(view spoiler)[I found this story interesting mostly because of what I think it did wrong rather than what it did right. The plot was fairly interesting, dealing with a woman who convinced three different men that they were the father of her child and essentially blackmailed child support out of all three. But the plot was lost in the background trivia and at least 1 silly subplot. The author tried so hard to be cute and funny that he lost sight of the fact that the book was supposed to be a mystery. The murder itself did not happen until near the end of the book and was solved almost immediately. The book was about the murder but not about solving the murder. Which leads to the second problem with the story; it started way too early. Maybe I'm being old-fashioned, but I think the book should have started just before the murder and the sleuth should have found out about the background info while investigating.One thing I did like about the story, apparently the seeds for the next story have been set up in this one. I like that idea. It makes the transition more seamless and the stories more interconnected.These stories have been taken over by Mr. Lardo (from Laurence Sanders) much like Goldsborough took over the Nero Wolfe stories. I think they have lost a lot. (hide spoiler)]
McNally Lives On, Even if Sanders Doesn't!Surely y'all know by now that Lawrence Sanders has been dead a couple of years at least, and yet out keep rolling the McNally series. From tiny fine print on the first, to his name on the cover of this one (the third), Vincent Lardo has to us done a very credible job carrying on our leading man for Sanders' estate. (We know one fan who insists Lardo was ghost writing the series even earlier -- could be true for all we know...)We have here the familiar trappings: Archie's three mile swims, cocktail hours, journal writing, almost more than we can take of his wardrobe analysis. But a decent enough plot with first one, then two, then three real villains kept us guessing til almost the end. And with his father out of town, and girlfriend Connie at bay for a change, we didn't get quite the heavy dose of sameness that would make the series boring. We're up for several more. And by the way, how come Robert Goldsborough, similarly "selected" by Rex Stout's estate, hasn't written any more Nero Wolfe's ?!?! Vincent, you game ??
