Customer Reviews (3)

Quick, easy reading
If you enjoy suspense mixed with a bit of humor, you will enjoy this compilation & its main character, McNally. These books are fun & easy to read. Recommend it for when you are seeking something not so heavy, but still want to be captivated & on your toes.

Entertaining detective fiction
This is a reprint of the first three books in the Archic McNally series when the characters were still fresh.The characters wear a bit thin in some later books of the series.The main player is Archie McNally, amodern day Bertie Wooster, who carries out investigations for his father'sPalm Beach law firm when he is not chasing women or hanging out at thePelican Club.He has a taste for fine dining and fashionable clothes (butdoes not wear socks), and dashes about in his red Miata, mixing pleasurewith work.His investigations bring him into contact with a broad spectrumof society, from the successful to the dysfunctional, old money, new money,and working stiffs.The plots and the various characters are welldeveloped.

This book was full of suspense and kept me interested.
I was impressed with Lawrence Sander's tale "McNally's Risk".I found it to be a veryfun, easy book to read.The story flowed throughout keeping my curiousity at its peak. I couldn't put it down until Ifinished it - which only took one day!I am looking forward to reading theother books in this series.I recommend this highly as fun, leisurelyreading. ... Read more

Book Description
The engaging new mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of McNally's Caper!

Death is an ugly business.

As an investigator for his father's Palm Beach law firm, Archy McNally has discreetly handled scores of unusual cases for the firm's upscale clientele. But when Sunny Fogarty, the attractive comptroller for Whitcomb Funeral Homes, approaches McNally & Son to investigate an unexplained rise in her company's fortunes, Archy soon finds himself conducting a most peculiar investigation.

It seems that an inordinate amount of the dead bodies handled by the Whitcomb homes are being shipped north for burial. As Archy searches for an explanation, he is sucked into the Whitcomb family's internal power struggles while his relationship with Sunny takes on new steamy dimensions. Confronted on all sides by characters with questionable motives, Archy smells a connection to the seedy side of Palm Beach society, and he must unravel the mystery before the pile of corpses grows any higher.

With a colorful cast of characters and scintillating plot twists, McNally's Trial is another rollicking ride from the master of suspense. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

book review
This was the only McNalley book I hadn't read. I was luckey to find a used copy on Amazon. Thanks!

Trial With Style.Tuxedo on a Moonlit Beach. A Beacon to The Art of Film.
In this 5th offering in the original 7 McNally novels, Lawrence Sanders did not entre nous with a deuce of sexual objects entwined in ecstasy (one of whom, or of which, would be Archy); nor did he entre nous with Peaches' cat vomit on Archy's lavender suede shoe; nor did he open Archy's saga with an angry slap on his cheek (face, not rear) from a future sexual success.For his reader partner, Sanders opened this tale, with Archy as narrator, thus(ly):

>> It has been said that no good deed goes unpunished, and I can vouch for it.The donee of my act of charity was Binky Watrous, a close pal of mine and a complete doofus who once, deranged by strong drink, brushed his teeth with anchovy paste. <<

Binky's parents were lost at sea when he was a tot and he was raised by:

>> ... a wealthy maiden aunt, one of the grandest of grande dames of Palm Beach... imposing, haughty, and rather frightening.Her customary greeting was not, "How are you?" but "You're not looking well." <<

Archy's voice could crack through the noire-est night of private-eye-lore with jokes trailing dictionaries. He continued his opening (having stolen the pen from Sanders):

>> I can't remember the date of the battle of Actium, but I have almost total recall when it comes to splendid meals I have enjoyed .... The main ingredients were chunks of smoked chubs enlivened with slices of fennel sausage, and ... <<

As usual, I enjoyed Archy's asides to the reader:

>> Also my journal is a source book for the narratives I pen and ensures accuracy.You didn't think I was making up all this stuff, did you?<<

This appears to be a perfect perspective for a novelist, on death and funerals:

>> I hope you will not ... consider our investigations somewhat macabre.Of course I do not know your attitude toward death and dying.I do know that for many years mine was abject terror.But then one day at the funeral of a good friend I recalled Aristotle's classic dictum: "A whole is that which has beginning, middle, and end."It is true for a whole life, is it not? That realization has been a great comfort to me, and I hope it will be to you as well. <<

Regarding TRIAL's focus on a client of a family-owned-funeral home, a few interesting tidbits on that industry were interspersed delicately throughout the plot, with this about practices of shipping bodies:

>> I reckon that almost every airliner departing from south Florida carried at least one corpse in the cargo bay. <<

In a typical entry in the plot about Archy's daily bread (regular repasts), note the parenthesis in the below quoted passage:

>> ... lunch at a greasery that served french fries limp enough to be bent double .... After a ravishing dinner of baked scallops (with braised endives) and a dessert of bread pudding with sabayon sauce, I went upstairs and worked for an hour bringing entries in my journal up to date. <<

In TRIAL I noticed that in Archy's mentions of a meal, the details began to be placed wholly between a decreasing space of parenthetical marks.It felt as if he were compelled to insert those sensual appeals, yet had been editorially reprimanded about too much, too frequent interjection of meals and changes of attire.It is reported that Sanders received reader criticism about this repetition of rapture of Archy's sensual, pleasure-greedy nature.

