Armadillos & Old Lace

Every summer, Kinky leaves New York crime-solving and returns to the family ranch in Texas for some downtime. And, after recently solving a string of horrific Manhattan murders, Kinky badly needs this scheduled R&R. But the game's afoot in Texas, too. Four old ladies have died in the past few months, and local Judge Pat Knox is certain that the deaths are connected. Kinky is ambushed, attacked by a swarm of bees - tricked by a swarm of 8-year old campers - and risks life and limb to stop a diabolical killer and a string of murders that may stretch back to the Alamo. Armadillos & Old Lace is "…not just a murder mystery that would give ol' Sherlock and Mike Hammer a run for their money, with action rivaling anything written by Hammett, it is also a love letter to Texas and a snapshot of the Texas that is fast disappearing…".

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

About "Armadillos & Old Lace", from the Author's Introduction: "...Being one of only two novels of mine set in Texas, Armadillos and Old Lace tackles good and evil in a very Miss Marple-like way, comparing people I meet in small towns in the Texas Hill Country to those I’ve encountered in New York… Modern investigative methods from the big city, however, are not always applicable to the bucolic, rural environment, even though good and evil, of course, disguise and masquerade themselves effectively any place, any time. ...".

    "Armadillos & Old Lace is a real beauty mark of sinful excess; I loved it. The only thing I don't like about Mr. Friedman is that he ain't Governor of Texas. Yet." (James Crumley)

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

     "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)

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

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