![]() It’s consistent with some of his behaviour, but it would have been nice to see him wrestle with it. It should challenge Archy’s sense of morality, but he blithely brushes it off. And third, a giant “surprise” at the end is just simply odd. Secondly, there’s an odd love triangle in the middle with very little to argue for the supposed outcome they all agree is the reality. ![]() Or talking to the people to see if they have any insights, but nada. ![]() There’s a red herring early on, yet nobody seems to follow up on it hardly. And we get to meet his on-again / off-again paramour, Consuela in addition to the client’s self-absorbed children and a gay family friend. Most of the sub-characters are decent, if not extensively developed. Many people COULD have stolen the stamps, we see a red herring or two plus lots of little sub-stories to confuse the narrative. What I LikedĪrchy is a great character, and I love his interactions with the various members of high society or their associated entourages. One of their clients has been robbed, but she doesn’t want everyone to know. ![]() Archy is the one-man investigations unit in his father’s law firm, handling discreet investigations for Palm Beach’s wealthy locals. A workmanlike crime story, which is why two stars rather than one, but it's not my Archie.The book is the first in the Archy McNally series. The character started to change in the first Lardo book, but the change has gone further in this effort. He is much less interested in clothes and food that has been his wont, and seems to me much harder edged about people, life, and just about everything. The Palm Beach sleuth tries to find a thiefand a killeramong a rich, eccentric family, in this New York Times bestseller. That is, he does silly things, like getting involved in amateur theatricals, but he isn't eccentric, and he isn't daft. The core of the series is Archie's character, and in this book - while he is still superficially silly - he isn't ineffably silly. I do not find the post-Sanders books at all an acceptable substitute, and this is the last of the series that I shall read. Archy is the Son in the law firm McNally and Son, Attorney. He is the protagonist of thirteen novels, seven by Sanders and six by Vincent Lardo, who took over the series following Sanders death in 1998. Sanders, of course, created the series but died the year after the publication of "McNally's Gamble", number seven. As an investigator for his fathers Palm Beach law firm, Archy McNally has discreetly handled scores of unusual cases for the firms upscale clientele. Archibald 'Archy' McNally is a fictional character created by bestselling novelist Lawrence Sanders. Many readers seem to find the Archie books written by Vincent Lardo just as good as the ones written by Lawrence Sanders. Tastes differ, even in matters as frivolous as an Archie McNally mystery, and the reviews of this book show that clearly. A list of English-language dramas and comedies that warned of the dangers of fascism, primarily regarding the rise of Nazis in Germany or Northern America (but not limited to just Nazis). In a play filled with murders, only Archy can separate the actors from the genuine article, and bring down the curtain on the latest and most enjoyable of McNally's follies. When an actor takes a sip of prop wine and drops dead, the Palm Beach police suddenly take a special interest in the local theater scene. Beneath the glaring sun of Palm Beach - and behind the lowest crimes of high society - he is paid to keep family skeletons in the closet. Archy McNally is a freewheeling playboy who specializes in 'Discreet Inquiries' for the rich and not-so-discreet. While resident grande dame Lady Cynthia Horowitz wants a little of the spotlight to fall on her latest live-in hunk, Buzz Carr, she has no intention of letting Buzz rehearse all day with the actress, who, like Lady C, has made marriage a cottage industry.įor poor Archy, there's more drama backstage than onstage, and plenty of confusion everywhere, especially with the fuzzy-headed Binky Watrous serving as stage manager. 4,421 ratings280 reviews Sex, lies, blackmail. After all, Hollywood legend Desdemona Darling will lend her considerable talents to the production. When the Palm Beach Community Theater needs a director for its Production of Arsenic and Old Lace, Archy tosses his megaphone into the ring. South Florida's premiere sleuth-about-town strikes again - in a deliciously daffy caper that takes a decidedly deadly turn.
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