I say to that impatient criticism, "How rude!"I might add, "Get a tongue ... or a cheek ... or a piece of rare beef!"

That regular appeal to an artistic sensuality (culinary, clothing-ary, or whatever) is the meat of this series.Given the fickle nature of criticism, if Archy had succumbed to the complaint and totally misplaced the mangia munches, the editorial approach would have reversed to demands to expand the parenthetical's into long paragraph-ical's, and to remove the enclosure marks.The vernacular of that reader request would probably have been a snarl by an elderly matron, "WHERE'S the BEEF!"

Archy seamed these sentiments successfully here:

>> If a whole life really does consist of beginning, middle, and end, I wanted my middle to be as pleasurable as possible.We are all hedonists, but I'm one of the few who will admit it. <<

Yes.Bravo!And, look what Archy accomplishes in each novel in this series!That's a very busy hedonist.In fact, what Archy dramatizes succinctly is how hedonism (which is most often overdone to the point of vomit inducement) done right can enhance both life and productivity.

Okay.Now I'm getting to the point of my analysis of how Archy became such an intimate friend with his readers, that he did not slip into the grave to sleep eternal when his author did so.Allow me to quote the P.S. from my recent review of McNally's RISK, posted 7/28/06:

>> I have one more key to share about what I see as the treasures sought and received in the McNally series. I hope to be able to do justice to that in my review of TRIAL.It involves the sanctity and sacred value of cherished daily routines.It's one of the prime answers I come to whenever I ask myself the "What's it all about" questions.The answer is so beautifully simple it's nearly invisibly woven into the texture of living tapestry.The answer clears the fog as Life's final chapter begins its walk and the walker is too tired to tangle with adventure.Lawrence Sanders did this with his McNally family.It's his legacy. <<

Now I'm ready to expand on that concept about the sanctity of daily routines being one of the ultimate gifts people seem to treasure when they're close to passing ("close" can actually mean a few years prior to the exit)...

When I was younger, and still thinking "life" was meant (mostly) for (and it is, but there's more) movement, creativity, productivity, exploration, experimentation, growth, learning, new experiences, etc., I would sometimes look at older, sedentary people whom I loved, and wonder what they got out of life, since all they seemed to do was ...

I started wondering ...

Exactly what did they do each day that might make them want to still be in this life?

Each pushing the 90's decade in life, they had already given a great amount of good to a quality number of family, friends, and causes; they didn't have residual needs to push projects, climb mountains, write novels (like I'll be doing until I'm 195), or to continue "save the world" pursuits from their dues-paid, natural, ready-to-rest, conditions and conclusions.

All I could see that they did was that they got up in the morning, brewed and sipped coffee, read the paper, scuttled through a few household chores, ate lunch, maybe took a nap or blobbed out in front of the TV, cooked and slurped supper, cleaned up the mess, watched some more TV, then slipped into bed, usually a single. The next day would be the same. It was ... just ... daily ... or regular ... routines.

Each week, as I noted in a story I wrote about my Aunt Annie, she and her sister Mary, and brother-in-law, Hoagie, had set up a cherished routine for Saturday afternoons to "hit" 3 markets on a route for stocking cupboard and refrigerator; then they'd go out to dinner.They took turns picking the restaurant.

(Note about shopping routines:Amazon now sells groceries, TOO! Gotta go check out their coffee collection!Wonder when Amazon will be delivering a gourmet restaurant to my door?)

Suddenly, I realized that those daily and weekly routines WERE a baseline of life, in a sense for all of us, young or old, healthy or ill. Even the most adventurous, active, productive, creative persons probably cherish most (maybe secretly) their daily routines (and meals!), especially the morning and evening ones.Maybe they cherish those repeated events even more than the grandest vacations or adventures.

It was through my observation of Annie, Mary, and Hoagie's retired lives which I suddenly saw the sanctity of and satisfaction in (a simple yet almost sacred satisfaction) daily repetitions of cherished acts or events.

And there's more to that "story."There's the art about what daily routines have to do with development of intimacy, a quality which Archy seemed to be seeking not only with most women he met, but through food, drink, and all his "guilty pleasures."I believe that true intimacy, in romance or friendship, is not accomplished by seamless sexuality; it is accomplished by the simple sharing (either through a reality walk or talking the talk, as in "communication") of those daily repeated, daily-routines.

"What did you have for lunch, old friend?What time did you go to bed?"

When we ask those types of (personal) questions of a friend or lover-at-a-distance, are we are doing bonding of the first water?I say absolutely, yes.

Should we wonder why Archy became such an intimate friend to his readers that most of them slipped easily beyond Sanders' demise into Lardos' eyes?

