About Two Abbott Tales: Rhino Ritz & Routine Apparitions

Rhino Ritz, An American Mystery Novel is a work of fiction by Keith Kumasen Abbott. Published in 1979 by Blue Wind Press, the book is described as An American Mystery Novel and the plot is as follows: The Classic American Authors are immortal and living happily every after in Paris - but just so you know Paris was recently relocated to San Francisco. Then Sherwood Anderson disappears. Ernest (Rhino) Hemingway & F. Scott (Ritz) Fitzgerald open the Rhino Ritz Detective Agency to find Sherwood Anderson. The plot heats up when Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas are abducted by Japanese terrorists, who force Ms. Stein to write their communique which no one can understand. Finally our heroes stumble onto a sinister conspiracy involving the future of American Literature.

Audio version of this post on Substack

Drawing on her father's storyline in Rhino Ritz, Persephone Abbott pursues her father's missing archival materials in Routine Apparitions, (A Fictional Novel in Blogform) in which the ghost of Keith Kumasen Abbott wanders between Longmont, Colorado - the place where he died - and Monterey, California - the place where Keith spent his happiest years. The Rhino Ritz Detective Agency is called upon to help him find his notebooks and manuscripts.  It's a modern take on saving a literary legacy which involves the woowoo culture of Colorado and a seemingly unending number of religous groups and narcissistic behaviours where everyone is hiding something.

Persephone talks about the novel while reading Rhino Ritz on YouTube.

Reviews of Keith Abbott's novel Rhino RItz :

"A satirical novel that manages to combine both mystery and sci-fi genres....Action aplenty ...and fast dialogue." -- L.A. Times Book Review, Dec. 30, 1979

"Keith Abbott is a brilliant, virtuoso writer....He fascinates. He creates and maintains a climate of everyday perfection, and does it by destroying consistency. -- Die Zeit, March 11, 1994

"This is a very funny, loose, episodic book, held together by the various conventions of popular genres. It could have been pretentious but it's not....The plot is merely the excuse for the meetings in this novel of inventiveness, daring and great humor." -- Contemporary Fiction, Volume I More information is available at: www.keithkumasenabbott.com

A Critical Review of Persephone Abbott's novel Routine Apparitions:

Routine Apparitions is an experimental, surrealist fictional novel written in blog format by author and poet Persephone Abbott. The project serves as a creative extension of her work archiving and honoring her late father, the notable Zen monk and author Keith Kumasen Abbott. 

Narrative and Concept

The story explores a highly unusual, zany premise blending mystery, comedy, and the supernatural:

• The Plot: The core mystery revolves around the real-life dilemma of Keith Abbott's missing historical notebooks and manuscripts.
• The Protagonist: The ghost of Keith Abbott himself returns as a wandering spirit in Longmont, Colorado to search for his lost life's work.
• The Tone: Described by early readers on Facebook as "surreal," the narrative features the ghost solving crimes alongside a cast of eccentric, zany companions.
• Creative Style & Medium
  Instead of a traditional book publication, Abbott utilizes a digital, episodic format on her dedicated Routine Apparitions Blog. 
• A Blog Novel: Short-form, frequent updates capture the fragmented nature of memory, ghosts, and literary detective work.
• Intertextuality: The project heavily incorporates Zen themes, historical nods to Longmont, and references to influential counterculture figures. 

Because Routine Apparitions is published incrementally as an online blog novel rather than a mainstream print release, traditional literary reviews are limited. However, community feedback highlights specific strengths: 

• Inventive Format: Readers praise the serialized blog style for making the supernatural elements feel contemporary and interactive. 
• Deeply Personal Subtext: The project runs parallel to Abbott's real-life summer journey documenting her family's history and tracing her father's missing archives. This real-world emotional weight grounds the otherwise wacky, comedic ghost story. 
• Target Audience: It is highly recommended for fans of avant-garde fiction, Zen-inspired literature, and readers familiar with Keith Kumasen Abbott's 1970s and 80s comic novels like Mordecai of Monterey. 

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