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Archy McNally #3
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Тя бе жена с неземна красота, но клиентът ми не плащаше за милосърдие...
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
316 people are currently reading
552 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Sanders
160 books372 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Lawrence Sanders was the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty mystery and suspense novels. The Anderson Tapes, completed when he was fifty years old, received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best first novel. His prodigious oeuvre encompasses the Edward X. Delaney, Archy McNally, and Timothy Cone series, along with his acclaimed Commandment books. Stand-alone novels include Sullivan's Sting and Caper. Sanders remains one of America’s most popular novelists, with more than fifty million copies of his books in print. Also published as Mark Upton.
Lawrence Sanders was the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty mystery and suspense novels. The Anderson Tapes, completed when he was fifty years old, received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best first novel. His prodigious oeuvre encompasses the Edward X. Delaney, Archy McNally, and Timothy Cone series, along with his acclaimed Commandment books. Stand-alone novels include Sullivan's Sting and Caper. Sanders remains one of America’s most popular novelists, with more than fifty million copies of his books in print. Also published as Mark Upton.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
August 13, 2021
I had never heard of this series, but my mom brought this mystery (the third installment?) to the beach for her beach book club pick. In which we bring a favorite book from the past year to inflict on each other.
McNally is the bomb! I have a major crush on Archie McNally, and I can’t wait to read more! He is such a hoot. He lives with and works for his well-to-do parents. His vocabulary and linguistic choices kept me running for google in delight. His fine taste in fashion, music, literature, and libations filled me with longings to explore and experience it all.
Obviously, the character development is spot on and the story exciting and engrossing. I’m gonna need more of Archie McNally.
McNally is the bomb! I have a major crush on Archie McNally, and I can’t wait to read more! He is such a hoot. He lives with and works for his well-to-do parents. His vocabulary and linguistic choices kept me running for google in delight. His fine taste in fashion, music, literature, and libations filled me with longings to explore and experience it all.
Obviously, the character development is spot on and the story exciting and engrossing. I’m gonna need more of Archie McNally.
September 14, 2024
It took me a hot minute to wrap this one up.
Meanwhile falling 2-3 books behind my GR goal which I start to pay far more attention to in the waning days of the calendar. Here’s to never actually reaching my reading goals!
As for Archy, he is much the same and that is a good thing. If I knew him IRL, he would be that friend to turn to when life is chaotic (currently) and my soul is rumpled (present state). Archy was the perfect book friend for me this week. Always dependable.
Meanwhile falling 2-3 books behind my GR goal which I start to pay far more attention to in the waning days of the calendar. Here’s to never actually reaching my reading goals!
As for Archy, he is much the same and that is a good thing. If I knew him IRL, he would be that friend to turn to when life is chaotic (currently) and my soul is rumpled (present state). Archy was the perfect book friend for me this week. Always dependable.
November 21, 2020
Before The Massive Use of Cell Phones !
Archie McNally takes on a case where he has to retrieve love letters from a jilted lover, who was promised marriage by his rich client.
On top of that, the client’s mother wants Archie to investigate her foolish son’s new girlfriend, whom she suspects is only interested in his fortune.
In this episode, everywhere you turn someone is getting murdered! Archie has a feeling that they may be connected and puts his life on the line to find out.
Without the access to cellphones, l get breathless wondering if the plotting and planning is going to reach a winning conclusion.
Anyway... the mystery is solved.
Archie McNally takes on a case where he has to retrieve love letters from a jilted lover, who was promised marriage by his rich client.
On top of that, the client’s mother wants Archie to investigate her foolish son’s new girlfriend, whom she suspects is only interested in his fortune.
In this episode, everywhere you turn someone is getting murdered! Archie has a feeling that they may be connected and puts his life on the line to find out.
Without the access to cellphones, l get breathless wondering if the plotting and planning is going to reach a winning conclusion.
Anyway... the mystery is solved.
January 30, 2023
This is the third book in Sanders’s series featuring Archy McNally. Archy is the chief (and only) investigator in the Department of Discreet Inquiries at his father’s firm, McNally & Son, Attorney-at-Law, in Palm Beach, Florida. He is also a fashionable young man-about-town and a connoisseur of wine, women, and song—although “not too heavy on the song, and I could live without wine.”
