an extended appearance from Rambam, the professional p.i. who advises Kinky from time to time.

Once again, Friedman offers a nice get-away book, although this one will have somewhat leaner appeal than previous offerings. I give The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover three and one-half out of five reading glasses.

—Benjamin Potter, October 3, 2008