Honey, Don't

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Tim Sandlin's novels are always sardonic, often hilarious exposés of the world at large -- by way of Wyoming. In Honey Don't, the plot is shaped with a nod to the crime field, filled with sharp-witted political parody and an abundance of laughs. The novel follows the travails of RC Nash, a burned-out journalist whose attempt at rediscovering the idealism of his youth leads him to interview a terrorist in Paris instead of covering a major celebrity's fifth divorce. Canned from his job as a result, RC sniffs out an even bigger story in Washington when the U.S. president goes missing after spending time with his latest mistress, Honey. RC soon discovers that the president has been accidentally killed and that his corpse is being shuttled about while the feds follow in a comedy of errors. Sandlin clearly enjoys himself as he writes -- in a style reminiscent of Kinky Friedman and Tom Robbins -- and his own levity underscores the novel throughout as he turns his mighty talents to satirizing politics, the media, and mobsters. A clever blend of insight, farce, and slapstick mayhem, Honey Don't is a madcap romp full of some of the most diverting characters, circumstances, and one-liners you're likely to stumble over from D.C. to Wyoming. Tom Piccirilli

Ft. Myers News Press

...[an] ambitious novel...Sandlin, best know for his trenchant social observations...,writes dialog that not only crackles but matters. (July 6, 2003)

Publishers Weekly

Strongly reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen and Tom Robbins, this sixth satirical novel by the ribald, irreverent Sandlin takes leave of GroVont, Wyo. (setting of Sandlin's GroVont trilogy), to visit a mismatched cast of oddball denizens of Washington, D.C. Returning in the wee hours of the morning from a botched assignment in Europe, Daily News journalist RC Nash shares a cab from Dulles Airport with Jimmy Sebastiano, a dim-witted Mafia bagman couriering $656,000 to his boss, Rat's Ass Olivetti, the godfather of Philadelphia. Jimmy sneaks into his Foggy Bottom pad the back way to avoid two federal agents parked out front and catches his mistress, ex-Texas high school cheerleader Honey DuPont, having sex with the president. The startled president trips on his thong bikini and dies instantly when he strikes his head on an ornamental iron flamingo. Sneaking the corpse out in a beanbag chair, they take it to the house of Honey's ex-high school flame, Farlow Stubbs, a gay Redskins defensive back, and put it in his freezer. Looking to land an interview with Farlow, RC stumbles upon the corpse; meanwhile, Mafia hit men come looking for Jimmy, who still has the mob's money. Wacky subplots feature a pubertal grandson of the Mafia boss who has a crush on Honey; the ex-first lady (a former Jazzercise instructor from Wisconsin); the devious White House chief of staff; the boneheaded v-p (now president); a cadre of assorted Feds; RC's former editor; her lover (an adulterous senator); and a cast of other Washington types caught up in the zany chase. This madcap farce is a surefire bet to have readers laughing out loud. 8-city author tour. (June) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

The death of a U.S. President easily comes to mind as the heart of numerous Washington novels, but never has it been used as outrageously and hilariously as in this sixth comic novel from Sandlin (Skipped Parts). Honey, a savvy Texas girl with a weakness for older guys, offers sexual consolation to a raunchy President on the prowl. Her Mafia-connected boyfriend interrupts the scene, and the POTUS croaks. What to do? Naturally, Honey and Jimmy try to get away with it, recruiting and otherwise comporting with a persistent reporter, Secret Service agents, a Redskins third-stringer, and other essential characters who populate Sandlin's wacky Washington. For a writer who made his name embellishing Western themes with his special brand of zaniness, Sandlin shows a deft touch with urban themes like rampant power plays, sexy situations, and stupidities of the highest order. Anyone new to his work may be a little wary as the satire comes on fairly strong, but fans will welcome the irreverent, mocking send-up with groans, chuckles, and an outright belly laugh or two. For most public library collections in search of the literary equivalents of South Park.-Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.