Let's go back about a quarter of a century to THAT Palm Beach, Florida -- The one that Donald Trump was so anxious to be accepted into. Then, there was still a lot of the old money around and the need to fit in to a society that recently rich could only aspire to. This is where McNally & Son have chosen to serve their clientele. Father McNally is head of a local law firm and the son, Archy, a Yale failure, is responsible for the firm's discreet inquiries.Educated at the proper Ivy League schools, the McNally family fits in as the well-to-do vassals of the Palm Beach nobility. Sanders successfully walks a very fine line between insipid details (of food, clothing, wine, cars, etc.) and outright burlesque. What we derive are laughs, knowing smiles, a intricate plot with memorable characters and (surprisingly) empathy for Archy despite the following:He is vain; often, superficial; a social butterfly; a cad; a devotee of the pursuit of the opposite sex; and, less than truthful in many of his relationships.Kudos to Sanders for making it work. Is he tipping his hat to the Archy Goodwin of Rex Stout? This Archy is more in line with Hammett's Sam Spade in adopting a persona that allows him to float through many levels of society while, because of his fatuousness, not being given credit for the depth of understanding he brings to his detection.Highly enjoyable, the trick will be for Sanders to go forward, exploring the permutations of this little world without it becoming a stale formula.
I was hesitant at first to read this book because I figured McNally would be a hard boiled detective but was pleasantly surprised by the book. I bought the whispersync narration and initially was listening to part of the book before falling asleep. About 30% of the way through I decided to read and listen at the same time so that I could keep the various characters and their actions straight.Archie carries cards that say "McNally Attorney at Law" but explains that he is not the attorney who is actually his father. Archie works for his father, being in charge of "discreet investigations". In this book Archie is given the task of finding a set of valuable stamps owned by one of the richest women in Palm Beach. Archie certainly has to be discreet because his father's client is eccentric and not very cooperative in the investigation. Eventually he ends up working with the police because murder becomes part of the story.I liked this mystery because Archie is a thorough detective, and has very pleasant personality. I think the character of Archie is well drawn and actually seems like a real person. The narrator's voice really brings Archie to life. If you have a Kindle Fire I strongly suggest that you buy the narration with the Kindle book.
I received this book from Open Road Media and Netgalley. This is a re-issue of the first McNally mystery by Lawrence Sanders in digital format.I have read Lawrence Sanders before, but never the McNally series. Archy McNally, womanizer, detective in his father's law firm, and still living at home, lives the good life in Palm Beach, Florida.When his father assigns him the job of finding out who stole a set of collectable stamps from the infamous Lady Horiwitz, McNally uncovers a clever scheme. In the meantime, Archy has met a woman that has him thinking along the lines of a long term relationship. The dialogue is witty and funny, the insight into life in Palm Beach is hilarious, but the plot was a little thin. Too much time was spent following Archy around while he moons over his new girlfriend and not enough time spent on the mystery. There were some real shockers in the plot, but they came a bit too late in the story.I'm still on board for more in the McNally series. Hopefully, the characters develop a bit more as time goes on. Overall a C+
—Julie
I can't believe I never read this series! Assigned for book club, will be fun to discuss. Ok, so I lived in Palm, Beach for a summer, and West Palm for awhile and my mother lived in Delray beach, so it was fun knowing many of the places. Archie is just a riot, and I love that he uses Yiddishisms, which is funny in WASP Palm Beach. I also own a Miata, but silver. This is just a fun romp, and I will read at least the next 3. The mystery was almost incidental to the story, which is more character based than mystery based. Just a fun book.
—Sharyn
The mystery and the story were fine. But I was completely distracted by the fact that while it was set in 1990's Florida, but everyone spoke as if they lived in the 1930's. Referring to a woman as a "cupcake" and a man as "lad". Discussion of old maids or spinsters. A reference to Gibson Girls. The formal dialogue between father and adult son. I kept being convinced it was set in the 30s after all, and then I'd remember the references to the Mazda Miata or a cellular phone. Oh well. It was an entertaining enough story, but the incongruous dialogue continually annoyed me.
—Linda
