Fletch

Fletch #1

by Gregory McDonald

Fletch

He’s an investigative reporter whose methods are a little unorthodox. Currently he’s living on the beach with the strung-out trying to find to the source of the drugs they live for.

Fletch

He’s taking more than a little flack from his editor. She doesn’t appreciate his style. Or the expense account items he’s racking up. Or his definition of the word deadline. Or the divorce lawyers who keep showing up at the office.

Fletch

So when multimillionaire Alan Stanwyk offers Fletch the job of a lifetime, which could be worth a fortune, he’s intrigued and decides to do a little investigation. What he discovers is that the proposition is anything but what it seems.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Humor, Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

241 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 1974

Reviews

[Kemper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treasure of the Rubbermaids 5: The Underhill Account

The on-going discoveries of priceless books and comics found in a stack of Rubbermaid containers previously stored and forgotten at my parent’s house and untouched for almost 20 years. Thanks to my father dumping them back on me, I now spend my spare time unearthing lost treasures from their plastic depths.

I don’t know what it is in the DNA of American males that makes so many of us quote movies incessantly. There are certain friends of mine that I can have entire conversations with that consist of nothing but repeating lines from films like Animal House, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and a hundred others. One of the all-time richest veins of movie quotes is Fletch.

After the movie came out in 1985 my friends and I watched it dozens of times on video and my fifteen year old self was delighted to learn that there was a whole series of books that the movie was based on. I found a movie tie-in copy that made me giggle with glee at the prospect of getting whole books of more Fletch stories.

However, the book and the movie have some serious differences that threw me for a loop. As readers we’ve all been disgusted when a movie version of a book we love made stupid changes that ruined what we liked about it. Very rarely, a movie may make some changes that improve the story. Fletch is an odd case because in some ways the movie is very much like the book, but at the same time it isn’t. Yet both ended up being remarkably good. Weird, huh?

The main plot of both remains the same. Irwin Fletcher is a smart ass investigative reporter who has gone undercover as a junkie to find the source of a drug epidemic at the beach. In his role as an addict Fletch is approached by a wealthy man named Alan Stanwyk who makes him an incredible offer. Stanwyk claims to be dying of cancer and has set up an elaborate plot to have someone murder him so that his insurance won’t be nullified by suicide. The offer to kill him comes with a large sum of money and an elaborate escape plan.

Fletch plays along and agrees to kill Stanwyk. Then he embarks on a clandestine investigation to find out if the man really is dying of cancer while still trying to figure out the source of the drugs on the beach as his editor demands that he print what he already knows.

Sounds like the movie, right? Yes and no. Because while the main plot is the same it’s Chevy Chase’s portrayal of Fletch that changes the tone. While this remains one of his best movies Chase was essentially doing what he always did - acting like Chevy Chase. He’s a quick witted smart ass who occasionally behaves like a complete doofus. The running gag of him pretending to be various people lets him act like an idiot while still being the smug guy who is playing everyone.

The Fletch of the book is also a quick witted smart ass, but he isn’t a goofball. While he frequently lies about his identity to get information there’s no silly disguises or acting the fool. This Fletch is also a Vietnam vet with more problems than the Chevy Chase version. His fights with his incompetent editor are more serious and not playful, and the alimony of two failed marriages is a real problem and not just a joke.

And to be blunt, the book version of Fletch is kind of a prick. (From what I’ve read about Chevy Chase he is also kind of prick, but he didn’t showcase that in this movie.) Fletch is the kind of guy who threw his ex-wife’s cat out a seventh story window when he got sick of the cat smell and doesn’t apologize for it. He’s funny but mean to most of the people he deals with. Granted, many of them are assholes, but book Fletch is a bit nastier than Chevy Fletch.

And this Fletch does things like shack up with a fifteen year runaway prostitute. The book never makes it clear that he was having sex with her, but they are sharing a sleeping bag so while there is a feeling that maybe he was trying to protect her and his cover it’s still pretty damn creepy.

The book also ends differently with a much darker twist than the movie version did. All in all, it seems like Hollywood took a good mystery with some funny lines and a dark undercurrent to it, including a flawed main character, then they sanded off the rough edges and brought in Chevy Chase who did what worked for him rather than making an effort to portray it as written in the book.

What we got was a movie that concentrated on the humor and became a comedy classic while the book remains a good crime story that will probably leave fans of the movie who read it slightly unsettled at some of it’s darker plot twists.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When posing as a drug addict on the beach to find out the source of the beach's main dealer, Fletch is hired by a rich man dying of cancer to kill him. But does Alan Stanwyk really have cancer? That's what Fletch wants to find out...