All right. Now we're ready to address the concluding chapters in TRIAL, which do not quite repeat the other 7 offerings in extent of intensity of culprit capture by action, adventure, surged danger, and fast-paced, fancy-footwork.

The final pages of this novel were rather quiet, sensual, and simply, poetically, elegant.What I note here about that will not spoil the ending. I will not give away salient details. I will, I hope, set the bait for you to be compelled to read McNally's TRIAL.

Yes, Sanders provided the usual intrigue and mystery machinations in which a new and interesting FBI agent (a fascinating character study of obsession) took over the show and engineered a coup-in-chaos, all done at a distance.

And, THEN, after the broken bodies and pasty pieces were tagged, bagged, and swept away...

Archy and Connie dressed to-the-nines.He even wore black patent leathers cushioned with class by knee-high socks, and she was a "vanilla popsicle" in long-white-silk.In those unlikely get-ups the couple made a grand entrance at the Pelican Club (you'll want to join them to see how they were received).A drool-dripping culinary delight ensued, of "pot roast with a fresh horseradish sauce so good it made one weep..." Following that dishy dining experience, the romantic duo sipped hissing champagne as they strolled bare-toed on the moonlit sand behind the McNally manse.

The way Sanders painted that scene would make an artistic film-maker itch, to a point-of-hives, into a compulsion-to-capture, if he could, the simple, elegant ambiance of that closing scene.I'd love to see that movie.Humphry Bogart's, "Here's to you, baby," would have to take (be shipped out on) a back seat in his plane ride to (from?) Casablanca.

So ...

Was Binky Archy's TRIAL?Or did the gauntlet-run have to do with details of death, funerals, and shipping caskets marked "Human Remains" ...

You be the (reader) judge.

Even your Final Chapter might elicit a smile, after you've drooled through your Daily Breads for days-upon-days, and are ready to fly.

Go, Caterpillars!Your dreams are of wings.
Linda Shelnutt

Throw the Binky away
Perhaps it's because I haven't been in a good mood lately, but this book wasn't up to the McNally series standard.New sidekick Binky Wautrous is annoying and incompetant.Please get rid of him Mr Sanders.The story never engaged me completely either.Who cares about some smuggling shenanigans involving funeral homes?

A laid-back detective
When you think of a fictional detective, you normally picture a hard-boiled man or woman, who carries a gun, lurks under windows with a pair of binoculars, and has three or four fistfights each week. In McNally's Trial, Lawrence Sanders gives us a different picture.

The hero of this series is Archibald McNally, the son of a successful Palm Beach attorney. Archy (as his friends call him) is less than successful himself. He made it through law school, all right, but he was kicked out for streaking naked across the stage during a performance of the New York Philharmonic. His father gave him a office known as "Archy's Locker" due to its rather small size and now uses him as an unofficial investigator whenever the firm has need of such services.

He carries no gun, for he abhors violence. He doesn't spend time outside windows, for he would rather be eating a good meal. But he does have one of the characteristics of detective fiction: He is constantly in the arms of a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, his own true love, Constance Garcia, has an excellent spy network herself, and he always regrets these rather
painful affairs!

His involvement in this case begins when beautiful Sunny Fogarty, the financial manager of the Whitcomb Funeral Home, comes by to ask Archy's father to find out why her employer is suddenly making so much money, in particular why they are shipping so many caskets to New York, Boston, and Chicago.

To complicate matters, Archy's favorite air headed bum, Binky Watrous wants to help. He knows nothing about detecting, other than it sounds like fun, and he's totally incompetent; but Archy doesn't want to hurt his feelings.

As the two investigate, they run into a number of nasty characters, men who just don't fit the upperclass social image of the Whitcombs. How are they involved? Then they discover that Whitcomb's son and daughter-in-law seem to be involved with the gangster types. Luckily Mitzi seems to be infatuated with Binky (though Archy can think of no reason why any woman would find him attractive) and may be a source of information-or is it disinformation?

After a few murders Archy has the solution. But will he live long enough to reveal what he has found to his father? And will another innocent person have to die as well?

This isn't great literature, but it's a great beach book.

It's a Hardy Boys For Gownups!
I have read three of the "McNally Series" and enjoyed them tremendously. Take them for what they are - a good fun read. Don't expect to be enlightened (although your vocabulary might improve) shocked ordeeply engrossed in a serious puzzel. Unashamedly, the plots are as thin asa Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mystery but with a healthy dose of Bertie Woosterstyle. That is half their fun.

So do yourself a favour this summer. Findyourself a beautiful sun drenched beach (with lots of pretty girls inbikinies - Archy would approve) bring a few imported beers (or if your inthe right mood - a fine bottle of chilled crisp white wine or maybe athermos of exotic cocktails) sit back and enjoy. Oh also bring some food -after reading about the wonderful meals you will be hungry.

I lookforward to finding my next "McNally" in my far from homebookstore. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

3 Great Novels in 1 Book
This is a great collection of the first three McNally investigations in one nice, inexpensive edition.Please disregard the one star review below.They are just bitter because they didn't do the proper investigation into this book before purchasing it.Archy McNally would be ashamed.Buy this.Read this.Enjoy this.I known you will.

