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Elvis Presley #1
Kill Me Tender
Back from his tour of duty in Germany—and desperately missing his Momma—Elvis Aron Presley just isn't turned on by the music the way he used to be. Between his Machiavellian manager, the hangers-on and childhood pals crowding his Graceland mansion, and his own propensity for gobbling down fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, the King tries desperately to get his heart back into Rock and Roll.
But how can the King sing when young girls—the presidents of his fan clubs—are dying all over Tennessee? Elvis suspects foul play; to prove it, and to find the killer, he'll need to navigate the resentment, squareness, and bigotry that hound-dog him at every turn. Only by allying himself with a self-taught doctor in a small black community, his alluring—and forbidden—nurse, and a mysterious early Elvis impersonator, can Presely hope to Take Care of Business in time to save the next victim?
But how can the King sing when young girls—the presidents of his fan clubs—are dying all over Tennessee? Elvis suspects foul play; to prove it, and to find the killer, he'll need to navigate the resentment, squareness, and bigotry that hound-dog him at every turn. Only by allying himself with a self-taught doctor in a small black community, his alluring—and forbidden—nurse, and a mysterious early Elvis impersonator, can Presely hope to Take Care of Business in time to save the next victim?
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Daniel Klein
92 books240 followersDaniel Klein is the co-author of the international bestseller Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar. He is a Harvard graduate in philosophy and an acclaimed writer of both fiction and nonfiction. When not enjoying the slow life on Greek islands, he lives in Massachusetts with his wife. He is seventy-five years old.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 31, 2022
Loved it! Terrible to say since it involves 4 young women being murdered, but it was so fun - Elvis the detective!
March 22, 2026
I made a Goodreads account specifically for this book, because honestly how can I read this and not say anything? I'm afraid that Bill Clinton, myself, and the 16 other reviewers are the only people on earth who have read this book. I mean it's not very good, but it's an experience.
So this all started because my friend and I decided to watch all 31 Elvis movies for basically the same reason people do Lent (don't let Elvis hear that though, or he'll get down on his knees and pray 3 separate times.) I don't remember exactly how, but I was doing some googling about the movies and came across this series, and immediately ordered physical copies of all four books. To be clear, I'm not an Elvis fan. I think his music is only alright and I'm no fan of him as a person, I just have some sort of fascination with him as a cultural icon. He's like Barbie to me in a way.
In this series, Elvis realizes that his career as a singer is holding him back from his true passion, being a detective after he starts personally investigating the deaths of two teenage fans of his. The first death brings him to a predominately black city, where we hear a lot about how not racist Elvis is and every black character has it mentioned that they're black about a dozen times per page. Here, Elvis meets his love interest for the book, Selma. Now, I'm not black, so it's not really for me to get into the nuances of what can be considered fetishistic language, but I was cringing every time Elvis described Selma. Lots of "African princess" and "cocoa-colored skin" when he's thinking about how hot she is.
Now granted, Elvis/Selma is better than basically every Elvis movie romance, but the bar is in hell. After knowing each other for about a week and doing the deed all night every night, Elvis is thinking about leaving everything to be with Selma, and you don't really hear a whole lot about what he sees in her other than how hot her cocoa skin is and how good her biscuits are. I guess it's not every day that you meet a woman who can do it all night, make biscuits afterwards in 30 minutes while even Elvis must get some rest, and then go to work as a nurse all day while helping Elvis out with detective work on the side.
The second death that Elvis investigates brings him to a family of Nazis who are really mad that their dead Elvis-obsessed daughter was dating a Jewish boy, and it becomes pretty clear that prejudice is the main theme of this book, which makes the ending all the odder, but we'll get to that. In her room, Elvis finds a statue of himself as Jesus Christ, which makes him fall to knees and pray 3 separate times, which I only mention because I thought it was one of the funnier parts of the book. Elvis also finds a photograph of himself which he hates because of how feminine it makes him look, it is signed with a jagged E by his assistant, Arthur, whose perfectly smooth chest Elvis makes a note of twice. All of this is relevant, by the way.
I will say there are some pretty clever red herrings, I could feel myself being gripped by the mystery as it unfolded. I also thought the Colonel taking Elvis being in jail as an opportunity to broadcast a ratings grabbing live show from the jail, during which Elvis reveals the whole murder thing, was very fun.