I've watched both Fletch movies but not for a couple decades at least. When this popped up on one of my cheap-o ebook emails, I snapped it up.

Fletch the book is a pretty good dialogue-driven mystery. Fletch the character is a smooth talker, a man not afraid to tell bold faced lies to get the information he wants. While he shares the dry deliver of Chevy Chase from the movie Fletch, he's no Chevy Chase. There are no shots of Fletch falling down, no acting like an idiot, no Doctor Rosenpenis. The I.M. Fletchter of the book is a much darker character, a Vietnam vet who treats people like crap and throws cats out of seven story windows if the mood strikes him. He also shares a sleeping bag with a fifteen year old junkie on the beach.

Like the movie, the book is full of quotable dialogue. I eventually quit highlighting things and just tore through the book. It's very readable and probably 75% dialogue. It tipped to what was going on in both plot threads but I wasn't very far ahead of Fletch. I enjoyed it while I was reading it but not enough to grab another book in the series. Hell, the ending makes it seem like there shouldn't be any more books. I imagine McDonald caved to pressure to write more, though.

Fletch is a lot darker than the movie version but still an enjoyable read. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Peiman E iran · Rating 4 out of 5]

‎دوستانِ گرانقدر، این داستانِ جنایی و معمایی، از 39 فصل و 248 صفحه تشکیل شده است
‎داستان از این قرار است که مردی به نامِ <فلچ> یا همان <فله چر> که نویسندهٔ هنری و محققِ آثار و نقاشی ها و تابلوهایِ هنری میباشد و در شهرِ رُم ایتالیا زندگی میکند، طی یک مبادله و معاوضه منزلش را با شخصی به نامِ <کانرز> در شهرِ بوستونِ آمریکا عوض میکند، بدونِ آنکه یکدیگر را دیده باشند و یا بشناسند
‎خلاصه آنکه <فلچ> با پرواز، خود را به بوستون رسانده و پس از وارد شدن به خانه، تصمیم میگیرد برایِ خوردنِ ناهار به رستوران رود... زمانی که به منزل بازمیگردد، چشمانش به جنازهٔ دخترِ لخت شده ای در بخشِ پذیراییِ منزلش می افتد، بنابراین با پلیس تماس گرفته و موضوع را اطلاع میدهد
‎مأمورِ رسیدگی به این پرونده، بازرس <فلاین> نام دارد... قتلِ به گردنِ <فلچ> افتاده است... حال <فلچ> باید ثابت کند که بیگناه است و برایِ اینکار خودش شروع به تحقیق و گشتن به دنبالِ قاتل میکند و بازرس نیز باید هرچه در توان دارد بگذارد تا این پرونده را حل کند
‎آیا کسی برایِ <فلچ> پاپوش درست کرده است!؟ و یا موضوعِ دیگری در میان است؟
‎عزیزانم، بهتر است خودتان این داستان را بخوانید و از سرانجامِ آن آگاه شوید
----------------------------------------------
‎امیدوارم این ریویو، در جهتِ شناختِ این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
‎<پیروز باشید و ایرانی>

[Clint Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever met someone whose sense of humour is funny, but also deserving of a punch in the face? Then you've met Fletch! His off-colour comments and sarcastic wit make for an amusing read. I personally enjoy people who are like Fletch. George Carlin might have squirmed hearing some of the verbally offensive jousting I do with my friends.

The book begins in full throttle, driving you right into the plot, and engaging you in the mystery of Fletch's situation. There are two stories chugging down the tracks at the same time, both expertly colliding together for the ending.

The prose . . . well there isn't much prose to speak of, actually, as the book reads more like a screenplay without camera angles. This could easily be a turn-off if not for McDonald's flair for dialogue. Every character's voice is so distinct that you don't really need to know who has blond hair until the end. And reading something that sounds like it has been transcribed from a tape recorder adds to the verisimilitude of this particular tale.

I've said before that I will generously round up my stars for a book if I had a blast reading it. This is one of those reads. 5 stars.

[Cathy DuPont · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Friends:

I read 141 books last year, however, regretfully, I did not meet my challenge. Thus far this year, I've read nine books including this book, Fletch, published in 1974.

Out of all those books, this might be the most entertaining of them all.