MCNALLY'S"TRICKSTER"...
I APPARENTLY DID NOT READ THE DESCRIPTION OF THIS BOOK AS WELL AS I SHOULD
HAVE.SHAME ON ME.I HAVE ALL OF THE MCNALLY BOOKS AND WHEN I SAW THIS
TITLE THOUGHT...."UMMM,I DON'T HAVE THAT ONE ON MY LIST??"WHEN I
RECEIVED IT, I WAS SURPRISED THAT IT WAS A COMPILATION OF THREE BOOKS I
HAD ALREADY RECEIVED/READ AND WAS DISAPPOINTED I HAD NOT READ THE REVIEW
BETTER.I AM DONATING IT TO MY LIBRARY. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

See why Sanders rates well
I have read quite a few of the newer Sanders novels and liked them.This was the oldest of his that I've read (copyright 1978).The antagonist is motivated by a subject matter that has been the centerpiece of two new novels I've recently read.

The main character, Samuel Todd, shares some of the same traits as Archie McNalley, another Sanders character in a different series.This story and Todd are a bit darker than McNalley, though.See why Sanders comes by his good reputation by reading this book.

Interesting mystery!
This is the third Lawrence Sanders book I've read and I enjoyed it. The investigator is a likeable guy, the story is suspenseful and the characters are very real. Most of Sanders' lead charactershave a cheeky, kind ofsarcastic/funny way about them that's drawing me to his writing. Humor andsuspense - a rare combination that is refreshing. Some of the medicalterminology was too detailed, but otherwise a good, quick read.

keep away
it was awful, nothing new in this book. ... Read more

Download Description
The plotting and execution of a crime has, unknowingly, been recorded in its entirety on surveillance devices invading every aspect of the crooks' lives. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A girdle-bursting laugh...
This book hasn't aged well.In fact, it is the most dated read I've come across in years, with all of its "shocking" and "spine-tingling" delvings into the dark "underworld" made up of characters with names like Snapper Haskins, Duke Anderson, Socks Parelli, Doctor D'Medico, Papa Angelo and Skeets Johnson ... who hang out at such tawdry joints as Binky's Bar and Grill, Sing Sing Penitentiary, Mama's Soul Food and the like...

The fun starts before even opening the book's cover, where you can read the following blurb (the style of which doesn't diverge much from what you'll find inside):'Let genteel readers be warned... among the characters are street-educated criminals, prostitutes and deviates with far-out sex hangups, all recorded on concealed tapes.Suspenseful, erotic entertainment, to be read at one sitting.'One man's captivating read is another man's Bible of Clichés.

Here is a smattering of the slang used on the inside of the book, which had me and my travel mate howling with laughter this past summer, when I purchased the book at a cybercafé in exchange for some free internet time in Eastern Europe (bear in mind this vocab is used 'seriously' only after a warning that we may be appalled by the language used, which is supposed to demonstrate how shady the characters are):nutty, lushed, bum, 'Jesus Christ!', mighty fine...

One tawdry "explicit" sex scene had us in hysterics rolling on the floor of our hotel room as we took in the vintage vocabulary words, including "to get out" for having an orgasm, "schatzie" as a term of endearment.All of the real hardcore action only starts once the adultress announces she has removed her GIRDLE, though!!!

I guess, if nothing else, reading this antiquated pulp allows you to see just how fast society can change in a mere 40 years, 'cause the plot sure ain't gonna' draw you in.I don't even think my 90-year-old grandmother would be very shocked by much of the material in The Anderson Tapes anymore...but you will certainly get more than one chuckle.

A very different book, very entertaining
I read this book a few days ago and it is very interesting. It was a completly new style at the time it was written, and continues to be outstanding. The whole story is conveyed through tapes, so recorder knowingly while others from bugs and survailence devices. I would recommend it.

An interesting approach
I recently finished reading, "The Anderson Tapes", A book I purchased from Amazon.com. This was Lawrence Sanders first book. I found the unique method he used in writing the book - chapters done in reportstyle - entertaining. The book had a good blend of characteriaztion,suspense and dialogue. What I liked the most about the book was, eventhough most of the chapters were done in a report format, the characterscame to life on the page. A tribute to Mr. Sanders ability as a writer. Forthoses Lawrence Sanders fans, I recommend you give it a read.

