The one and only Kinkster returns as Ace private eye Kinky Friedman tries to help his friend Ratso find his real mother, in an adventure that uncovers a couple of stiffs, a possible inheritance, and a murder plot. 40,000 first printing. Tour. YA?Kinky Friedman, perhaps the only mystery writer who uses his own name for that of his fictional detective, is hired to find the birth mother of his friend Ratso (a.k.a. Larry Sloman). Among the obstacles in solving the case are the fact that Ratso doesn't tell him all he knows (including the death of a previous investigator) and that he brings yet another sleuth on to the case due to Friedman's lack of a P.I. license. Set in New York and Florida, God Bless John Wayne is an entertaining romp of a mystery. The pace is good and the characters are lively.?Clodagh Lee, Chantilly Regional Library, VA Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. The eighth in Friedman's series of detective stories featuring the Kinkster--that is himself--sports yet another distinctive title in a series that includes the memorable likes of Armadillos & Old Lace (1994) and Elvis, Jesus, & Coca-Cola (1993). This time, our hero reluctantly takes on a case that involves finding the birth mother of Ratso, the "weather-beaten Dr. Watson to [Kinky's] postnasal Sherlock Holmes" --a case that unsurprisingly turns out to be a lot more dangerous than it first seems. A possible inheritance is involved, and Ratso's curiosity about his origins almost costs him his life and the lives of Kinky and a few of his drinking buddies. As usual, there are plenty of occasions for Kinky to pronounce on just about anything--for instance, "A great deal of good for the advancement of mankind has been accomplished between circumcision, when they cut off the tip of your dick, to crucifixion, where they throw the whole Jew away." Now, that's an aside! Benjamin Segedin Kinky Friedman lives in a little green trailer somewhere in the hills of Texas. He has five dogs, one armadillo, and one Smith-Corona typewriter. By the time you are reading this, Mr. Friedman may either be celebrating becoming the next governor of Texas or he may have retired in a petulant snit.