I have a whole series of books about McNally. Im not sure which one in the series this is. Im not sure you have to read them in the order they were written. I believe each story (book) stands by itself. Archy McNally works as a private investigator for his father's law firm. I know Ive read at least one other McNally book and enjoyed it, so I got a bunch of them, but then never got around to reading them. I finally put this one in the car to read when I was waiting at the doctor's or something. Its taking me forever to get thru! The farther I got along, the better it got, but it just wasnt the page turner the other one was!McNally seems to be a playboy that still lives w/his parents even tho he's 35 or so in this book. He doesnt appear to need the money and just works once in a while to have something to do or to make his father happy. He goes off to lunch or dinner or whatever with different women, trying to keep them from finding out about each other. All the while trying to find a cat that was snatched from his parents rich friend. While doing that, he somehow stumbles onto a psychic who is married to a guy who is a scam artist along w/his parents. Another rich family friend goes to seances that these scam artists put on and later is murdered. The book is filled with mystery and suspense and keep you guessing till the end. I guess I didnt care for the characters and had a hard time getting into the book. Hopefully the other McNally books will be better.
Another crack-me-up adventure for Archie McNally, Palm Beach's man-about-town, bon vivant charmer. Son of the staid Prescott McNally, esquire, Archy does discreet inquiries for the pater's firm, McNally and Son. This time a grumpy rich man's cat, Peaches, has been catnapped and is being held for ransom. Archie, between romancing several woman simultaneously and tootling about town in his red miata, has also been asked to look into death threats to the local poet'swealthy wife. Several simularities between the notes lead Archie in quite a few directions, most of them involving women, crazy antics, hysterical dialogue and include even a medium and a seance. I love the Archie McNally series just because Archy is such a character filled with wit, joie de vivre and whose love of sartorial splendor is evident. The interactions between Archy and his Dickens- reading, wing-tip wearing, ever-so-correct father just make me laugh out loud. The cases are usually quirky but Archy manages to solve them in his own inimical, roundabout way with a little help from his pal, Sargeant Al Rogoff. The series was started by Lawrence Sanders and finished by Vincent Lardo with nary a variation from the original. Lardo managed to get Archy down to perfection. Any reader would be hard pressed to know where Sanders left off and Lardo picked up. Some of the characterizations and scenarios could be termed cliched but still the series is always a fun read
Do You like book McNally's Luck (1993)?
I really like the crime-in-funny-doses by Lawrence Sanders. Inspite of his obvious faults, the bon vivant, witty, and dilettantish Palm Beach detective, Archy McNally can have you rooting for him. He'll wear white tie and tails to Pizza Hut and woo you with his amazing vocabulary - you might want to have a dictionary on hand when reading a McNally (having a smart phone helps). As with the other books in the series, McNally's Luck is a funny and light read with entertaining characters. It's not a great mystery from the suspense point of view, but if you like McNally, enjoy his humor, and don't mind expanding your word power, you'll enjoy this one too.
—Puja
Archie is on the trail of catnappers who have taken the prized pet of one of his father's wealthy clients. The ransom note seems to have been printed from the same word processor (this book is from the early 90's) and on the same paper as a threatening letter received by a different client. Archie must find the connection between these seemingly unrelated cases. I love Archie. He is so comfortable with himself that he can get away with wearing lavender suede loafers and madras shorts. He is one cool dude.
—Chris
"Nutrition nuts are the world's most boring dining companions. They make every bite a guilt trip, which forces me to gorge to prove my disdain for calories. I mean, if God had wanted us to nibble, He wouldn't have created veal cordon bleu" (167)."But that, I realized, was occupational stereotyping. Most of us are guilty of it."For instance, librarians are generally thought to be sexless, dried-up biddies who affect a pince-nez and don rubber gloves before shaking hands with a man. I know from personal experience that this image is totally, totally false. (I wonder what Nancy is doing now?)" (302).
—Lucy
