Kinky Friedman "Curse of the Missing Puppethead"

Curse of the Missing Puppethead didn't appear to have been too widely circulated before The Kinkster started reclaiming and rereleasing his back catalogue as ebooks under his own imprint at Vandam Press. They'll also allegedly be coming out as audiobooks in the foreseeable future.

Coming off reading Kill Two Birds & Get Stoned, it's hard not to ascribe that title's lack of the familiar Kinkster elements to an on-going lack of Kinkster inspiration, given the fact that a substantial chunk of this one involves the search for the device that gives visitors access to the fourth floor loft on Vandam Street.

If you're unfamiliar with this key element in the Kinkster oeuvre, the visitor stands on the sidewalk, hollers up a request for the key, which is lodged in the mouth of a small grinning Negro puppet head which is, in turn, attached to a parachute.

The Kinkster's literally in mid-thrust with an unnamed female associate after a party in the loft when he notices the puppet head ain't where it's supposed to be. The realisation brings with it a case of erectile dysfunction which may account for his failure to turn the loft upside down rather than setting off to investigate the disappearance by interrogating the Greenwich Village Irregulars, each of whom, in turn, pass him on to someone sighted standing near or dealing with the iconic object.

Along the way Kinky's sister calls from Hanoi, incidentally passing on the news that disappearing puppets are seen as a sign of doom in Vietnamese superstition. The curse, in this case, seems to be continued erectile dysfunction in an environment where Lexie, a gorgeous participant in Winnie Katz's lesbian dance class seems intent on exploring her alternative options. It seems that until The Kinkster finds his big puppet head, his little puppet head will continue to be missing in action.

The plot thickens a little over half way through when Kinky's college room mate Nick Chinga Chavin arrives on the doorstep, on the run from The Mob, who are out to avenge the hit-and-run murder of Big Jim Cravotta, the Butcher of Staten Island's son.

Chinga's driver Frank Holmesley has been arrested, confined on Riker's Island and word on the street suggests Chinga is destined for the high jump unless The Kinkster, with assistance from Rambam, can persuade the avenging mobster that there's an alternative explanation for the fatality.

That explanation comes too late to save the driver, but with Chinga holed up in the Vandam Street loft, drinking heavily, reading poetry and bonding with the cat, despite regular deliveries of drink, drugs and pizza, no one thinks to investigate Chavin's known associates, even after Kinky approaches Mafia boss Joe the Hyena to arrange negotiations.

That explanation duly arrives, and, fortunately checks out accurately, so during the ensuing celebrations in the Vandam Street loft once the explanation has been delivered the cat came scooting out from under the couch, chasing before her what appeared to be an extremely dirty ball of yarn. With the missing puppet head restored to its rightful location what follows later that night when Lexie and three beautiful, adventurous young friends stole their way into the place like a band of brigands was probably inevitable.

All in all, a variation on the regular Kinkster elements that's entertaining enough, but one suspects we're getting a little light on for inspiration.