From Publishers Weekly
Friedman sends a slumping, unfulfilled novelist off on a wild criminal adventure with a couple of con artists in his latest, an engaging but erratic caper novel that begins when mid-career fiction writer Walter Snow meets the woman of his dreams, Clyde Potts, at a bank in Manhattan. Potts already has a companion, an oddball named Fox Harris who accompanies Clyde on her various criminal ventures, and the pair quickly take advantage of Snow's lust for Potts to convince him to play a role in a smalltime con at a New York bar. Their next escapade takes them to a mental hospital, where they liberate an African-American acquaintance who believes himself to be the king of an African country. The criminal stakes go up when Potts manages to steal Donald Trump's credit card number, and the trio throws a lavish party for the homeless at a New York shelter, but the plotting turns downright bizarre when Potts and Harris sabotage a major coffee cafe after the company that owns the chain evicts the owner of a dive bar called the Unicorn. Friedman's usual off-kilter charm prevails throughout, particularly in the characterization of Snow, a sincere but befuddled writer who uses his lust for Potts to overcome a continuing case of writer's block. Potts and Harris have their endearing moments, but the criminal subplots range from the solidly effective to the over-the-top wacky, particularly the coffee caper, which is designated "Operation Diarrhea" and involves the trio adding a mix of diabolical chemicals to the local brew. Friedman fans will enjoy the antics, but this falls short of top-shelf Kinky.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Friedman abandons his eponymous hero for this standalone story about a down-and-out writer whose new buddies introduce him to a life of crime. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description

Walter Snow is doomed. Living on a string of Camel cigarettes, too many cups of coffee, and bouts of masturbation in his Greenwich Village basement apartment, the writer and recovering alcoholic has been blocked. He stares at the blank pages in his typewriter for longer than he cares to admit, hoping for the spark that will finally fulfill his ambition to write The Great Armenian Novel.

And then he meets Clyde Potts. She is beautiful, intelligent, charming, perhaps psychic and, for better or worse, very possibly unbalanced. With Potts's joie de vivre and her certified insane partner in crime, Fox Harris, Snow is caught up in a series of pranks against corporate sprawl that they execute with a bit of booze, and some wacky tobaccy from Australia known as Malabimbi Madness.

But things quickly spin out of control as the trio's ultimate diuretically inspired prank leads to an unexpected, shocking conclusion, and Walter is left to wonder if the only things you ever keep in this life are the things you let slip through your fingers.

A tale of the nature of sanity, the cost of inspiration, and the art and business of creativity, Kill Two Birds & Get Stoned has the absurd and provocative hijinks that could have only come from the fertile, frenzied mind of veteran soul Kinky Friedman.


About the Author
Kinky Friedman is the author of sixteen mysteries and a columnist for Texas Monthly. He lives with his two cats, three dogs, a pet armadillo, countless imaginary horses, and a much-used Smith Corona typewriter on a ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Kill Two Birds & Get Stoned is the first stand-alone novel by journalist, satirist, and New York Times￯﾿ﾽbestselling mystery writer Kinky Friedman. This wacky, wild suspense tale tells the story of recovering alcoholic Walter Snow, a published author who has been plagued for the past seven years with a seemingly unbreakable writer's block. What finally gets Walter out of his rut is a chance meeting with Clyde Potts, a lovely, free-spirited scam artist who soon lures the struggling artist far from his boring routines. Joining his enticing new acquaintance and her thoroughly unconventional friends in an ever-escalating series of pranks and cons does get Walter's long-stagnant creative juices flowing again. But when the jokes escalating into full-scale attacks against a corporate giant, the price of that inspiration becomes alarmingly high￯﾿ﾽand truth becomes much stranger than fiction. This is Kinky Friedman at his best, telling a story that's suspenseful, capricious, funny and poignant -- all at the same time. Sue Stone

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Walter Snow is doomed. Living on a string of Camel cigarettes, too many cups of coffee, and bouts of masturbation in his Greenwich Village basement apartment, the writer and recovering alcoholic has been blocked. He stares at the blank pages in his typewriter for longer than he cares to admit, hoping for the spark that will finally fulfill his ambition to write The Great Armenian Novel." "And then he meets Clyde Potts. She is beautiful, intelligent, charming, perhaps psychic and, for better or worse, very possibly unbalanced. With Pott's joie de vivre and her certified insane partner in crime, Fox Harris, Snow is caught up in a series of pranks against corporate sprawl that they execute with a bit of booze, and some wacky tobaccy from Australia known as Malabimbi Madness." But things quickly spin out of control as the trio's ultimate diuretically inspired prank leads to an unexpected, shocking conclusion, and Walter is left to wonder if the only things you ever keep in this life are the things you let slip through your fingers.

FROM THE CRITICS

The New York Times

I suppose Friedman's writing could best be described as Raymond Chandler on drugs, if Chandler had possessed a tremendous sense of humor. But Friedman's writing cannot and should not be compared to that of any other writer or of any other genre. He is his own genre. His prose can range from the purely poetic to the pornographic to the deeply philosophical, quite often in the same sentence. He is a wordsmith of the first order. — Fannie Flagg

Publishers Weekly

Friedman sends a slumping, unfulfilled novelist off on a wild criminal adventure with a couple of con artists in his latest, an engaging but erratic caper novel that begins when mid-career fiction writer Walter Snow meets the woman of his dreams, Clyde Potts, at a bank in Manhattan. Potts already has a companion, an oddball named Fox Harris who accompanies Clyde on her various criminal ventures, and the pair quickly take advantage of Snow's lust for Potts to convince him to play a role in a smalltime con at a New York bar. Their next escapade takes them to a mental hospital, where they liberate an African-American acquaintance who believes himself to be the king of an African country. The criminal stakes go up when Potts manages to steal Donald Trump's credit card number, and the trio throws a lavish party for the homeless at a New York shelter, but the plotting turns downright bizarre when Potts and Harris sabotage a major coffee cafe after the company that owns the chain evicts the owner of a dive bar called the Unicorn. Friedman's usual off-kilter charm prevails throughout, particularly in the characterization of Snow, a sincere but befuddled writer who uses his lust for Potts to overcome a continuing case of writer's block. Potts and Harris have their endearing moments, but the criminal subplots range from the solidly effective to the over-the-top wacky, particularly the coffee caper, which is designated "Operation Diarrhea" and involves the trio adding a mix of diabolical chemicals to the local brew. Friedman fans will enjoy the antics, but this falls short of top-shelf Kinky. (Apr.) Forecast: This is Friedman's first stand-alone novel, but it doesn't range far from his tried-and-true shtick. Expect it to appeal primarily to hardcore fans enthusiasts. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Friedman abandons his eponymous hero for this standalone story about a down-and-out writer whose new buddies introduce him to a life of crime. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews