McNally's Luck - Lawrence Sanders

    1992; 323 pages.  New Author? : No.  Book 2 (out of 13) in the Archy McNally series.  Genres : Crime Humor; Private Investigator Mysteries; Florida Noir.   Overall Rating: 9*/10.

 

    Archy McNally sure has been busy lately.

 

    First there was the catnapping of Peaches, an irascible feline with whom Archy doesn’t get along.  But its owners are clients of the McNally family investigation agency, so Pater McNally, has assigned Archy to look into Peach’s plight.

 

    Now there’s been a murder of a client, and Pops has instructed Archy to also work on that case.  These back-to-back investigations are cutting into Archy’s eating, drinking, and socializing time at the Pelican Club.

 

    If only there was some way to combine the two investigations into a single case.  Dream on, Archy.

 

What’s To Like...

    McNally’s Luck is a pleasant blend of crime-mystery, wit, and social commentary.  Archy is the pampered, dutiful son in in well-to-do family where mom, dad, and junior all do their share to make their investigative business a profitable enterprise.  Archy also coordinates his efforts with his friend, Sergeant Al Rogoff, of the Palm Beach Police Department, who’s gritty demeanor contrasts nicely with our hero’s suaveness.

 

    The crime-mystery aspect of the storyline impressed me.  The catnapping plot thread could have easily become absurd, but it doesn’t.  How do you even go about investigating a catnapping, since the victim can’t communicate with you?  Trying to solve the murders (there’s more than one) is equally perplexing.  Archy makes lots of inquiries, with very few results to show for it.

 

    There is also a mystical plot thread, and those always fascinate me.  As part of his sleuthing, Archy attends his first séance, and comes away with mixed thoughts about communicating with the dead to get some answers about the slayings.  I was impressed by how deftly Lawrence Sanders handles this.

 

    The story is told in the first-person POV; and was a vocabularian delight.  Archy never uses a plebian word when there’s a highfalutin alternative.  Lawrence Sanders also sprinkles in a few Spanish, French, and Latin phrases, plus a whole bunch of Yiddish ones.  I loved that.

 

    Everything builds to a climax in the form of a meeting of the various investigators.  Combined brainpower carries the day, although only after overcoming several slick plot twists.  The tale closes with an Epilogue wherein Archy gives his thoughts about seances.  Presumably it echoes Lawrence Sanders personal ideas on the subject, and was heartwarmingly done.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Zoftig (adj.) : having a full, rounded or curvaceous figure

Others: Tsores (n.), Pourboire (n.), Logy (adj.), Matutinal (adj.).

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.3*/5, based on 1,129 ratings and 95 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.96*/5, based on 3,198 ratings and 160  reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “A strong woman,” I opined.  “Domineering.”

    “Do you really think so?” he said.  “That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?  Dominant perhaps, but not domineering.”

    “You poets,” I said, smiling.  “You make a nice distinction between adjectives.”

    “I hate adjectives,” he said.  “And adverbs.  They’re so weak and floppy.  Don’t you agree?”

    “Indubitably,” I said, and we both laughed.  (pg. 197)

 

    “Do you believe in ghosts?”  (. . .)

    “Oh my, yes,” she said airily.  “I have never seen them myself, but I have been told by people whose opinion I respect that spirits do exist.  Mercedes Blair’s husband died last year, you know, and she says that ever since he passed, their house has been haunted by his ghost.  She knows because she always finds the toilet seat up.  No matter how many times she puts the cover down, she always finds the seat up when she returns.  She says it must be her dead husband’s spirit.”  (pg. 254)

 

Kindle Details…

    McNally’s Luck currently is priced at $7.99 at Amazon.  The rest of the books in the series range in cost from $6.99 to $9.99.  The first nine books in the series are also available in a trio of 3-book bundles for either $14.99 or $16.99.

 

I had no wish to meet my Maker in the parking lot of a store that sold Twinkies and diet root beer.  (pg. 287)

    The cussing in McNally’s Luck is sparse, which is normal for this series.  I counted just four instances in the first half of the book.  A couple of rolls-in-the-hay are hinted at, but there was nothing lewd.

 

    I can’t think of anything to nitpick about.  Archy’s sleuthing efforts kept me turning the pages, and the witty writing style meant there were no slow spots.  The “Is the Supernatural real of fake?” issue was handled deftly, which is no easy feat.

 

    All the plot threads get tied up except for one: Archy’s goal was to lose 5 pounds, and I don’t recall him ever revealing whether he succeeded in that endeavor.  Based on the eating and drinking episodes he describes, I’m thinking he didn’t.

 

    9 Stars.  One last thing.  At one point (81% Kindle), Archy gives an aside, wherein he shares what he calls “McNally’s First Law of Shopping”.  It is a sage maxim, and we’ll divulge it in the comments.

McNally's Dare - Vincent Lardo

   2003; 308 pages.  New Author? : No, and no.  Book 12 (out of 13) in the Archy McNally series.  Genres : Private Investigator Mysteries; Florida Noir.   Overall Rating: 6*/10.

 

    Talk about a party pooper!  Jeff Rodgers sure is one.

 

    He was working as a waiter at Malcolm MacNiff’s la-di-dah party held at the close of his fundraising “Tennis Everyone” tournament, and somehow managed to drown himself in the swimming pool while on break.   Hmmph.  He was probably high on booze or drugs or something.

 

    Archy McNally, our protagonist Private Investigator (he prefers the phrase “Discreet Inquirer”), was at the party too, having participated in the tennis tournament.  The pool that Jeff drowned in was somewhat out of the way, which is most likely why no one saw him when he fell in.  It’s very sad, but accidents like that happen occasionally.

 

    Except the Palm Beach Police have just announced Jeff Rodgers was murdered.  Archy has some sleuthing to do.

 

What’s To Like...

    McNally’s Dare is the twelfth, and penultimate book in this series.  The series' original author was Lawrence Sanders, who passed away after the seventh book.  Vincent Lardo accepted the opportunity to continue the series, and contributed another six stories, putting them out at more-or-less one each year.

 

    The story is told in the first-person POV, Archy’s, and the setting is the greater Palm Beach, Florida area.  Both of these are norms for the series.  Archy is the self-confident, somewhat spoiled junior partner of the law firm McNally & Son, Attorney-at-Law.  Father generally takes care of the legal aspects of the business; Archy takes care of the legwork.

 

    The death of Jeff Rodgers at the posh MacNiff estate is a social embarrassment to the Palm Beach upper crust, and no less than three different clients engage Archy’s services, all emphasizing him to be discreet.  The case quickly becomes more complex: there are rumors of blackmail, illegitimate heirs, and impostors putting on airs.  There are clues to decipher as we tag along with Archy, but also some red herrings to keep us on our toes.

 

    I liked the brief literary nod to Willy Loman, as well as a couple basic phrases I learned in French 101: “Touché” and “N’est ce pas?”.  The title reference comes on page 293, but it doesn’t really impact the storyline.

 

    Everything builds to decent, slightly twisty, but not very exciting ending.  Archy solves the Who, How, and Why of the crime and the baddies are proven guilty, which turned out to be the most challenging aspect of the investigation.  McNally’s Dare is both a standalone novel and part of a series.  I’m not reading the books in order, and I don’t think that matters.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.5*/5, based on 273 ratings and 84 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.86*/5, based on 1,205 ratings and 53 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    “A lot of kings bit the dust in Aunt Margaret’s lifetime.  The medication had her indulging in a remembrance of things past, as some writers put it.”

    Proust, if my brief but memorable at old Eli served.  I recalled a classmate who had actually read Proust.  For penance he served four years, graduated summa cum laude, and made millions as a pioneer in waste disposal.  I read The Power of Positive Thinking and am now eking out a living counting toes.  Is there a lesson to be learned in this?  (pg. 235)

 

    I left Father tugging on his whiskers and retired to my penthouse digs where I undressed, washed, brushed and donned a silk kimono in white with a scarlet obi.  This was presented to me by a lady friend who was a Shintoist.  I was a convert for the duration of our relationship, which was conducted on a mat.  She left me for a karate instructor who came with his own mat, and I was left holding the kimono.  (pg. 244)

 

How I longed for a refreshing cup of hemlock.  (pg. 132)

    There’s very little cussing in McNally’s Dare.  I counted just five instances in the first third of the book, and they were all just variations of the mild expletives: “hell” and “damn”.  The book opens with Archy going undercover (literally) at a massage parlor, but there’s nothing lewd about the ensuing sting.  Joint-smoking and amphetamines get a brief mention later on, but drug usage never figures into the storyline.

 

    My big issue with McNally’s Dare is the crime investigation.  We eschew spoilers in these reviews, so let’s just say Archy, and others, including myself, all latched onto a prime suspect pretty quickly, and nothing much along the way dissuaded any of us from our hunch. I like my murder mysteries to throw surprises at me and this book didn’t do that.

 

    6 Stars.  This was my third Archy McNally book, the other two are reviewed here and here, and were penned, one each, by Lawrence Sanders and Vincent Lardo.  McNally’s Dare was definitely the least impressive of the three, but maybe by this book Lardo was running out of good and innovative ideas for a murder-mystery.  Or maybe I’ve just outgrown the series.

McNally's Dilemma - Lawrence Sanders

   1999; 309 pages.  Book #8 (out of 13) of the Archy McNally series.  New Author? : No, and Yes.  Genre : Crime-Humor.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

    There really isn’t anything for Archy McNally to investigate.  Geoffrey Williams, a local tennis pro – and known womanizer – has been shot to death, his naked body (corpse, I guess) sprawled across the floor in his house.

    There isn't any question as to who killed him.  His wife, Melva, freely admits she did the dirty deed, after discovering Geoffrey and a mystery woman in flagrante delicto on the floor.  So no investigation is needed, and Melva simply asks that Archy, as a friend, look after their daughter, the ravishing and partying Veronica.

    But a couple nagging questions keep floating around in Archy’s head.  Who was the mystery woman and why hasn't she come forward?  Why was the house security turned off that one particular night?  Why did Melva have the address of where to find the vivacious Veronica conveniently written on a piece of paper for Archy?  And what was it that the maid said about the goings on that night?

What’s To Like...

    There are actually two tasks for Archy to perform here – two plotlines if you will.  One is to poke around in the Geoffrey Williams slaying, keeping in mind that the accused in a client of McNally and Son.  The other is  to find out who is blackmailing John Fairhurst III, and why, since the “dirt”, while embarrassing, is not particularly troublesome.  The reader of course knows that the two storylines will eventually converge, but it’s fun to watch (read) how it’s done.

     This is my second Archy McNally book (the other one is reviewed here), and I am indeed warming up to our protagonist.  Here Archy is a bit more of a wit and a bit less of a fop.  He may still bed the girl, but who’s toying with whom?  And our hero now gets, to a certain degree, his comeuppance for his vanity.  I liked that.

    As always, the story is set in Palm Beach, Florida.  As always, wit and plot twists abound.  I love it when Archy lapses into French.  There are acronyms to learn; it took me a while to realize that “PBR” = “Palm Beach Rumor”, and “PBF” = “Palm Beach Fact”.  Once again, detailed descriptions are given for what everybody is wearing and eating from one day to the next.  And you’ll be amused to discover what “Steak Tartare Medium Rare” works out to be.

    The ending is quite twisty and quite good.  You and Archy both know some sort of subterfuge is afoot, but determining what’s really going on will surprise you.

Kewlest New Word. . .

And Bob’s Your Uncle (phrase.) : “and everything’s all right!”; “et voila!”; “;”and there you go!”  (a Britishism)

Excerpts...

    “Do you know who this place belongs to, Archy?”

    “No. Do you?”

    “An old couple who went into hock to get their daughter married to an English title.  Now they have to rent the place every winter and go live with their daughter and son-in-law in his family castle.  No central heat, sixty bedrooms, one loo, and if you want to take a bath you have to order the hot water a week in advance.”

    “You’re kidding.”

    “Would I lie to you, Archy?”

    “Yes.”  (pg. 99)

    Al Rogoff was living proof of the old adage “You can’t tell a book by its cover.”  The only time Al Rogoff watched television was when PBS aired a performance by the New York City Ballet or an opera from the Met.  Al could listen to the William Tell overture without once thinking, “Hi, ho, Silver, away,” and could tell an ’82 Medoc from Chianti sold by the gallon.  He enjoyed Vivaldi and knew that “La Belle Dame sans Merci” was not a French dominatrix.  (pg. 155)

 “As you sue, so shall you reap.”  (pg. 217)

    Archy’s Dilemma was published in 1999, but sadly Lawrence Sanders passed away in February, 1998.  His estate chose Vincent Lardo to write this book, the 8^th in the series.  Unfortunately, this switching of authors isn’t mentioned on either the front or back cover blurbs.  The only place it is cited is in the small print on the “Library of Congress” info page.

     This apparently upset no small number of Lawrence Sanders fans, who felt that Mr. Lardo did not fully capture the full inner essence of our hero.  Well, I agree with them to a certain extent, Lardo’s Archy is subtly different from Sanders’ Archy.

    But personally I prefer the “new” Archy better to the old one.  Yeah, a lot of times there’s just no substitute for the original author (see all the Robert Ludlum wannabees), but once in a while the new writer actually improves things.  IMHO, Brandon Sanderson saved Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.  And that just might be the case with Lawrence Sanders and Vincent Lardo.  More data (more books read in the series) is needed.

    8½ Stars.  Subtract 1 Star if you are partial to the charmingly, rascally Archy McNally that Lawrence Sanders penned.  We shall agree to disagree.

McNally's Puzzle - Lawrence Sanders

   1996; 311 pages.  Book #6 (out of 15) of the Archy McNally series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Crime-Humor.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    It’s a puzzling thing.  Hiram Gottschalk is elderly, wealthy, and the owner of Parrots Unlimited, a pet shop in south Florida that specializes in imported parrots.  He’s convinced someone wants to kill him, and he tells Archy McNally why he thinks so.  Someone slashed a photo of him and his late wife, stole their favorite LP, taped a “Mass Card” (it’s a Catholic thing) to his closet door, and strangled his pet mynah.

    But three people from his family and household staff tell a different story – the old man is going dotty.  The photo was dropped and broke.  Hiram imagined the album and Mass Card.  And the mynah died of natural causes.

    The issue eventually resolves itself when somebody murders Hiram by stabbing him in both eyes with a stiletto (ouch!).  But who did it, and why?  It’s kind of funny that so many people who were related to or worked for Hiram tried to dissuade Archy from taking Hiram’s fears seriously.

    It’s McNally’s puzzle now.

What’s To Like...

    This is a new author and murder-mystery series for me.  Archy McNally is kind of an improved blend of P.G. Wodehouse’s Bernie Wooster, and George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman, with Lawrence Sanders taking the best from each of those.  Archy is a bit less obnoxious than Flashman, and a bit less clueless than Bernie.

     The story is written in a first-person POV, and Archy chronicles his investigation with an abundance of wit and Woosterian pseudo-wisdom.  This is also a vocabularian’s delight; see below for just a few of the marvelous words encountered here.

    It’s a  relatively “clean” story – no cussing, sex scenes, etc.  But I can’t quite call it a cozy because there’s a lot of smoking and early-in-the-day drinking, and a couple implied adult situations.  Some of the characters seemed irritatingly stereotyped – the gays, blacks, Asians, etc. – but the author tackles the subject of bipolarity with admirable insight.

    The ending is just so-so; to me it felt a bit contrived and clunky.  But at least Sanders doesm’t use the trite “the parrot squawks the killer’s name” device.

Kewlest New Word. . .

Logy (adj.) : sluggish; dull in thought or action (due to tiredness, etc.  (a Yankeeism)

Others : Bubeleh (n., Yiddishism); Fillip (n.); Megrims (n.); Prolixity (n.);  Bumf (n., Britishism); Adytum (n.); Spavined (adj.); Somnifacient (adj.); Contretemps (n.); Bibulous (adj.); Beamish (adj.); Psittacine (adj.); Chatelaine (n.); Dragoman (n.); Pourboire (n.); Brobdingnagian (adj.); Strigiled (adj.)

Excerpts...

    “Archy,” he added soulfully, “I’m in love.”

    “Oh?” I said.  “Which parrot?”

    “No, no.  It’s Bridget Houlihan.”

    “Ah,” I said.  “The Hibernian crumpet.  Fancy her, do you?”

    “She’s such a marvelous female,” he enthused.  “Sweet and charming.  And talented.  She plays the tambourine.”

    “Binky,” I said, “I’m not sure one can play a tambourine.  Don’t you just shake it or bang it?  I mean Brahms never wrote a lullaby for tambourine, did he?”  (pg. 42)

    She finally emerged from the briny and strigiled water from her torso and legs with her palms.

    “That was divine,” she said.

    I was happy she approved of the Atlantic Ocean.

    She strolled ahead of me back to our spread.  I studied her lilting walk in the minuscule bikini plastered to tanned and glistening hide.  Poetry in motion?  Yes indeedy.  But whether it was a sonnet or a limerick I could not have said.  (pg. 114)

 Didn’t someone once say you can cure a man of any folly except vanity?  (pg. 217

    It took me a while to cotton to Archy until about halfway through the book, mostly because of his upper-class attitudes and somewhat cocky wit.  But either Lawrence Sanders “softened” Archy’s demeanor along the way, or I became charmed by his inept yet persistent efforts to get to the bottom of the murder-mystery.  We shall see.  I have another book from this series on my TBR shelf, and there are lots of Lawrence Sanders novels available (both e-book and book-book) at my local library..

    McNally’s Puzzle is Book #6 in this 15-book series.  Lawrence Sanders passed away after writing Book #7; the rest are written by one Vincent Lardo.  I don’t know if this was one of Sanders’s weaker efforts; I picked it up as a $1-Hardback at the local library’s annual book sale.

    8 Stars.  The plusses outweigh the minuses here, and I am sufficiently intrigued to read a couple more books in the series.  I would not be surprised if I warm to Archy even more as I get used to him.  That's how it was with Flashman and me.