It had the elements I enjoy so much in reading books: a mystery; great character development; a very likable protag who has a multitude of personal issues particularly two ex-wives who he owes alimony; a respected investigative journalist who is 'bulldog' tough and doesn't let go of a great story; lousey publishers who call the shots however know little to nothing about journalism; and last but not least, humor; light humor but nevertheless, it was just plain funny in parts.

Fletch has been on my shelf for years and I never thought about picking it up and reading it but I just got tired of looking at the much worn paperback cover, so wanted to read it, get it out of my house to replace with a better read. (Silly me, little did I know.) When I looked at it more closely, I noticed it was an Edgar Award Winner.

The Edgars are given yearly to mysteries and like those, including my friend Will Byrnes who watches all the Oscar nominees, I try to read as many Edgar nominees and winners as possible.

Terrible that I have passed this book up for so many years but very happy today that I read it because it was a wild ride with Fletch, one character I will not forget for a long time.

As an aside, a movie was made from the book starring Chevy Chase as Fletch. Great casting because I can see Chase as Fletch which should give my friends an idea of the humor I mentioned above.

Good reading, everyone, and pick this one up next time you see it; it was worthy of the Edgar Award, the Oscar in mystery books.

Cathy

[Ben Loory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange book. I don't think it's worn well. It's tightly plotted, the dialogue's fun, and it moves right along, but it's one of those books where the main character is just untouchable, you know he can never be beaten, ever, at anything, in any way, he's always right, always, about everything, always, and along the way he's going to put everyone else in their place, especially the women, the pesky women. And he does!

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of people whom I respect seem to like this book. I was pretty bored with it though.

I think the character of Fletch had potential but there were some aspects of his character (like him throwing his girlfriend's cat out a 7-story window) that I could tell were the author's intention of making the character endearing to the reader but that instead made me dislike him. Maybe I'm just of a different generation but I don't think that was funny. I get it. He's sardonic and cynical with the DGAF attitude but there are other ways to illustrate his dominance and masculinity other than making him cruel to animals.

Or maybe it was to illustrate that Fletch hated cats/wasn't a cat person. FINE. I get it. But again, making him throw one out a 7-story window is unnecessary.

Now, I tried to ignore and dismiss that gaffe altogether but I just couldn't like the character. He called his boss a 'stupid bitch' to her face, fine. Maybe she was. But I felt like the author didn't write her character thoroughly enough to demonstrate said status of 'stupid bitch'. I felt like the author was going for shock humor but to me it just came across as weird and uncomfortable. Again, maybe I'm just of a different generation and don't understand the humor.

And the shacking up with a 15 year old. Seriously?! That could only be funny to a man who has no knowledge or empathy toward girls who have suffered abuse as children. I wonder if Gregory McDonald has matured emotionally since writing this book.

I did, however, like the murder-for-hire mystery/investigation story line (even if it was a little slow-paced). I liked how he talked into the tape recorder and figured things out. His process with solving the case was interesting.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this and seeing the film with Chevy Chase. However, it was so long ago that I don't remember much else.

[Nefeli · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5⭐️
I honestly had pretty low expectations going into this,but it was a surprisingly fun,entertaining read!

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Fletch" is a quick read and completely satisfying as a mystery. Gregory Mcdonald skillfully juggles the novel's multiple plots and threads the two main ones together at the end without straining credulity. Even 35 years after its publication, "Fletch" still feels original: its main character is a newspaper reporter rather than the typical cop or private investigator, and the book never loses its sense of fun, a quality so often lacking in detective novels. Mcdonald's writing style is suitably terse for a story about a reporter, and Irwin Fletcher's own writing within the book is exactly right for newspapers of the time. Few if any of the book's words are wasted.

It's a bit disappointing to know that "Fletch" is the first in a series. The book is so complete and ends so perfectly that I almost don't want to know how Mcdonald manages to bring Irwin Fletcher back in the first sequel. I've read that the sequels provide diminishing returns, and don't find that surprising given what a fantastic job Mcdonald did with the first book.

So why four stars instead of five? Mostly because "Fletch" doesn't possess those extra qualities that make it rise beyond being a genre novel, such as the wonderful metaphors and moral weight that make Chandler's "The Big Sleep" and "Farewell, My Lovely" five-star books for me. Nevertheless, "Fletch" is about as good as a detective book can be without also being something more, and that's still pretty damned good.

By the way, I can't really compare the book to the 1985 Chevy Chase movie. I saw it when it first came out and maybe again a couple years after that, but don't remember it that well. I do recall it being goofier and more of a straightforward comedy than the book is.

[Marty Fried · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty enjoyable read, and an interesting story. I don't believe I ever saw the movie, yet I still thought of Chevy Chase as Fletch - possibly partially due to the audiobook's narrator, Grover Gardner, who may have sounded a bit like him. Or, maybe that was just my imagination and it's because I knew Chevy Chase played the character. In any case, I can easily imagine Chevy Chase as Fletch, who is good at being a bit goofy while acting totally serious. He's very good at making up stories in order to get information, even to the point of making someone believe they knew each other, and remembering their time together even though they never met. He uses this talent successfully in his job as a reporter, and can get bits of information until he finally comes up with the whole story. In this book, it seems as if he might be the only one to know this story in its entirety.

It was an interesting story with lots of seemingly unrelated people and events that come together in the end.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

So first, it is impossible for me not to picture Chevy Chase the entire time I’m reading (listening). However, seriously Fletch? You bend the law and you’re kind of a dog!! This was a very entertaining tale. And it is obviously set in a different era. It would be very hard to get away with his behavior now, I think, but it was also kind of refreshing after all the politically correct jargon and crazy attacks of racism that sometimes are not at all warranted. Don’t throw things at me please. This is my opinion and this was my era of growing up. It just feels like home. But I still think he is a dog! 🤨

[Ben A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a diehard fan of the film and always think of this as a Fletch of two worlds situation where the basic story is the same but told in two incredibly different ways and the book Fletch is a dick and doesn’t have the charm of Chevy Chase.

[Gary K Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Can I borrow your towel for a sec... my car just hit a water buffalo”

one of a number of memorable lines from the 1985 movie Fletch... that was NOT in the book 😀 I had watched the movie Fletch (with Chevy Chase) and it's sequel Fletch Lives many times in my youth... and had most of the lines ingrained in my mind. It's funny that it took me 30 years to figure out that the character and stories were not screenplays, but based on a series of books by Gregory McDonald. And not just a few books – there were eleven in all. The first of the series as from 1974... so eleven years before being made into a film. So I was looking for a short read to fill a gap before I started my annual October 'month of horror' books and this seemed like a good fit. At under 200 pages and with material I expected to be at least somewhat familiar with (for all I knew they could have deviated from book to screen wildly) it seemed like a good fit.

So I already mentioned that some of the memorable lines from the movie were missing. So did they filmmakers go rogue and drift off the story a great deal? Not really. I thought they surprisingly stuck with the main formula pretty well. The main character... I. M. Fletcher “Fletch” is pretty much like Chevy Chase portrays him in the film. He is very snarky, arrogant, quite clever, and very good at his job - which is an investigative reporter - for a newspaper (what are those 😀) I checked on the dates – in the book Fletch was supposed to be 29 – Chevy at the time it was released was 42 so he was a bit older.

What about differences in the character? I actually think Book Fletch was more snarky than Film Fletch. Both relied on disguises, but Film Fletch did more to change his appearance (to play on Chevy's gift for slapstick) whereas Book Fletch usually just misrepresented himself and assumed different personas to gather info – not as many disguises (except on the beach). I think book Fletch was more of a womanizer (if you can believe that) – they toned that down a bit for the movie.

What about differences in the plot? Like I was saying – I was surprised about how much the story followed the book. There were character differences... Book Fletch's editor was named Clara. He was actually kind of mean to her. She reported up to Frank who was basically both of their's boss. In the movie they morphed Clara/Frank into a character named Larry (played by Geena Davis). Movie Fletch was a lot nicer to Larry than Book Fletch was to Clara. I'm pretty sure Fletch couldn't cut it in today's society... he would constantly have to go to EEO training and getting fired. Aside from that... there's still an Alan & Gail Stanwyk, a Fat Sam, Creasy, Gummy, and police chief Karlin. What about Mr Underhill? The guy Chevy charged all those amenities to? In the book he was Mr. Underwood. It's funny the things they change in movies.

[plot – ctd] The main story involves Fletch's unusual proposition from Alan Stanwyk. There also is a parallel side story of following a story on 'drugs on the beach'. The book was a lot darker in spots... the movie focusing on the comedy aspects. There was also a side story in Utah – and the ending was a lot different.

So did I enjoy it. I really did. I like books that surprise me so I don't like knowing much going in. For me anyway this didn't follow that rule at all. I knew pretty much how things would play out – and yet I still found it entertaining. Given that there are eleven in the series – and they all seem to be short reads – I think I will continue with the series. I suspect the others will surprise me.