But now we get to the ending. The killer, as it turns out, is Elvis's assistant, Arthur, who has a split personality and a female alter who is in love with Elvis. The signs leading up to this, from what I can remember, seem to be that he has a smooth chest, long hair like a beatnik, light mascara, and he likes that photo of Elvis looking feminine. Now, I don't necessarily expect an Elvis book from 1999 to have the wokest views on dissociative identity disorders or transgender people, but man it's a jarring ending. I'm sure there's more signs of Artie being the killer which I'd only notice on a reread, but the guy has a smooth chest so I'm supposed to predict that he has an evil transgender alter? Ok.
Did I mention Bill Clinton allegedly read this book? I can't stop thinking about it.
So this all started because my friend and I decided to watch all 31 Elvis movies for basically the same reason people do Lent (don't let Elvis hear that though, or he'll get down on his knees and pray 3 separate times.) I don't remember exactly how, but I was doing some googling about the movies and came across this series, and immediately ordered physical copies of all four books. To be clear, I'm not an Elvis fan. I think his music is only alright and I'm no fan of him as a person, I just have some sort of fascination with him as a cultural icon. He's like Barbie to me in a way.
In this series, Elvis realizes that his career as a singer is holding him back from his true passion, being a detective after he starts personally investigating the deaths of two teenage fans of his. The first death brings him to a predominately black city, where we hear a lot about how not racist Elvis is and every black character has it mentioned that they're black about a dozen times per page. Here, Elvis meets his love interest for the book, Selma. Now, I'm not black, so it's not really for me to get into the nuances of what can be considered fetishistic language, but I was cringing every time Elvis described Selma. Lots of "African princess" and "cocoa-colored skin" when he's thinking about how hot she is.
Now granted, Elvis/Selma is better than basically every Elvis movie romance, but the bar is in hell. After knowing each other for about a week and doing the deed all night every night, Elvis is thinking about leaving everything to be with Selma, and you don't really hear a whole lot about what he sees in her other than how hot her cocoa skin is and how good her biscuits are. I guess it's not every day that you meet a woman who can do it all night, make biscuits afterwards in 30 minutes while even Elvis must get some rest, and then go to work as a nurse all day while helping Elvis out with detective work on the side.
The second death that Elvis investigates brings him to a family of Nazis who are really mad that their dead Elvis-obsessed daughter was dating a Jewish boy, and it becomes pretty clear that prejudice is the main theme of this book, which makes the ending all the odder, but we'll get to that. In her room, Elvis finds a statue of himself as Jesus Christ, which makes him fall to knees and pray 3 separate times, which I only mention because I thought it was one of the funnier parts of the book. Elvis also finds a photograph of himself which he hates because of how feminine it makes him look, it is signed with a jagged E by his assistant, Arthur, whose perfectly smooth chest Elvis makes a note of twice. All of this is relevant, by the way.
I will say there are some pretty clever red herrings, I could feel myself being gripped by the mystery as it unfolded. I also thought the Colonel taking Elvis being in jail as an opportunity to broadcast a ratings grabbing live show from the jail, during which Elvis reveals the whole murder thing, was very fun.
But now we get to the ending. The killer, as it turns out, is Elvis's assistant, Arthur, who has a split personality and a female alter who is in love with Elvis. The signs leading up to this, from what I can remember, seem to be that he has a smooth chest, long hair like a beatnik, light mascara, and he likes that photo of Elvis looking feminine. Now, I don't necessarily expect an Elvis book from 1999 to have the wokest views on dissociative identity disorders or transgender people, but man it's a jarring ending. I'm sure there's more signs of Artie being the killer which I'd only notice on a reread, but the guy has a smooth chest so I'm supposed to predict that he has an evil transgender alter? Ok.
Did I mention Bill Clinton allegedly read this book? I can't stop thinking about it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2023
Hasn't Elvis been through enough?
I was excited about Elvis solving murders and the beginning got me interested enough to turn the pages. There are some fun parts and Elvis pops off the page. But the ending's a dud.
One of my main issues is that yes, Elvis gets involved in a mystery, but the writer has Elvis solve the case by having people come to him with information.
I wanted Elvis to discover clues, not have a series of characters deliver plot points.
I was excited about Elvis solving murders and the beginning got me interested enough to turn the pages. There are some fun parts and Elvis pops off the page. But the ending's a dud.
One of my main issues is that yes, Elvis gets involved in a mystery, but the writer has Elvis solve the case by having people come to him with information.