Supposedly groundbreaking at the time ; run-of-the-mill now.
I found this book in a second-hand shop and, having seen the Sean Connery film, thought it would be worth a read. The plot itself is relativelysimple (a bunch of mafia-funded crooks heist a well-to-do apartmentbuilding), but the main raison d'etre is that all the plot and dialogue isrelayed via a series of witness statements or wiretaps. Whilst it is veryunlikely that all the wiretaps detailed in the book would all have been putin place by different federal units, it is even more unlikely that all thekey events in the build up to the heist would have been held in theprescence of these wire taps. Still, as a dramatic device, the noveltyvalue of this approach makes the book interesting. However, by writing thebook in this relatively fragmented fashion, the pace of the book does lagin the buildup to the heist; also, I found it hard to get into the minds ofany of the characters as most of the plot concerns what people say or dorather than what they think. This approach was supposedly groundbreaking atthe time the book was written (late 60's), but the book is prettyrun-of-the-mill now. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

I've Yet to Read a Bad Sanders Book: These Three are Great
Look, Lawrence Sanders was my favorite author, and I read everything he wrote (for the individual who thinks he should change publishers, hedied in 1998). I bought this book to have a hardbound copy of the first three, and I hope his other "Deadly Sins" and "Commandments" come out as threesomes even though they're hard to read in bed. This would be a great Christmas present for anyone who likes mysteries. You can start anywhere and, while I agree that "The Fourth" was my favorite, getting these three is a great start.

Sanders was a story teller, and his stories were engrossing. I have only two complaints: (1) Edward X. Delaney is always making sandwiches, and I'm always hungry ... even when I don't like his combos. Many the time when I've gotten out of bed at midnight to see what we've got in the fridge. (2) Edward X. Delaney, a lumbering if not plodding detective, was played by Frank Sinatra in the movies. Don't see the movie and you'll enjoy his books more.

The 1st,, 2nd & 3rd deadly sins
I haven't finished reading the 3rd as of yet.And so far the indvidual 4th deadly sin is my favorite with the 1st also excellant.The only disappointment so far was the 2nd which really took too long to develop.

Edward X. Delaney is the Best!
I actually own all four of the "Deadly Sins" books in paperback, but the stories are among my alltime favorites.Sanders should abandon McNally, a poor read at best, and get back to Edward X. Delaney -- he's my favorite character of all mystery writers' characters.

great series! (correction)
... The deadly sins center on Captain Edward X. Delany's life and thinking process out to catch a madman. Spine chilling and hard to put down, very unique characters. a must buy

Excellent
Edward X. Delaney is delightful. Not only for his detecting skills and his humanity but his wonderful capacity for enjoying food. The Second and Third Deadly Sins are super reading but The First is a work of art in suspense.I love Mcnally but Sanders was in his element when he did this one. ... Read more

Book Description
"Lawrence Sanders has honed a voice for Archy McNally that is wonderfully infectious. You can't help falling for him," says The Washington Times. Now "this raffish combination of Dashiell Hammett's Nick Charles and P. G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster" (The New York Times Book Review) stars in three delectable Palm Beach thrillers--a mix of suspense, sensuality, and high jinks. This treasury of Sanders's best is a treat for fans of his beloved Palm Beach bon vivant and playboy sleuth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Hilarious Investigation by Binky Watrous on Archy's Behalf
If you've read the Archy McNally books, you know he has a slightly daft friend who does bird calls, Binky Watrous. In this wonderful installment, McNally's Puzzle, Binky goes undercover at a bird store called Parrots Unlimited to find out who is threatening the store's owner, Hiram Gottschalk. Sancho Panza is a motivational consultant compared to Binky, and the complications are hilarious. You'll laugh until it hurts!

Before long, bodies are piling up in all directions. Who did it?

Here's a clue. The book's cover has a parrot on it. If you pay attention to the parrot, you'll get some important leads on who the guilty parties are.

Archy McNally is at his usual prissy best, more concerned about his wardrobe than the mystery. The ladies find him irresistible, and he feels obliged to help out. This gets him into trouble, as usual, with his main squeeze, Connie.

The actual plot is full despicable double-dealing. You'll be glad when the bad guys get it.

Great fun!

Sanders best character in 3 delightful tales!
What a pure delight it is to read three of Archy McNally's crime solving adventures in one book!I spent an entire weekend laughing, and thoroughly enjoying myself reading how the brilliant rogue Archy McNally bumbles into a case (and at times into the bed of an attractive female) and how he solves a case.Each of these stories is definite fun to read from the beginning to the last page.I really do miss Lawrence Sanders...Archy hasn't been the same without him.

When you need to laugh out loud...
The main character, Archy McNally, makes these books worth the read!The witty dialouge and inner thoughts of this sleuth keep me laughing.His constant references to literature and music as befits the situation provide me with several bursts of chuckling which always cause my husband to ask what I'm reading.I also like (and share) his penchant for food and drink, and delight in the descriptions of everything he consumes.I usually have guessed the plot correctly half-way through the book, but I can't help loving Archy!

Archy McNally-everyone's favorite playboy
If you've never read a McNally book before, try this set of three, because if you read one, you'll want to read more.Witty, charming, and as morally reprehensible as we'd all like to be, Archy McNally is the type offascinating character you wish was real, just so you could take him out fordrinks. ... Read more

Book Description
First time in a trade edition-- Lawrence Sanders's masterpiece, The 1st Deadly Sin, set a standard for today's novels of psychological suspense. Now, retired Captain Ed Delaney returns to a distinctly urban milieu of paranoia and impulsive violence to solve a brutal murder that shocks New York's unshockable art world.