As an aside – I plan to try out 'Confess Fletch' fairly soon. I want to check out the Jon Hamm version of Fletch and this time I'm going to do so in the correct order... book first – then movie. 😀

[Genine Franklin-Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lone man in my book club likes only very dry factual (NO speculation) history ... or so I thought. It turns out that he likes mysteries, so I asked him to recommend a few, hoping we could find some common ground. (I really like him, and his partner, Sylvia.) This was the first book he recommended. I did enjoy it; it was light, amusing. I'm surprised, as it wasn't at all what I expected him to like. I love finding layers of people that are surprising.

[Karen M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly, I admit, I had seen the Fletch movie years ago and I kept picturing Chevy Chase every time a female seemed interested in Fletch. Mr. Chase is not my idea of an attractive, blond, nicely put together, twenty-eight year old news-reporter who is willing to risk his life for a story but I did temporarily erase his image in my mind during all the other scenes in the book, thank goodness!

I simply enjoyed this book. I like the quick-thinking, fast talking, chasing down a story and avoiding being arrest for non-payment of spousal support guy. Why? Well, he’s clever, sometimes too clever for his own good and definitely clever enough to pull off some information gathering via a few well chose lies and misrepresentations. He is likeable and you keep wondering how he is going to pull all these events together that are either happening to him or he is trying to investigate and survive. Murder, drugs, bronze star, lots of lies, the beach, police, 3 million dollars, junkies, dealers if that doesn’t deserve an ‘oh my’ I don’t know what does. LOL

This is a quick moving story with lots of bits and pieces and it’s just plain enjoyment.

I won this book in a First Reads giveaway. Thank you to Black Stone Publishing.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently caught the classic Chevy Chase movie version of "Fletch" on cable, which served to remind me that I'd never actually read the original source material.

So, I rushed off to my local library and checked out "Fletch."

The novel itself is pretty much the same basic plot as the film, though there are some differences.

The big difference is how dialogue driven the novel is. Gregory Macdonald tells the story with minimal descriptive paragraphs and instead allows the reader to discover things through the use of various conversations taking place between Irwin Fletcher and whomever he's talking to. For the most part it works fairly well. Macdonald has a good ear for dialogue and most of the conversations have echoes of the wit of Fletch. (It's hard to read and not hear Chevy Chase delivering Fletch's dialogue).

The story unfolds well enough and the central mystery is an intriguing one. I can see why the series has been so popular and well remembered by fans. I can also see why there's a passion for more big-screen exploits by Fletch himself.

I may have to look for more of this series in 2010.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Fletch, Gregory McDonald follows a basic setup of many pulp detective novels. There's a well-heeled client who wants to hire detective, but the job is odd. It's suspicious and little by little the detective it's together what's going on. Only here instead of a detective, McDonald gives us an irreverent hotshot reporter living like a hippie bum on the Beach with the runaways and drug addicts trying to put together a story working undercover. And the client thinks Fletch is a drifter like the other losers and addicts scattered across the sand. You may not think this is noir at first, but it's all there just waiting to be unraveled.

[Danielle McClellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this one: on the one hand it is dated, unsparingly sexist, and downright nasty-mean in places. Of course, it was written in the early 1970s so it partially reflects its time--what then may have read as edgy and devil-may-care now reads only as exploitative and honestly somewhat horrifying.

That said, and for sure that is a major caveat, it is also a genre novel with a terrific structure and a galloping, well-executed plot that pulls the reader through (if she can ignore the glaring misogyny). I listened to the audible version (I have not seen either of the movie versions) and found myself engaged throughout and satisfied with the ending (within, of course, the context of the skewed world of the novel) . 2.5 (1 for the sexism, but 3.5 for that plot).

I forgot to note that the audible narrator is very good!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eminently enjoyable, once you get a feel for the patter of the tale. It's decidedly an early '70s book.
If you've seen the film, bleach it from your mind.
If you haven't, better for you.
Nothing says poor casting for a slim, blonde, tanned, beach-bum 29 year old ex-Marine war hero and current investigative reporter with a glib tongue and a knack with the ladies like pasty, paunchy, balding, goofy, 42 year old Chevy Chase.
I'll be tearing through other volumes soon, and hope they hold up to the first.

[Hobart · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an outstanding read. Funny, satirical, with a lot of heart, crackling dialogue...oh yeah, and a pretty solid mystery.

It has none of the goofiness, and better plotting than the Chase flick (which I really do enjoy as its own entity)

The first--and possibly best--of a great series. Worth reading again and again.

