Steppin' On a Rainbow

Temporarily all alone in the world - meaning: Manhattan - Kinky's "constant state of morbid self-absorption" is interrupted by a call from an old friend in Hawaii, Will Hoover, who has a big problem. Mike McGovern, in Hawaii to work on a book, has disappeared while walking on the beach. Kinky, eager to escape terminal ennui, jets off to Hawaii, where he is joined by "centi-millionaire" John McCall, private eye Steven Rambam, leggy beauty Stephanie DuPont, journalist John Mapes, and even Don Ho, in the hunt for McGovern.


"This is no Gidget Takes Hawaii….think Hawaii 5-0 meets Raymond Chandler meets Raiders of the Lost Ark, and that's the boring part of the book…hilarious, with a freaky twist ending involving not just brilliant detective work but also 'luminous buttocks'…'nuff said…grab this book".


About "Steppin' On A Rainbow", from the Author's Introduction:  "...In Steppin On A Rainbow I deal with the rather tedious problem of locating McGovern, who mysteriously has disappeared, or been abducted, from a beach near Honolulu. It is hard to get truly lost in Hawaii since there are only two directions: Mauka, which means toward the mountains, and Makai, which means toward the ocean. You’d think a large, worldly, intelligent New York journalist could find his bearings under these simplistic circumstances. Apparently, that is not the case. … Hence my constant state of morbid self-absorption is interrupted by a trip to the enchanted isles to find my old pal McGovern. Joining me in this adventure are many friends and colleagues, including Will Hoover, the master of the limerick, John McCall, Steve Rambam, and my Peace Corps buddy, John Mapes. The search takes us to the Don Ho show, from whence we are flung headlong into ancient myths, deadly night marchers, sacrificial cults, totems, taboos, and even the occasional lei..…"


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.


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


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


     "If you want for assurance that our puritanical tendencies have not smothered unconventional viewpoints altogether, look no further." (The Baltimore Sun)


     "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)


     "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)


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


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