Viva Las Vengeance: A Murder Mystery Featuring Elvis Presley

Dan Klein has done it again with the newest of Elvis Presley's sleuthing escapades. In addition to being frightening and funny, this book is also puzzling (some hard-to-solve murders) and alternately touching and cynical. Yes, that's a lot to pack into 264 pages, which is why I'm recommending it. You don't even have to be a die-hard (pardon the pun) Elvis Fan. You just have to know something about him and have heard the songs "Don't Be Cruel" and "Love Me Tender.

I thoroughly enjoyed this third Elvis mystery novel by Daniel Klein. It follows on the heels of Kill Me Tender and Blue Suede Clues. Elvis manages to be the hero and solves the murders. His character has been drawn so that the real Elvis shines through. Elvis would have loved the character and so will his fans. This particular novel takes place in Las Vegas and includes some very strange murders and some very strange characters. Of course he falls in love with beautiful Shiva who has a young daughter Kali and is accompanied by her black panther. A Don't Be Cruel peace concert is put together and Elvis is in the center of it. The ending is not quite what you would expect. I would recommend that you start with Kill Me Tender and then move on to Blue Suede Clues and finish up with Viva Las Vengeance. There is some slight tie-in in this book with the other books. I am anxiously looking forward to book #4!

Without a doubt, Klein's take on Elvis Presely is going to go down in US literary history as one of the most creative and dynamic treatments of the musical icon. The first two books were fantastic, and this third book goes even further in giving the reader a new way to look at the King. As soon as the New York Times and People magazine weigh in with their judgments, Klein's series of Elvis yarns will become part of American literaary culture. Viva La Klein! Can't wait for the 4th and 5th installments, too.

Elvis is happy to be back in Vegas after a month in Graceland where Priscilla gave him a hard time because of Ann Margaret. Elvis drops in on insult comedian Howie Pickles' show at the Sahara. Besides irritating Elvis with his irreverent references to the Lord, Pickles unmercifully picks on an obese woman. The other act, Siva Ree's exotic dance with a panther, thrills Elvis who finds he desires the performer.The next day, Elvis learns that Pickles' victim Mrs. Donaldson was murdered and nailed to the billboard of a chapel (the same one that starred in an Elvis flick). The police arrest the husband of the deceased, but the person who found the corpse Digby Ferguson believes the local cops rushed to judgment. He tries to persuade Elvis to join with him to investigate as he knows the rock legend has experience in solving crimes (see KILL ME TENDER and BLUE SUEDE CLUES).Though Elvis amateur sleuth takes a long time to begin, fans of the superstar will relish this tale awhile wondering if Daniel Klein had a sighting as the plot brings Presley so vividly to life. The story line engages readers with its insightful look at a complete Elvis to include frustration with movie scripts (Roustabout is the current one) and his complicated love life that is made more complex by Siva. The story is well written, but more for the Elvis guru than the amateur sleuth aficionado.Harriet Klausner