At the outset of the book, Archy is assigned to make a discreet inquiry into the background and character of a young woman named Theodosia Johnson. Theo is the intended bride of Chauncey Wilson Smythe-Johnson, the son of a valued client of the firm. Chauncey’s mother is concerned, however, that the young woman’s breeding may not be up to snuff—after all, her last name is not even hyphenated. There is no question about Theo’s beauty, though. From the moment Archy meets her at an art gallery that’s displaying a portrait of her painted by local artist Silas Hawkin, he is smitten with her. She proves to be very seductive, and true to form, Archy doesn’t resist.
Despite his amorous entanglements with Theo, Archy gradually begins to realize that something about her doesn’t add up. But he wants to give her the benefit of the doubt, even when Silas Hawkin is found murdered and there appears to be a possible connection to Theo and her potentially shady father.
“I was dismayed to see how my initial inquiry into the trustworthiness of Theo Johnson appeared to be interacting with the investigation into the murder of Silas Hawkin. I simply refused to believe that the beautiful [Theo] could possibly be involved in that heinous crime. But then Lucrezia Borgia was hardly a gorgon, and neither was Lizzie Borden. It was all enough to make one ponder the advantages of celibacy. Which I did, and I finally decided there were none.”
This comment is typical of Archy’s first-person narration, which combines erudition and sophisticated vocabulary with humor and a breezy manner. Sometimes the humor is self-deprecating: “It was probably a fool’s errand, I glumly reckoned, and if so I was just the man for the job.” Just as often, he uses humor to skewer the wealthy denizens of Palm Beach, in whose privileged circles he happily moves: “You must understand that you are required to pass a Gossip Aptitude Test before you are allowed to live in the Town of Palm Beach.”
Archy is a great character, and his adventures, both investigatory and amorous, are fun. (There is very little violence on the page, and Archy’s sexual encounters are described discreetly.) The narrative conceit is that Archy is recounting his exploits from the daily notes he has written down in the course of his investigation. It’s a very effective device for bringing the reader into Archy’s confidence. He sometimes even breaks the fourth wall. At one point, in describing a delicious dinner, he cautions the reader: “Please don’t drool on this page.”
McNally’s Risk is a very entertaining light read. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
At the outset of the book, Archy is assigned to make a discreet inquiry into the background and character of a young woman named Theodosia Johnson. Theo is the intended bride of Chauncey Wilson Smythe-Johnson, the son of a valued client of the firm. Chauncey’s mother is concerned, however, that the young woman’s breeding may not be up to snuff—after all, her last name is not even hyphenated. There is no question about Theo’s beauty, though. From the moment Archy meets her at an art gallery that’s displaying a portrait of her painted by local artist Silas Hawkin, he is smitten with her. She proves to be very seductive, and true to form, Archy doesn’t resist.
Despite his amorous entanglements with Theo, Archy gradually begins to realize that something about her doesn’t add up. But he wants to give her the benefit of the doubt, even when Silas Hawkin is found murdered and there appears to be a possible connection to Theo and her potentially shady father.
“I was dismayed to see how my initial inquiry into the trustworthiness of Theo Johnson appeared to be interacting with the investigation into the murder of Silas Hawkin. I simply refused to believe that the beautiful [Theo] could possibly be involved in that heinous crime. But then Lucrezia Borgia was hardly a gorgon, and neither was Lizzie Borden. It was all enough to make one ponder the advantages of celibacy. Which I did, and I finally decided there were none.”
This comment is typical of Archy’s first-person narration, which combines erudition and sophisticated vocabulary with humor and a breezy manner. Sometimes the humor is self-deprecating: “It was probably a fool’s errand, I glumly reckoned, and if so I was just the man for the job.” Just as often, he uses humor to skewer the wealthy denizens of Palm Beach, in whose privileged circles he happily moves: “You must understand that you are required to pass a Gossip Aptitude Test before you are allowed to live in the Town of Palm Beach.”
Archy is a great character, and his adventures, both investigatory and amorous, are fun. (There is very little violence on the page, and Archy’s sexual encounters are described discreetly.) The narrative conceit is that Archy is recounting his exploits from the daily notes he has written down in the course of his investigation. It’s a very effective device for bringing the reader into Archy’s confidence. He sometimes even breaks the fourth wall. At one point, in describing a delicious dinner, he cautions the reader: “Please don’t drool on this page.”
