Kill Me Tender

"absorbing cocktail of Elvis, murder and mayhem"

Daniel Klein, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2000, Hardcover, 225 pages, ISBN: 031226187X.

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.

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.

Click to comment on this review

Reviews
FTD: Flashback
FTD: Paradise, Hawaiian Style
CD: I Remember His First Love Song
FTD: Polk Salad Annie
DVD review: Aloha From Hawaii
CD: Elvis At Sun
DVD: Comeback Special
FTD: Elvis Recorded Live In Memphis
FTD: Spinout
Book: Elvis Fashion
Did you miss?
CD review: The Greensboro Concert
FTD review: Girl Happy
Article: Political correctnesss and intolerance in the Elvis world
Article: All you ever wanted to know about Graceland
Interview: Larry Geller
FTD review: Viva Las Vegas
CD review: Close-Up
Debate: Is Elvis Alive?
Article: The pitfalls of re-mixing The King