Product Description

With nothing to do and no one to bother, ne'er-do-well private dick and man-about-town Kinky Friedman ponders life and discusses world affairs with his equally bored cat. His reverie is short-lived, however, when he gets the news that stalwart Village Irregular Mike McGovern has disappeared while visiting Hawaii. Knowing McGovern's penchant for inebriated side trips, Kinky isn't too concerned -- until a few days turn into several weeks.

Worried about their pal, Kinky and his motley crew of comrades head to Hawaii to look into McGovern's disappearance -- and find themselves caught in a big kahuna of a mystery chock-full of ancient myths, sacrificial cults, totems, taboos, native drinking practices?and, if they're lucky, the occasional lei.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1136003 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 288 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The eponymous PI Kinky Friedman (aka the Kinkster) is up to his usual amusing antics in his 14th outing (after 2000's The Mile High Club). From beginning to end, the narrative sizzles with crackling dialogue and bawdy wit. New Yorker Kinky is trying to lead his quiet life as a lazy private detective while mooning over his friend Stephanie, with whom he would like to have more than a platonic relationship, when a problem comes over the blower (that's telephone to most of us) from the Kinkster's old friend, Willis Hoover, now a columnist for the Honolulu Advertiser. Their mutual eccentric friend (all Kinky's friends are eccentric), Mike McGovern, has disappeared from the beach in Hawaii, and Hoover needs the Kinkster's help finding the missing man. Kinky persuades Stephanie to join him for a trip to the 50th state, where they meet up with Hoover and pursue McGovern's trail. They soon get into very deep waters, particularly after beautiful local reporter Carline also disappears. The crew chase around several islands, with a surprising denouement that reaches back into Hawaiian history and legend. As usual, a winning style and lively characterization more than compensate for the serviceable plot. One word of warning: for those whose taste doesn't run to foul language, this book might not be their cup of tea. 10-city author tour. Agent, Esther Newberg. (Sept. 5)not the character) to write a regular column; he has received a fan letter from President Bush.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
"The unaimed arrow never misses." This bit of "kahuna Zen" rather aptly encapsulates the Kinkster's modus operandi as he and his cohorts search for their missing friend McGovern thousands of miles from the Big Apple on the Hawaiian Islands. It also accurately applies to the leisurely, meandering, rambling, at times suspenseful, and often quite hilarious style that Friedman has perfected over the course of 14 novels featuring himself as amateur sleuth. This time the case involves missing ka'ai (ancient Hawaiian artifacts), the disappearance of a newspaper reporter, mysterious Hawaiian night marchers, the consumption of numerous "penis coladas," and the uncanny resemblance between McGovern and the ancient Hawaiian high chief Lonoikamakahiki. Plot is, however, really secondary in a Friedman caper, and saying that Friedman's books are character driven is understatement. Accompanying Kinky in the wild jungles of the big island are the limerick-spouting Hoover, the insanely rich McCall, and the unbelievably sexy Stephanie DuPont, with her dogs Thisbe and Baby. All this and a cameo by Don Ho, too. Benjamin Segedin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) A raucous and hilarious tale. -- Review

Customer Reviews

He started out so good...
I graduated from Kinky Friedman (the Lasso from El Paso) and the Texas Jewboys to his mysteries, and was more than pleased. Like his music, his first novels were great, and improved with age. Somewhere along the line, about six books into the series, he got lazy. The dialog is no longer witty, just trite. Steppin' on a Rainbow is awful. Kinky has just stopped trying.

Semi-Praise for the Kinkster....
As a longtime Kinkster fan, i must admit i was ever-so-slightly disappointed with Steppin' on a Rainbow. I thoroughly enjoyed his previous outing ( The Mile High Club) and feel Rainbow is a step backward. NO Ratso! Rambam also makes a very minor appearance. These are stalwart characters who i look forward to seeing in each new adventure. Stephanie DuPont takes on her largest role so far and, i confess, was starting to get up my sleeve before the book ended. however, these are minor qualms and i liked the book, just not as much as his other work-- hence, the 4 star rating. As they say about both pizza and sex, "even when they're bad, they're still better than anything else." I think the Kinkster can be added to that list. .......As a side note, i would encourage anyone who is a fan and hasn't already done so, to get the audio versions of his books as read by Kinky himself. They're really killer bee....

Not a good introduction to Kinky
Having read everything that Donald Westlake has written, I am always looking for other authors of comic mysteries. A friend suggested Kinky Friedman so I bought "Steppin On A Rainbow." I'll try another of his books because he is so popular that they have got to be better but it will be the last if it's like this one. The main character has some great lines and is certainly likeable enough and so are his cohorts but his love interest, Stephanie DuPont, has got to be the most obnoxious character in all of literature. I was hoping that she might get bumped off before the end so she doesn't reappear in any other books. I also had a problem with Kinky getting the solution to the case in a dream rather than by clever detective work. Not a great mystery but good enough to try another.