McNally’s Risk is a very entertaining light read. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
March 19, 2019
Archy, employed by his dad's legal firm, is asked to background check a young lady that appears to be engaged soon to a wealthy woman's son. The problem is that our hero becomes enamored of the gorgeous girl who likes to play the field. Throw in a murder of a notorious local artist, and Archy is up to his eyebrows in shady doings that spar with his libido for attention.
January 1, 2009
I love the McNally series. As always, a combination of humor and drama. In many ways, they are similar to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels.
I like Sanders a lot. I love the fact that he can write in such different genres. Although I know what to expect from his McNally series, it is always a pleasant surprise to read any of his other books.
I like Sanders a lot. I love the fact that he can write in such different genres. Although I know what to expect from his McNally series, it is always a pleasant surprise to read any of his other books.
July 7, 2017
"It would be indelicate to describe those gifts that qualified her for employment in a topless car wash. Suffice to say that she was well-qualified."
What an unexpectedly pleasant read! The third novel in Lawrence Sanders' Archy McNally series, McNally's Risk (1993) is a light, breezy, entertaining book. An unassuming trifle yet such an agreeable waste of time! The readers will not need to exercise their brains to enjoy the plot and the writing.
Mrs. Smythe-Hersforth, a rich Palm Beach matron with pretenses to class, hires Archy McNally to discreetly investigate the bona fides of a young woman whom her son is planning to marry. The client suspects that Miss Theodosia Johnson is not refined enough to be worthy of her son. Indeed, Archy quickly finds out that Theodosia is not quite what she claims to be, but then she is so beautiful that the detective immediately falls in love with her. The infatuation even reaches the level of physical consummation. However, this being a sort of crime novel, we soon have a murder, then another one, and the plot thickens to finally get untangled in an implausible, though not criminally so, denouement.
To me the best aspect of the book is the intentionally florid language which somehow manages to avoid sounding grandiloquent and instead comes through as subtly funny. For instance:
Of course, we have the usual plethora of clichés, the fictitious Palm Beach high society is depicted without much feeling, and the usual Archy McNally menagerie of characters (Consuela Garcia, Simon Pettibone, Lolly Spindrift, Sergeant Rogoff, Binky Watrous, and the one and only Prescott McNally, Archy's father, whom the son invariably addresses as "Sir") are annoyingly repetitive.
The novel is pure entertainment but after all one does need amusement and diversions from time to time. I am enclosing another funny quote after the rating.
Three and three quarter stars.
"I must inform you that anyone who attempts to make love on a sandy beach soon learns the meaning of true grit."
What an unexpectedly pleasant read! The third novel in Lawrence Sanders' Archy McNally series, McNally's Risk (1993) is a light, breezy, entertaining book. An unassuming trifle yet such an agreeable waste of time! The readers will not need to exercise their brains to enjoy the plot and the writing.
Mrs. Smythe-Hersforth, a rich Palm Beach matron with pretenses to class, hires Archy McNally to discreetly investigate the bona fides of a young woman whom her son is planning to marry. The client suspects that Miss Theodosia Johnson is not refined enough to be worthy of her son. Indeed, Archy quickly finds out that Theodosia is not quite what she claims to be, but then she is so beautiful that the detective immediately falls in love with her. The infatuation even reaches the level of physical consummation. However, this being a sort of crime novel, we soon have a murder, then another one, and the plot thickens to finally get untangled in an implausible, though not criminally so, denouement.
To me the best aspect of the book is the intentionally florid language which somehow manages to avoid sounding grandiloquent and instead comes through as subtly funny. For instance:
"I mournfully reflected that if mein papa was correct [...], I would be horribly disappointed and possibly take up the lute to express my weltschmerz in musical form."The vividly drawn character of Theodosia provides another surprise. While all other characters, even including Archy, are closer to caricatures, the young woman seems real from the pages of the novel. Lawrence Sanders is not known for deep psychological insights or for mastery in conveying dialogue yet, for instance, the conversation between Archy, Theodosia, and her father sounds completely natural and convincingly contributes to the plot.