I wanted Elvis to discover clues, not have a series of characters deliver plot points.
March 14, 2019
I was never a big Elvis fan. I liked his music but not his movies. Like everyone else of my era, I was stunned and saddened by his death. This books gives a glimpse of an Elvis that may or may not be factual but one we would all wish to know, just plain nice, kind, respectful and an amateur sleuth besides when bad things start happening to his fan club members.
December 27, 2024
Loved loved loved this book. This and the following, 3 books in the series are a totally unbelievable/off the charts story of Elvis being a detective and solving murders.
This book in particular is my favourite .. it's funny, heartwarming and I felt in the vein of Agent Elvis (loved this TV series as well) but without the craziness and weird monkey!
This book in particular is my favourite .. it's funny, heartwarming and I felt in the vein of Agent Elvis (loved this TV series as well) but without the craziness and weird monkey!
March 28, 2025
Found it hard to get into at first as I had to try and remember it was fiction. I’ve read a lot of Elvis books!
Brilliant laugh out loud moments and I did not guess who the murderer was. I can imagine Elvis running around like this solving crimes.
Brilliant laugh out loud moments and I did not guess who the murderer was. I can imagine Elvis running around like this solving crimes.
September 26, 2025
Un cosy mystery bien rock'n'roll ! L'ambiance et l'atmosphère du livre ne sont ni kitch ni au rabais. On sent que l'auteur a fait beaucoup de recherche sur Elvis et qu'il possède de la tendresse pour le king.
August 14, 2019
Definitely better written than I expected and had an actually intriguing storyline; my love for Elvis and murder mysteries came together for a novel perfectly suited for me, 4.5 stars
March 28, 2024
It was okay. Kind of offbeat, but somewhat interesting.
March 29, 2024
I love Elvis and this was certainly different. It as out of the norm and a nice quick read of something you didn’t have to think to hard and a diversion of something different to read.
March 6, 2017
I read this while visiting Graceland and found it highly entertaining, but I'm not sure if it would have had the same effect if I was not immersed in all things Elvis at the time.
February 17, 2011
Once again, author Daniel Klein offers us an insight into the character and nature of Elvis Presley while offering a cleverly written mystery. Klein has obviously done his homework on the history and private life of "the king" and this flavors up a clever mystery that is often morose and worried.
This time, members of Elvis fan clubs are dying mysterious deaths related to heart failure. Elvis gets word and begins to suspect foul play. He begins to investigate leading to run-ins with Elvis impersonators, local law enforcement, gushing fans, and Jew-hating klansmen. Klein emphasizes Elvis' fascination with reading non-fictional materials and karate chops. Once again the fun of this series, more than each individual mystery, is that the hero is Elvis. While it is a "fictional" Elvis, Klein works to get the details right and it is done in such a way that the reader can almost hear Elvis' throaty drawl while reading the dialogue. Klein also inserts REAL events into the novels to give the reader even more insight into Elvis.
Klein pushes the envelope a bit in this particular novel, however. How far should a fiction writer go when using a real-life character? In this instance, I felt that Klein went too far with a romantic entanglement. Elvis becomes in involved with a beautiful African-American women and almost immediately they are involved sexually. On one hand the quick sexual involvment pushed the line-- but Klein also puts Elvis BEYOND a simple sexual affair, making it seem like a tragic love affair and that Elvis would have done the "right" thing by falling in love and marrying her. This was over-the-top for me not because Elvis was a typical Southern white boy with racist attitudes (though rumors suggest that he was exactly that, you better research them more carefully- he demonstrated over and over that he was not a racist)-- but because I don't feel that people really fall completely and totally in love (as suggested in this work of fiction) in just a day or two. The only people who feel as strongly as Elvis does so quickly are people who are messed up emotionally, and desperate to be loved. And there, Klein ties fiction in with reality. Elvis, though beloved by millions, was indeed, desperate for love, or what he thought was love. So while Klein pushes the envelope, he probably isn't as far over-the-top as I felt as I read this work.
The mystery itself is well-played, and even though Klein played fair and planted real clues for the reader so we wouldn't call foul when the killer came from left field (he didn't.. it was there for the reader to see, even though I didn't see it until nearly the end) A fun read.
