Honey Don't

it's a great book! I've been enjoying working my way through all of his books, and it's been quite fun!

If there's such a thing as a typical Tim Sandlin novel, this probably ain't it. This is funnier in an over-the-top sort of way than his four-book trilogy, which is just plain funny in a Tim Sandlin sort of way. One way to look at this, if you're so inclined, is to consider Honey Don't as Tim's answer to my novel, Heart Seizure wherein I created an unfortunate FBI Agent by the name of Sandlin (in Tim's honor). In Honey Don't, Tim paid me back by creating a Senator Fitzhugh who is, well, lacking in several key personality traits. I think I lied to Tim soon after this came out, told him I read it and loved it. Truth is, I just got around to reading it but I was right about loving it. Honey is a sweetie, check her out.

It's wacky, wicked and LOL funny. Give yourself a happy present and read the latest by the irrepressibly irreverent Tim Sandlin. If you haven't had the laugh inducing pleasure of meeting this author yet, here's an introduction in his own words: "I worked over 40 entry-level jobs including driving an ice cream truck, skinning elk, cooking in a Chinese restaurant,...gardener for the Rockefellers, pizza parlor manager, belt buckle buffer, and multiple dishwashing jobs......The more mind-numbing jobs have helped me to hone my creative skills, but all of these experiences have helped me to learn to appreciate life and its inherent follies." "Follies" is the operative word here as Sandlin can surely spot them; satire is his forte. His previous five novels have garnered critical praise and a host of admirers; "Honey Don't" adds to his luster. Skewering all that we hold dear from the leader of our country to pro football players, Sandlin introduces the gutsiest Southern belle extant. Honey DuPont puts Odessa, Texas, in her rearview mirror at the age of twenty. She heads for Washington, D.C. where she applies for a counter job at Starbucks. For reasons known only to Honey she agrees to satisfy the carnal desires of President Charles Franklin. When her dim witted boy friend mob gofer Jimmy Sebastiano discovers them in her apartment, the poor Prez is so undone that he scrambles from bed, trips over his thong, and knocks his head on Honey's prized decorative object - a cast-iron flamingo. A fatal fall. She calms her irate boyfriend by explaining that she had only slept with the President for him, in case they ever needed some Executive help. Compounding matters is the fact that Jimmy is holding $656,000 cash for his Mafia honcho, Don Gino "Rat's Ass" Olivetti. They have no recourse but to run. After stuffing the deceased into a bean bag chair they retreat to the home of Honey's bosom buddy, Farlow Stubbs, a gay football player. Fortunately, Farlow has a freezer large enough to hold our nation's late leader. R. C. Nash, a down-at-the-heels journalist, believes he has found the story to jump start his faded career, and pursues the pair. Discovering a frozen dead President was not at all what he expected. Of course, a missing President isn't an easy matter to explain. Lonicera, his embattled widow and a former Jazzercise instructor does everything in her power to cover up. She's aided in her machinations by Claude Hammer, the Chief of Staff, who has eyes for her. Things don't bode at all well for our country as the Vice-President, Chip Allworth, is decidedly mentally challenged. Only the mind of Tim Sandlin could conceive of the ribald and rollicking solution to the mess Honey and Jimmy find themselves in. Hint: it involves a desperate gambit at a Redskins game. Tim Sandlin is a rarity, and a treasure! - Gail Cooke

It's been years since I've read any of Tim Sandlin's books (and I've read every single one of them )...so I can't compare Honey Don't to his prior works. BUT I can say I really enjoyed Honey Don't. It took a little while for me to get into it but once I did, I found myself intrigued by the characters and what happened to them. I don't want to give the plot away. Let's just say it is a dark comedy about the murder of a very famous man and the way the murderer and his girlfriend and various other characters deal with the situation. What I liked most about Honey Don't is how Tim incorporated a lot of modern day pop culture into the story...ie: Starbucks and the internet. He didn't flat out make fun of them...but he kinda did in the subtle way he does make fun of every day life. It's been a long wait for Honey Don't. I hope all fans of Tim Sandlin will read it. I had NO idea what it was about but I bought the hard cover copy anyway. I'm glad I did.