Of course, we have the usual plethora of clichés, the fictitious Palm Beach high society is depicted without much feeling, and the usual Archy McNally menagerie of characters (Consuela Garcia, Simon Pettibone, Lolly Spindrift, Sergeant Rogoff, Binky Watrous, and the one and only Prescott McNally, Archy's father, whom the son invariably addresses as "Sir") are annoyingly repetitive.
The novel is pure entertainment but after all one does need amusement and diversions from time to time. I am enclosing another funny quote after the rating.
Three and three quarter stars.
"I must inform you that anyone who attempts to make love on a sandy beach soon learns the meaning of true grit."
June 20, 2018
McNALLY’S RISK by Lawrence Saunders is the 3rd book in the “Archie McNally” series, where the Palm Beach playboy is back at work at his father’s law firm having been assigned a “discreet inquiry” case that involves a background check on a beautiful young woman who is engaged to the son of a client, and is also the model in a recently featured painting by a famous local artist.
Archie takes time out of his busy life of leisure to work on the case, and as always finds that there is much more to the case than meets the eye, as his investigation into the young woman and her father reveals that little is known about their past, along with a connection to the widow of the artist of the aforementioned painting in the wake of his murder.
Investigation is aided by Archie’s ability to reach out to contacts he’s made as a privileged young man accepted in to many social circles while using his ability to exact information using his unique approach, and is heavily aided by friend Al Rogoff from the Palm Beach Police Department, who finds Archie’s interviews leading to the untimely death of the interviewed, with his business cards often present at the scene.
Archie can’t help being Archie, as he enters into an affair with the beautiful young woman Theodosia who’s the subject of his investigation and the model of the painting, making his assignment much more difficult along with placing himself in harm’s way, since he discovers that her father might be capable of violence leaving him a possible suspect in the death of the artist and others involved in the investigation.
Will Archie successfully discover the past of Theo and her father, and when he decides that the only way to solve the case is to put himself at risk by making himself a target to draw out the killer or killers involved in the recent murders, can he avoid being killed by doing so?
Enjoyable read, as are the first two books in the series, as Archie is not your typical investigator, and this book also reveals that the lives of the well to do in his community are not without involvement in crimes of greed and/or passion. Archie as narrator is hilarious with his quick wit and self deprecating quotes making it easy to overlook his shortcomings as his friends and family often do.
Recommended for when a light hearted read and a lot of laughs are in order.
4 stars.
Archie takes time out of his busy life of leisure to work on the case, and as always finds that there is much more to the case than meets the eye, as his investigation into the young woman and her father reveals that little is known about their past, along with a connection to the widow of the artist of the aforementioned painting in the wake of his murder.
Investigation is aided by Archie’s ability to reach out to contacts he’s made as a privileged young man accepted in to many social circles while using his ability to exact information using his unique approach, and is heavily aided by friend Al Rogoff from the Palm Beach Police Department, who finds Archie’s interviews leading to the untimely death of the interviewed, with his business cards often present at the scene.
Archie can’t help being Archie, as he enters into an affair with the beautiful young woman Theodosia who’s the subject of his investigation and the model of the painting, making his assignment much more difficult along with placing himself in harm’s way, since he discovers that her father might be capable of violence leaving him a possible suspect in the death of the artist and others involved in the investigation.
Will Archie successfully discover the past of Theo and her father, and when he decides that the only way to solve the case is to put himself at risk by making himself a target to draw out the killer or killers involved in the recent murders, can he avoid being killed by doing so?
Enjoyable read, as are the first two books in the series, as Archie is not your typical investigator, and this book also reveals that the lives of the well to do in his community are not without involvement in crimes of greed and/or passion. Archie as narrator is hilarious with his quick wit and self deprecating quotes making it easy to overlook his shortcomings as his friends and family often do.
Recommended for when a light hearted read and a lot of laughs are in order.
4 stars.
June 3, 2022
I needed a break from a book I’m reading set in wartime and Archy’s antics fit the bill. While some of the plot points I saw coming, there were some that were a complete surprise. And of course the characters are well done. Fun but still needed my dictionary!
