Midnight Examiner

I actually made it all the way to page 18 before bursting out laughing. This may be the most hilarious book I have ever read and, at the same time, it has exciting action, mystery and intrigue, romance, magic, and cows in dresses. When this ragtag bunch of tabloid writers decides to challenge a local Mob boss to save their favorite porn star, they call on all their varied resources. Blow guns, fishing poles, boomerangs, an Egyptian cabbie, voo doo spells and potions, and an impeccable sense of haute fashion all play key roles in Kotzwinkle's demented game plan. If you like to laugh, you are going to love this book. But, alas, there is a downside. Kotzwinkle has apparently chosen to move on to other venues and characters, thus you will feel a great sense of loss at the end of the book as you part company with this wonderful group of friends. I think that all Kotzwinkle fans should join forces and demand a sequel that brings the tabloid gang back together again for more exciting and hilarious adventures.

This is a delightfull funny novel. Howard Halliday is the jaded editor a small line of dubious low-brow publications, ranging from softcore-porn to religion, most notably the tabloid "Midnight Examiner" which is notorious for sensational headlines like "UFO FOUND IN GIRL'S UTERUS". The setting and characters of Halliday's small media empire are plenty colorfull and amusing enough, but when they cross paths with the sinister machinations of a crime boss, the genius of author Kotzwinkle kicks into overdrive.This is a delightfull read. I think it could make a marvelous movie. -- DCM "Froggy"

William Kotzwinkle has always been a great author of humor, and his books always have a very fun feel to them. This story of a tabloid office is no exception, as Midnight Examiner might as well have been a composite of Kotzwinkle's work. Though all of his characters are comedic and goofy in their own way, he always manages to apply that neccessary dose of sympathy.

For some reason, this book reminds me of the Marx brothers. Korzwinkle inserts these deft one sentence descriptions that tweek the reader into an unexpected direction. I don't know if there is anybody out there that can write the satire that Kotwinkle enjoys and get away with the hyperbole, but he does it in such a funny fashion, that he carries the reader on a merry romp and you just hold onto your side laughing for dear life. Thank you, William, for your wicked sense of fun.

Ah, William, you have given me joy for 20 years. "The Midnight Examiner" was no exception. Mixing tabloid writers with Mafioso was masterful. Each character was a piece of work. Poison darts... fish hooks...I cringed and then I laughed hysterically! This was one of my most fun reads ever. I kept wondering how the "good guys" were going to get out of this mess. I thought, "No Way." And yet you made it plausible. Thanks. I go wa-a-a-y back to when "The Fanman" and "Fata Morgana" were FIRST published.