[Stewart Sternberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun read. Fletch, the morally challenged journalist who may have a personality disorder investigates Alan Stanwyck, who has hired him to murder...Alan Stanwyck.

Fast paced. Great dialog. Ingenious plotting and execution.

[Marc Wisner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the rare instance where the movie is better than the book

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is rated one of the top 100 mysteries of all time by the Crime Writers of America. I can see why. It is clean, concise, clever, and funny. A gem of a book.

[Asghar Abbas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unscrupulous hero, very funny. Really really loved this book.

Someone needs to remake its movie now. Right now.

[Hobart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I re-read the paperback of this a few years ago (with intentions of reading the whole series again, which never went anywhere), before this blog started -- for some reason (probably brevity), I didn't repost what I put on Goodreads here. Until now.

What an outstanding read. Funny, satirical, with a lot of heart, crackling dialogue...oh yeah, and a pretty solid mystery.

It has none of the goofiness, and better plotting than the Chase flick (which I really do enjoy as its own entity)

The first--and possibly best--of a great series. Worth reading again and again.

Yeah, that's all that I wrote. Who knew I could be so non-rambling? Anyway, I really don't have much more to say about this one (other books in the series, probably).

Why do I bring this up? Well, Blackstone Audio started releasing new audiobook versions of the series last year. I've listened to Fletch and it was really, really good.

Dan John Miller does a bang-up job with the narration. I've read every book in the series multiple times -- some of them several. I'm going to give a conservative estimate of 15 reads of Fletch before the audiobook. I know each sentence, I know how these people should sound, I've "heard" them more times than I can remember and there was little chance that some new voice in my head was going to be able to compete. And Miller did pretty good -- I don't agree with every choice he made, but I liked almost everything he did.

That may seem like faint praise, but think of it as never knowing that Darrin Stevens had ever been portrayed by anyone but Dick York, you'd watched York's 170 episodes a handful of times and then one day you stumble onto a one of Dick Sargent's 80 episodes. You instantly react, "hey, that's not Darrin!" and then by the end of the episode, you've accepted him. That's a fairly tortured analogy, but it's the best I can do.

I'll be honest, I'm a little worried about Miller's take on Francis Xavier Flynn ruining my appreciation for him, but once we're past that, I think he'll win me over again (and who know, I might tolerate it).

If you've never read a Gregory MacDonald Fletch novel -- trust me, they're better than the movies. They're a dynamite series -- and seem to be in very capable hands with Miller's narration, which would be a great way to meet I. M. (Irwin Maurice) Fletcher, your favorite investigative journalist.

Thanks to Brian at Brian's Book Blog for exposing me to the audiobooks -- I owe ya one!

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful, nostalgic romp of a novel, starring - who else - the undaunted Fletch!

[J. Griff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This acidly funny first book starring the subversive sleuth in one of the most successful mystery series of all time. Fletch is an investigative reporter whose methods are a little unorthodox. Currently he's living on the beach. He's taking more than a little flak from his editor. She doesn't appreciate his style. Or the expense account items he's racking up. Or his definition of the word "deadline". Or the divorce lawyers who keep showing up at the office. So when multimillionaire Alan Stanwyk offers Fletch the job of a lifetime, which could be worth a fortune, he's intrigued and decides to do a little investigation. What he discovers is that the proposition is anything but what it seems.

I loved the Chevy Chase movie "Fletch" when I was a kid, at the time I was 12yrs old in 1985. I had no clue it was based on this book. While both are similar in plot I think I liked the novel better than the movie. Keeping in mind that this book was originally written in 1974, so there are things in this book that wouldn't necessarily be socially acceptable today. Fletch is an amazing investigative reporter & a little sleazy in certain areas of his life. Very much like in the movie he takes on a variety of identities to get to the bottom of Stanwyk's proposal, but unlike the movie it's done mostly on the phone. The ending is also different, but I enjoyed the books ending better than the "Hollywood" ending.

[Lane Hokanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so from a dashing news reporter/detective standpoint, this is a delightful read.
The dialogue is witty, the characters charming, and you really get the fun of double-talking Fletch.

However, this was very clearly written in the 70s, which means that the titular character spends a significant portion of the beginning chapters calling a coworker a bitch to her face, and includes a fair amount of misogyny and insensitivity.

[Justin Gerber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brash. Clever. Sexist. Funny. Dated.

Kind of brilliant?

No, not Chevy Chase. This book!