July 26, 2022
Floridian James Bond
There were some peculiar aspects to this novel, primarily the lead character who used British English terms despite seemingly spent his life on the east coast of the USA.
The thesaurus driven dialog was funny at times, it was a fine mystery along with the family dysfunction it certainly fit the old saying that a good novel include lives you would rarely want to really live by the end.
Maybe be reading one and two would have be the right choice, if f a chance comes along I’ll read them.
There were some peculiar aspects to this novel, primarily the lead character who used British English terms despite seemingly spent his life on the east coast of the USA.
The thesaurus driven dialog was funny at times, it was a fine mystery along with the family dysfunction it certainly fit the old saying that a good novel include lives you would rarely want to really live by the end.
Maybe be reading one and two would have be the right choice, if f a chance comes along I’ll read them.
March 16, 2022
Another in a series of off beat, hilarious and interesting characters…great story!
January 10, 2025
McNally is delightful as ever
My favorite of the books so far — a delight to once again pay a visit McNally’s world.
Every paragraph is a pleasure to read, and I found myself screenshotting passages and sending them to friends. Just such lovely writing.
My favorite of the books so far — a delight to once again pay a visit McNally’s world.
Every paragraph is a pleasure to read, and I found myself screenshotting passages and sending them to friends. Just such lovely writing.
September 1, 2019
Another McNally for the win! This time around, he has to confront a case where his personal feelings get tangled up with one of the suspects and using his scammer nature to out-fake the fakers (if that makes any sense without spoiling anything). Basically, he meets his match in temptation and manipulative skill.
This entry didn't have quite the same spark of intrigue as the last book, since that one actually brought a creepy, supernatural element to it, but I still enjoyed the convoluted double mystery, the surprisingly saccharine development of McNally's relationship with Connie Garcia, and the casual humor McNally throws down throughout the case.
This entry didn't have quite the same spark of intrigue as the last book, since that one actually brought a creepy, supernatural element to it, but I still enjoyed the convoluted double mystery, the surprisingly saccharine development of McNally's relationship with Connie Garcia, and the casual humor McNally throws down throughout the case.
May 6, 2015
I am just plowing through this series. I love Archie and his sartorial pleasures. The description of the food, the women, how he loves his car, the life he leads, really fun to read. I love the Yiddish words thrown in, and of course the mysteries. Every character is distinct and necessary. I like that the sex is not described, and hope he may eventually be faithful! Archie is not equal to Myron Bolitar and John Cory in my mystery men crushes.
March 25, 2009
What can't you love about these books - the food descriptions alone are enough to keep me reading. I listened to this one on a road trip and was surprised at the voiced they used for Archie. He was actually masculine.
October 22, 2017
A bit better than the first two.
October 31, 2017
good read and i get to learn a lot of new words, interesting story..
June 11, 2018
Popular author with a flawed protagonist solving some murders in Florida.
August 26, 2025
Il protagonista Archy McNally è fortemente ispirato ad Archie Goodwin, ma gli trovo piuttosto una forte componente di Bertie Wooster. Il ragazzo, più che trentenne, abita con i genitori (inspiegabile: negli Stati Uniti credo che sia un atroce marchio d'infamia), finge di lavorare nello studio legale del padre e in generale si tiene occupato con mangiate, bevute e altre attività da bon vivant.
In effetti abbiamo resoconti dettagliati di tutti i suoi pasti, delle bevande, dei vestiti che indossa, e viene menzionata la marca di tutto ciò che ne ha una. All'inizio può anche essere simpatico, ma diventa presto una fastidiosa affettazione.
La trama è in stile Chandler: il baldo investigatore va in giro a scocciare la gente e si imbatte di tanto in tanto in un cadavere, mentre donne affascinanti e misteriose non possono fare a meno di confidargli i loro segreti e provare a sedurlo.
Nonostante tutto, il libro risulta mediamente divertente se non lo si prende troppo sul serio, e sfido chiunque a non provare un po' d'invidia per Archy e la sua vita raffinata ed eccitante.
In effetti abbiamo resoconti dettagliati di tutti i suoi pasti, delle bevande, dei vestiti che indossa, e viene menzionata la marca di tutto ciò che ne ha una. All'inizio può anche essere simpatico, ma diventa presto una fastidiosa affettazione.
