MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH
by Kinky Friedman (Simon & Schuster, $24)
PUN HATERS BEWARE: Kinky Friedman is ranging free again. In Meanwhile Back at the Ranch, the singing, songwriting, mystery-slinging, animal-loving, cigar-smoking, word-playing resident of New York City and the Hill Country of Texas is on the trail twice over, looking for an autistic boy who says only one word, “schnay” (he’s from New York), and a three-legged cat named Lucky (who’s from Texas).
Friedman’s 15th mystery employs his usual lovable fixtures: the characters, Rambam and McGovern; the puppet head; the cat who holds her tongue; and the loft on Vandam Street. Of course, they solve the mysteries. Of course, the solving comes with travel and shenanigans. The solution to Lucky’s disappearance is just lame; perhaps it is an excuse to travel to Texas and meet up with some characters there. Learning the boy’s status, however, comes with the clever twists and solvent power that Friedman wields so well.
Friedman tends to be a bit preachy, but that only grates when it’s a disagreeable opinion. He can get carried away with puns, enough so that they collapse—as the reader groans—under their own weight. He also polishes some gems that shine like the Texas stars he loves so much: “Back out on the platform, with trains roaring and clattering through the veins of the junkie that is New York. . . . “
Ranch does not reach beyond Friedman’s grasp, and that’s what makes it just right: a rainy-day-by-the-fireplace read—smooth, warm, and entertaining.