The victim is Victor Maitland. Long-considered one of the world's greatest artists, he excelled in capturing the beauty of life on canvas. In private, he destroyed whomever he pleased: his wife, his son, his mistress, his dearest friends and family. Fittingly, Maitland has paid for his sins. But in a world where self-delusion is rewarded, where greed triumphs, and where murder is just another art, who else will pay the price? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This Book Had Me...
Chewing my nails from cover-to-cover.I enjoy books of this genre and would like to say if you are a reader like me...that being one who reads almost anything I can get my hands on...well, then, this is one book you won't want to miss out on!

Pretty dern good
Book 2 in the "Heather reads crime novels" series!And this was a much better experience than my first Patricia Cornwell book.While Patricia Cornwell does forensic mysteries, this one is an old-school whodunit.The characters were well written, and the plot believable.Best of all, unlike Cornwell, I didn't figure out the culprit before the Edward X. Delaney did.And that, my friends, is the mark of a good crime novel.

So a famous New York artist is murdered, and everybody has a motive, opportunity, and will.There is not too much action, it is basically just a story of a detective on the hunt.But it was hard for me to put down, all the same.

One amusing sidenote.This book was obviously written pre-women's lib.The only women are dutiful wives who relish their role.When Delaney makes a comment about how his alcoholic partner goes home to leftovers, his wife immediately sets up a blinddate with her friend...every man needs a warm meal from a sacrificing woman, even alcoholics!Anyway, this was not annoying, just funny.I doubt Sanders would attract too much of a female audience with characters like that these days.

Good read. ... Read more

Book Description
A former human cannonball...a dead woman in a hedge maze...a huge crowd of questionable characters. When the social event of the season turns into a three-ring circus, Archy McNally must jump through hoops to catch a killer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Where's the Bluff? In Church on Sunday?
An angry face of a gorgeous tiger was featured on the book jacket design on the hardcover of McNally's BLUFF (# 13 in this series).At first the symbolism in that design had me puzzled, as I attempted to connect it to the plot.I had wondered why a maze hadn't been used as the graphic symbol... until I contrasted the appealingly brassy red-and-gold colors, and tiger in the bulls-eye on BLUFF's jacket, to the ritzy but somber black-and-gold book jacket of the hardback of McNally's SECRET (the pilot to the series).That cover design comparison gave me a double-bulls-eye "ah ha!" into the slightly different focus of Sanders and Lardo in their offerings in this series.

With McNally's BLUFF, which appears to be the final book in the series, the McNally family's carnival history "secret" is coming full circle...

I didn't want to see that circus circle closing, or stepping fully out of the closet in all its gore and glory.If I saw that too clearly, I might have to accept an underlying significance that # 13 is truly the end of this series.No!

If that is so, however, McNally's BLUFF accomplished that honor of closing this series with amazing grace and literary panache!

In view of this speculation, I needed to read BLUFF on one of my slowest savor speeds.As I did so, I gradually came to love the perfection of the jacket on the hardcover.Actually, the paperback design is appealingly interesting, too, given the above perspective.

When I was more than half-way through the book, I noticed that the most current paperback design was very different; it applied an ebony background with a maze hedge stylized with a target in its center.Possibly due to the brain's need to "connect dots" that center symbol flashed my focus to the target used for Susan Silverman's practice with a fire arm in CRIMSON ROSE, # 15 in Robert B. Parker's Spenser series, which I reviewed recently.For some reason I continue seeing links between Spenser's world and Archy's, and what a stretch that is!I wrote about that brain spark in my review of McNally's SECRET.

Though this may be my last McNally novel to review, I can offset that loss by looking forward to the several Spenser novels I haven't yet read.That thought takes me to my novels; my first thought (actually it felt like a craving) after having finished writing each of them was, "I wish I could read this novel fresh, without having written it."

Thus, it is with added thanks that I have more Spenser novels to experience from that fresh first time of reading.And, that pleasant awareness brings to focus for me the contrast of the author paths involved in the creation and endurance of Spenser and Archy McNally.I believe both situations have brought "amazing" (a prominent word in BLUFF) cultural insights to the history of literature and the mysteries of life.

Which reminds me that while reading BLUFF I was able to conceptualize another of the core differences I've been sensing (on an edge of unconsciousness) between Sanders and Lardo.Lawrence Sander seemed to naturally view life through a philosophical perspective; Vincent Lardo seems to look at human machinations through a sociological lens.Each seasoned author etched those leanings, consciously or not, into their thematic content, plot structure, and designs of Archy's motivations, curiosities, and basic drives through life.Sanders was automatically focused on the meaning of life itself, and how to get the most out of the experience as an individual.Lardo seems to automatically center on the interconnections among human beings, especially as they're separated socially or politically into clusters, cliques, or classes.