La trama è in stile Chandler: il baldo investigatore va in giro a scocciare la gente e si imbatte di tanto in tanto in un cadavere, mentre donne affascinanti e misteriose non possono fare a meno di confidargli i loro segreti e provare a sedurlo.
Nonostante tutto, il libro risulta mediamente divertente se non lo si prende troppo sul serio, e sfido chiunque a non provare un po' d'invidia per Archy e la sua vita raffinata ed eccitante.
November 2, 2017
Archy McNally works as an investigator for his father's law firm. In this story he is asked to look into the background of a beautiful woman who wants to marry the son of a wealthy client. As with other books in the series, Archy's task becomes much more involved. And as in other books, he becomes romantically involved with this woman and finds that her father and a well-know artist become involved. Multiple murders occur, and Archy takes a dangerous risk as he goes about solving the crimes and his assignment.
Lawrence Sanders is one of my favorite authors. The writing and humor are very important to me, but I would suggest that you either read this as an ebook that allows you to look up words or have a dictionary nearby because Archy as narrator has a very interesting vocabulary! Unlike investigators in other books who are just getting by, Archy is moneyed and living with his wealthy parents. I'm looking forward to reading more of the books in this series.
Lawrence Sanders is one of my favorite authors. The writing and humor are very important to me, but I would suggest that you either read this as an ebook that allows you to look up words or have a dictionary nearby because Archy as narrator has a very interesting vocabulary! Unlike investigators in other books who are just getting by, Archy is moneyed and living with his wealthy parents. I'm looking forward to reading more of the books in this series.
November 18, 2023
She marched through the slit canvas curtain, providing me with a final glimpse of her thong bikini, also called a shoestring bikini in South Florida, and sometimes a flosser.
I drove back to Palm Beach in a reflective mood.
Slaggy McNally being the only one who can save me from this horrible reading slump is fitting. These books are always good fun, but this was next level - my favourite so far. Sanders' character work is so delicious, I despair having to leave this world.
Archy is a perfect character. I love his silly clothes and his noir character flirting and his commitment to triviality and his religious devotion to a romantic love so perfect, nothing else can compare. Theo was fascinating too, I'd've loved even more of her.
I know I have 10 books left in the series, but I dread the idea of ever finishing it. Continues to perfectly fill my Lord Peter Wimsey shaped hole. :)
I drove back to Palm Beach in a reflective mood.
Slaggy McNally being the only one who can save me from this horrible reading slump is fitting. These books are always good fun, but this was next level - my favourite so far. Sanders' character work is so delicious, I despair having to leave this world.
Archy is a perfect character. I love his silly clothes and his noir character flirting and his commitment to triviality and his religious devotion to a romantic love so perfect, nothing else can compare. Theo was fascinating too, I'd've loved even more of her.
I know I have 10 books left in the series, but I dread the idea of ever finishing it. Continues to perfectly fill my Lord Peter Wimsey shaped hole. :)
September 11, 2020
I suppose the time will come when I've had enough of Archy, but so far I'm enjoying the carefully controlled slapstick comedy with a little mystery thrown in. Usually I don't like reading books where ordinary people speak using $25 words, when a $10 word would suffice. But in Sanders' books, Archy flaunts the big words but instead of being erudite, it's funny. A cop he works with said, "When are you going to learn to talk like a human being?" after Archy used a sentence with not one, but two big words. I love reading about the absolutely impossible clothing he meticulously puts together. And the food and wine are to die for. This is the 2nd book in the series I've read and I haven't read them in order. They are good stand alones.
June 17, 2022
When Archy McNally investigates a young woman for one of his father’s clients, he learns more about her than he expects. He also finds himself curious about murders that seem linked to her associates. This doesn’t distract him from his playboy ways or appreciating food. Will his investigation lead him into trouble? Will he find the answers he wants? Or even the ones the client is seeking?
Honestly, Archy isn’t the most endearing person. He chases every skirt he sees and then wants his number one girl to stay faithful. His writing style comes off as friendly, like he is regaling his friends with his adventures, which was amusing.
Honestly, Archy isn’t the most endearing person. He chases every skirt he sees and then wants his number one girl to stay faithful. His writing style comes off as friendly, like he is regaling his friends with his adventures, which was amusing.
