Kill
Me Tender
"absorbing
cocktail of Elvis, murder and mayhem"
Daniel
Klein, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2000, Hardcover, 225 pages,
ISBN: 031226187X.
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Kill
Me Tender is the first of what its author intends to
be a series of mystery novels featuring singing Elvis
Presley super sleuth. And what an enterprising start
it is.
This
is real sorytelling that Elvis fans will love. Without
giving too much of the plot away, The King has just
returned from his Army duty in Germany when his fan
club presidents start dying in mysterious circumstances.
Now needing more from his life than singing, Elvis decides
to take care of business as only he can.
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With
numerous sub plots and plot twists the reader is kept guessingand
laughing throughout the novel. Daniel Klein has an easy flowing
writing style that engages the reader from the outset, with
a narrative that evokes strong images:
"Said
he dabbled in tropical medicines himself. Learned all about
it from a colored man who works in his father's store, a man
from the islands....And this guy says to him, 'There's only
one known cure for a love-sick heart and that's to put it
out of its misery. And I've got the perfect medicine for that.
I call it the kiss of death.' "
The
author also deftly weaves elements from Elvis' real life into
the plot: for instance Graceland, his relationship with Priscilla
and a machiavellian manager.
Beyond
this there are plenty of other colorful themes to keep things
interesting: interracial sex, lesbianism, and psychopathic
transvestite serial killers are just several.
Verdict:
Kill Me Tender is a fast paced murder mystery full of
intrique, laughs and suspects! It is a great debut for what
hopefully will be a long line of mystery noir novels featuring
the King of private eyes, super sleuth, Elvis Presley.
©
EIN, 2000
Availability:
Now available in good book stores in the US and online from
amazon.com, bn.com and bamm.com.
Contacting
the Author: Daniel Klein is contactable online at www.elvisdetective.com.
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