I don't know if these two authors fully realized how they were driven by this type of targeted viewpoint, when they were in process with a plot.Probably few of us do.Yet, I believe we're each driven by unique needs to know, by unique curiosities, which we each possess at core, at the center, the target of our essence-of-being, and of moving forward.

In SECRET, Sanders had Archy state that we're all hedonists at heart, though few of us admit it.In essence, through his McNally series, Sanders uses Archy to dramatize that unique, individual desire to know what gives personal pleasure, what gives a sense of satisfaction, why it does so, and how to enhance that need to "suck the marrow out of life."

In BLUFF, Lardo's Archy seems to imply that we (as human beings) tend to compare ourselves to others at higher levels in social class structure, and that we need to belong, to be accepted within the cream of social strata.Yet, at the same time we've been liberally taught to revile luxury, opulence, privilege and class.

These contrasts bring to mind the thematic essence of Ayn Rand's novels, FOUNTAINHEAD and ATLAS SHRUGGED.Are we naturally oriented, as a species, to self or to others; and which is the prime/ethical way of being.

In myself, I have felt the natural needs of both Archies.I am very much an individual, and have released some of the culturally induced taint of feeling evil in having chosen to allow myself to center in a personal focus.Yet, I also crave to connect with and relate to others, fairly, sometimes intimately in friendship (to mutual benefit), and rightly.I'm wondering if this might be why, along with many others, I've been so fascinated with this series, especially given the comparisons and contrasts of the dual authorship.

In an overall balance I'm more of a philosopher/psychologist, than a sociologist, and I know that's one of the reasons I enjoy the Spenser series.To me, Parker seems more like Sanders than Lardo, in his art, yet, like Lardo, Parker works with (and entertains through) sociological issues, too.

Seeing this perspective contrast between the Sanders and Lardo Archies, the fact begins to clarify for me, of the two personas' varied needs to control (or not) others and their environments.If a person's focus is based comfortably in oneself, there's less or no need to control others.Whereas, if one is based in needs for social interaction, and for acceptance and approval from outside oneself, the need to control becomes natural, sometimes vital for emotional (and physical) survival.Though Ayn Rand does so, I do not want to conclude yet that one or the other type of personality structure is ethically right or wrong, morally good or evil.Maybe the correct fact is that we're each naturally different in these types of slants, and in different phases of maturity.I will admit, though, that the less I feel a need to control, the better I like life and myself.

I love a good story, a good mystery, from almost any angle of approach.

In conclusion, I'm compelled to mention an ethereal quality I felt, and quite enjoyed, in parts of this # 6 novel in Vincent Lardo's Archy collection (# 13 in the whole).In certain luxuriously drawn scenes, I could almost sense light pouring holes through the pages, similarly to images which have been portrayed in movies like the Harry Potter series, and The Never Ending Story.In BLUFF, Lardo had honed his author skills so well, he seemed to be literally producing magic in how certain scenes lifted off the pages and danced before, around, and within me.One scene in particular, which was infused with this type of "living light," was of the short yacht excursion to which Archy and Georgy were invited by Carolyn Taylor, and which included her boy toy, Billy, and Connie and Alex.

What amazing gifts we have available in all of the above.Maybe that's the "bluff":

That it's all real and it's all a bluff.Long live the spiritual sanctuary of the novel.It almost, sometimes, seems to qualify as a church.

Linda Shelnutt

Good McNally book
I like all the McNally books and this one was good too.

Almost got it...
Vincent Lardo comes close to Lawrence Sanders, but not as good. The thing that i loved about Sanders was his ability to weave a great story and Archy's life together. Lardo doesn't do it quite like Sanders.

All in all a good read, but i'm still mad at Lardo for making Connie and Archy split.

Archy's still tooling around Palm Beach in that Miata
After a hiatus of many years, I dipped back into the world of Palm Beach investigator Archy McNally, via "McNally's Bluff", and enjoyed the experience.Now written by Vincent Lardo, this series still feels close enough to the original Lawrence Sanders offerings that I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Mr. Lardo was assisting Mr. Sanders from the beginning.In any event, it's all here: the cynical but funny observations about Palm Beach's eccentric denizens, the goofy internal politics at the McNally firm, the on-again/off-again romance (mostly "off" this time) between Archy and Connie, etc., etc.The mystery story is pretty good this time out, too, involving displaced "carny folk" and a big hedge maze.So, in the end, while I'm not usually a fan of the idea of keeping a mystery series going after the original author has departed this mortal coil, why complain in this case?The Archy McNally stories employ a playful, enjoyable, easily produced formula that the right writer or writers can keep delivering as long as people want to see it.And, besides, this one ends with a funny but still kind of serious cliffhanger involving Connie, so there's another reason to pick up the next one!

A Good Read!
Vincent Lardo continues to write "in the style of" Lawrence Sanders who create the Archy McNally series. Archy McNally is a Palm Beach private investigator who works out of his wealthy father's law offices.