July 27, 2019
The first one of the McNally series that I read was funny, but the same trite expressions in this one were annoying and tiresome. Also, the main character was such a cad who didn't believe in love, but lusted after women --a lot. Then he bedded them to boot, cheating on his girlfriend who he had NO intentions to marry. What a womanizer! Also, I got weary of reading his everyday routine, on and on ad infinitem, and what he and everyone else in the world was wearing. Who cares! The plot was good, but even then, he went over and over the facts a bazillion times, geesh.
December 20, 2019
Archy has met his match in this book. A beautiful woman has him seriously contemplating life, love and sexuality, oh and did I mention that there is a fairly complex plot involving murders sprinkled with swindles, scandals and sexcapades. Not predictable in the outcome there is a twist at the end that not even the most advances detective could have seen coming. A decent read and as always I had to keep the dictionary ready to look up the rarely used but highly descriptive words Sanders sprinkles his stories with. Another decent read by Lawrence Sanders.
May 12, 2022
The tip of my forefinger is blistered from tapping words on almost every page of my ebook version, looking up the definitions of Sanders prolific word choices. As a sometime writer myself, I envy his depth of vocabulary and in lieu of trying to study hard for five years in an effort to equal his mastery, I think it easier if I bribe Miriam Webster to just eliminate a few hundred words that only he and a handful of others use. But I digress... The story was awesome! Likeable characters, interesting and believable storyline, humorous and mysterious all the way. Why can't I write like that?
January 17, 2023
I'll start of by saying I'm a huge Archie McNally fan, so all of Lawrence Sanders' McNally books will be a 5 from me.
In this gem, Archie investigates a murder in which the beautiful Theodosia Johnson is involved. There's a wealthy arts patron, Johnson's father, and an entire cast of unseemly suspects in recent murders around McNally's beloved Palm Beach.
Love: The setting and ambiance of Palm Beach, a place I could never afford to live, let alone visit for more than a day. If I did, I'd always be on the lookout for the suave and debonair playboy extraordinaire, Archie McNally.
In this gem, Archie investigates a murder in which the beautiful Theodosia Johnson is involved. There's a wealthy arts patron, Johnson's father, and an entire cast of unseemly suspects in recent murders around McNally's beloved Palm Beach.
Love: The setting and ambiance of Palm Beach, a place I could never afford to live, let alone visit for more than a day. If I did, I'd always be on the lookout for the suave and debonair playboy extraordinaire, Archie McNally.
January 29, 2025
I am really enjoying this series. I actually read it before bed. It’s very relaxing and fun. Witty conversation. It’s a bit old-fashioned and some of the words I have to look up, but that’s what makes it fun.
The plot moves along nicely. I like all the major characters in the story. I also enjoy some of the same routines with his swims and drink before dinner. Still living at home with his parents while working for his dad. And the nightlife! The author does a nice job creating ambience, describing the different characters in their settings while telling the story.
The plot moves along nicely. I like all the major characters in the story. I also enjoy some of the same routines with his swims and drink before dinner. Still living at home with his parents while working for his dad. And the nightlife! The author does a nice job creating ambience, describing the different characters in their settings while telling the story.
March 2, 2021
Charming Mystery
Archy McNally is an entertaining character. While the suspects are somewhat obvious, the unfolding plot is just as entertaining. The setting is immersive and the conclusion satisfying. I especially enjoyed reading a mystery that didn’t resort to graphic sex or gore as so many do these days. Off to look for more Archy mysteries. 4.5 stars rounded up for the excellent writing.
Archy McNally is an entertaining character. While the suspects are somewhat obvious, the unfolding plot is just as entertaining. The setting is immersive and the conclusion satisfying. I especially enjoyed reading a mystery that didn’t resort to graphic sex or gore as so many do these days. Off to look for more Archy mysteries. 4.5 stars rounded up for the excellent writing.
September 13, 2021
Another abridged revisit, a new narrator (series regular from here on, I believe) who is somewhat less of an actor than, well, the actors who narrated the first two offerings. Between, the abridged version and new narrator this audio version seemed pretty work-a-day audiobook. Not sure if I will visit any more abridged versions.
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