This time, members of Elvis fan clubs are dying mysterious deaths related to heart failure. Elvis gets word and begins to suspect foul play. He begins to investigate leading to run-ins with Elvis impersonators, local law enforcement, gushing fans, and Jew-hating klansmen. Klein emphasizes Elvis' fascination with reading non-fictional materials and karate chops. Once again the fun of this series, more than each individual mystery, is that the hero is Elvis. While it is a "fictional" Elvis, Klein works to get the details right and it is done in such a way that the reader can almost hear Elvis' throaty drawl while reading the dialogue. Klein also inserts REAL events into the novels to give the reader even more insight into Elvis.
Klein pushes the envelope a bit in this particular novel, however. How far should a fiction writer go when using a real-life character? In this instance, I felt that Klein went too far with a romantic entanglement. Elvis becomes in involved with a beautiful African-American women and almost immediately they are involved sexually. On one hand the quick sexual involvment pushed the line-- but Klein also puts Elvis BEYOND a simple sexual affair, making it seem like a tragic love affair and that Elvis would have done the "right" thing by falling in love and marrying her. This was over-the-top for me not because Elvis was a typical Southern white boy with racist attitudes (though rumors suggest that he was exactly that, you better research them more carefully- he demonstrated over and over that he was not a racist)-- but because I don't feel that people really fall completely and totally in love (as suggested in this work of fiction) in just a day or two. The only people who feel as strongly as Elvis does so quickly are people who are messed up emotionally, and desperate to be loved. And there, Klein ties fiction in with reality. Elvis, though beloved by millions, was indeed, desperate for love, or what he thought was love. So while Klein pushes the envelope, he probably isn't as far over-the-top as I felt as I read this work.
The mystery itself is well-played, and even though Klein played fair and planted real clues for the reader so we wouldn't call foul when the killer came from left field (he didn't.. it was there for the reader to see, even though I didn't see it until nearly the end) A fun read.
January 17, 2023
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2023...
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2023...
May 12, 2010
Unlike your usual celebrity sleuth, Elvis Presley makes a natural detective in this winning whodunit, set in Tennessee after the singer has returned to civilian life from the army. When Elvis Presley fan-club presidents, all teenage girls, start dying of unknown causes, Elvis becomes concerned enough to do more than just write condolence notes to the families. He personally investigates the deaths (not an easy task when you're famous), in due course determining that each victim was poisoned by a rare Chinese drug. Meanwhile, he begins to receive demo records with sinister parodies of his songs, such as "Kill Me Tender" for "Love Me Tender." In his statewide quest for the murderer, Elvis attends his high school reunion, wanders into a bar full of Elvis impersonators and finally gets arrested in a small redneck townDthe perfect setting for a real jailhouse rock.
At the climax, in a suspenseful race to stop the killer from striking again, he must even pass as an Elvis impersonator. For all the novel's amusing contrivances, nothing seems forced or ridiculous, so cleverly does Klein (Beauty Sleep, etc.) use actual Elvis lore to serve his plot. The background of the early-1960s segregated South is also deftly presented, and the method of poisoning is both ingenious and fiendishly fitting. Elvis's romance with a black nurse, Selma du Pres, may be too good to be true (or to last), but Selma takes a key part in the bittersweet ending. Above all, Elvis, here at his most gentle and charming, is irresistible. This mystery has a heart as big as its humble hero's. Agent, Howard Morhaim.
At the climax, in a suspenseful race to stop the killer from striking again, he must even pass as an Elvis impersonator. For all the novel's amusing contrivances, nothing seems forced or ridiculous, so cleverly does Klein (Beauty Sleep, etc.) use actual Elvis lore to serve his plot. The background of the early-1960s segregated South is also deftly presented, and the method of poisoning is both ingenious and fiendishly fitting. Elvis's romance with a black nurse, Selma du Pres, may be too good to be true (or to last), but Selma takes a key part in the bittersweet ending. Above all, Elvis, here at his most gentle and charming, is irresistible. This mystery has a heart as big as its humble hero's. Agent, Howard Morhaim.
April 1, 2019
What a fun, nutty surprise this was!
We discuss the Elvis Mystery series here: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
We discuss the Elvis Mystery series here: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
July 17, 2012
Who is killing Elvis Presley fans? Super sleuth Elvis will let you know in this all shook up mystery.
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April 16, 2017Haha read this book in...maybe 10th grade? And I just remembered about it. It was pretty awesome for a fan of both mystery and Elvis, but a little mature for a young Mormon girl. I should reread this.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews