The Midnight Examiner [Paperback]

William Kotzwinkle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1997

Fantasist William Kotzwinkle takes readers on a wild ride in this thriller set in the sleazy world of the tabloids

Howard Halliday, the editor of the Midnight Examiner and the unlikely protagonist in William Kotzwinkle's latest novel, becomes embroiled with several shady characters, including a bloodthirsty crime lord and a porn queen in danger, who lead him into a bizarre escapade that rivals only the freakish headlines in the Midnight Examiner.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this frenetic, only sporadically funny sendup of the scandal magazine trade, the author of Fata Morgana and the popular novelization of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial , mistakes clutter for cleverness. Attached to a threadbare plot about the editors of a fifth-rate scandal sheet trying to save a friend from the clutches of a New York Mafia don named Tony Baloney are more madcap characters than one would want to encounter in 10 novels: wisecracking cabbies, a bubble-headed porn queen, an epileptic mad artist, and an exhausting assortment of soothsayers, goons and deranged editors. All have colorful names (Hip O'Hopp, Mitzi Mouse, Hattie Flyer) to match their personal oddities. Unfortunately, Kotzwinkle puts them through a screwball plot that's more strenuous than exhilarating. After a promising start which captures the desperate humor of people trapped in jobs that embarrass them, the novel gives way to a dogged procession of fistfights and chases, all narrated by a hack journalist in an I've-seen-it-all-and-then-some tone that runs out of comic steam long before the story ends.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This duo from 1976 and 1989, respectively, are both farces in their own way, except one is dead serious and the other dead funny. Dr. Rat (LJ 7/76) is a cry against animal experimentation told from the point of view of a veteran lab rat. The Midnight Examiner (LJ 4/1/89) follows the motley editorial staff of a tabloid including a bevy of sleazy reporters and a blowgun-wielding publisher.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 227 pages
• Publisher: Marlowe & Co; First edition. edition (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569247773
• ISBN-13: 978-1569247778
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,887,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Kotzwinkle is a celebrated satirist in the US as well as being author of several favourite books, including ET the Extra-Terrestrial and of course, the New York Times listed bestselling Walter the Farting Dog. He lives on an island off the east coast of America.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Much Fun You Hate For It To End!, April 17, 2001

By 

BEN RILEY "autodidactic polymath" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Midnight Examiner (Paperback)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still gleeful after all these years, February 5, 1998

By 

Karen Kirsch "blazerlib" (Novi, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Midnight Examiner (Paperback)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Hillarious Story, July 31, 2000

By 

D.C.Meyer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Midnight Examiner (Paperback)

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"