God Bless John Wayne

A murder, a mysterious document hidden away for 40 years, a missing will and a lawyer found over-ripe in a car trunk are only just the beginning of a novel described as "…a Kinky original…the writing is as fresh as ever…uproariously irreverent." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)


About "God Bless John Wayne", from the Author's Introduction:  "...in God Bless John Wayne I helped Ratso locate his true birth mother and things have never been the same since. After living in self-made squalor his entire adult life, never picking up the check after meals or drinks, and going about dressed in such outlandish garb as a lox-colored jumpsuit and a gay matador outfit, Ratso was about to become very, very rich. It would’ve been disgusting if it hadn’t have been so damn dangerous. … It was dangerous for Ratso because there were people in the world who, though they may have been distantly related to him, did not want to share their fortune with him. Nor would they be very happy with me should I be able to establish Ratso’s right to the inheritance. Rich people who have inherited their money seem to be the most ruthless when it comes to sharing. Some of them will resort to any means to prevent that from happening.…"


Vandam Press is proud to be able to make this remarkable novel available again to Kinky’s old friends and to those readers worldwide who are discovering Kinky Friedman for the first time.


     "A classic…Delightfully potent. …The world's funniest, bawdiest and most politically incorrect music singer turned mystery writer." (New York Times Book Review)


    "God Bless John Wayne is another triumph for the Kinkster -- the perfect mix of mystery, literature and wit." (Associated Press)


     "Smart and outrageous…a quirky whodunit that moves…" (The Plain Dealer)


     "Fast paced and often hilarious…delivers a solid piece of pop entertainment." (St. Petersburg Times)


     "Kinky is a hip hybrid of Groucho Marx and Sam Spade." (Chicago Tribune)


     "Kinky's the best whodunit writer to come along since Dashiell What's-His-Name." (Willie Nelson)


     "A true Texas legend." (former President George W. Bush)


     "Dear Kinky, I have now read all of your books. More, please. I really need the laughs." (former President Bill Clinton)


     "Friedman cinches his credentials as a great Southern storyteller. He combines the deductive moxie of a Chandler or a Hammett with the boisterous irreverence of a stream-of-consciousness raconteur, and the blend is a pungent delight." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)


     "Author Richard Friedman was given the nickname Kinky for his curly 'Jewish natural' hairdo, not for his sexual proclivities. But it might just as well been for his writing style, which is full of twists and turns and Friedman's particular brand of skewed humor." (USA Today)]


     "Brash, crass and colorful." (Houston Chronicle)


     "Smart, funny and tough." (Robert B. Parker, author)


     "The Sam Spade of South Texas. Only soft boiled. And hipper. And funnier." (Sunday Mail)