Archy and the Palm Beach A list are invited to the opening of La Maze. Newcomers to the Palm Beach scene, Matthew Hayes, former carnival cannon ball, and his wife Marlena Marvel, are throwing a party to get in with the "right crowd." Hayes has recreated an English maze at his mansion and the party goers pair off to find their way to the center. But the contest begins only after Marlena recreates her famous impression of Venus DeMilo. But alas, most of the contestants grew increasingly frustrated and not only couldn't find the maze center, they couldn't get out.

Following the maze game, fabulous buffet tables awaited the guests. But the hostess couldn't be found. And then the search was on again -- and didn't end until she was found dead, at the center of the maze.

How could she get there past all the contestants? Who killed her? When? Why? Matthew hired Archy on the spot to find answers. But as he digs in, there are only more questions. Then the most promising suspects, those with the best apparent motives, begin to die, and good leads turn to dead ends.

The characters are believable and include those you'll love to love -- and those you'll love to hate. One caution, if you really care, be prepared to take notes and create diagrams to try to keep up with who is sleeping with who -- and who slept with who, but isn't any more.

Armchair Interviews says: Readers who like fast-paced easy reads will enjoy McNally's Bluff. There are plenty of clues, but many of the suspicions the reader will share with Archy will turn out to be unfounded and red herrings.





... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Am I the only one who is bothered by this?
I've read the first 4 books in the McNally's series in sequence. They're all highly formulaic but still enjoyable.

In the first 3 books the main character is a lovable rogue, mostly amoral but still with certain personal limits, so it is not surprising that he sleeps with various available women in the first 3 books.

But -- SPOILER ALERT -- in the 4th book he sleeps with a woman who is married, living with her husband and planning to continue that way. And -- lest you think that he was momentarily carried away by passion -- he sleeps with her two more times.

Suddenly, to this reviewer at least, McNally becomes a less lovable and much more unattractive figure.

McNally's secret
to me any McNally book is a good one.You should look for the whole series.

Wonderful Mystery Books
I really love the entire series of McNally books by Lawrence Sanders, however the later one's written by Vincent Lardo are not up to par, so make sure you insist on reading a Lawrence Sanders McNally story or you might be put off. I also loved the audio books.

Cure Cultural Volcanics with Bubbling Champagne.Design Life To Suit Taste & Times.
This book didn't merely capture my reading interest. It became a book of my heart...

In McNally's SECRET, the pilot to this series, we're informed that the pater McNally is not an "old-money" man.Okay.I get that and I like it.(That's not the secret.)

Having reviewed 4 of the original 7 McNally books by Lawrence Sanders, I had accepted the face value (not realizing the facade) of the Palm Beach mansion and the genteel lifestyle of pater Prescott McNally, Yale graduate, leather-bound-Dickens-reading, attorney-at-law.Upon reading (in McNally's Secret) the illuminating passages of Archy's grandparent's ways into money, I began to wonder what other Secrets this novel might expose.

Usually, if possible, I prefer to read a series in order, pilot first.I can't explain why, but, in this case I'm glad I read 4 of the original 7 McNally's prior to reading SECRET (though I believe this series can be satisfyingly read in any order).

The opening of this novel was classic, and felt to be the initiation of what Sanders was born and itching to write, beyond the sagas of his other fine works.The introductory remarks were exquisite in mapping the reasons for, "Can't you ever be serious, Archy?"I'd love to quote that paragraph, but maybe I should allow you to read it with the book in hand.I will quote a few other passages, however, which might serve as appropriate appetizers to this banquet of a book.

Comparing himself to S. Holmes, Archy says:

"I can't glance at a man and immediately know he's left-handed, constipated, has a red-headed wife, and slices lox for a living.I do investigations a fact at a time.Eventually they add up - I hope.I'm very big on hope."

Archy's description of the start up of the Pelican Club were the best type of soul food.This is how and why such a club should be started (then survive through a near hit of Chapter 7).Of course you really should read the book to get the whole of that brief history, but here's a prime paring:

"We were facing Chapter 7 when we had the great good fortune to hire the Pettibones, an African-American family who had been living in one of the gamier neighborhoods of West Palm Beach and wanted out."

They "wanted out" and they deserved a chance where their skills could and would save not only themselves, but those who hired them.Isn't that the type of win/win the world needs now?

I almost sobbed at the below passage, I felt such a deep surge of "right on" (definitely did a breath-catch hiccup and heart moan):

"... we formed a six-piece jazz combo (I played tenor kazoo), and we were delighted to perform, without fee, at public functions and nursing homes.A Palm Beach critic wrote of one of our recitals, `Words fail me.'You couldn't ask for a better review than that."

Yep.This is a book of my heart.Words don't often fail me in reviews; too much the contrary.But I'm getting better at refraining from using my critic hat with a steel-studded-bat accessory, which is what Archy was getting at.

Some might wonder why a person in my position, with my un-hidden agendas, would take so much time to write raves on a series by a deceased author.Mostly, I love Archy.But, possibly the live spirits of the dead are sometimes more able to be helpful than dead souls of the living?Keeping my tongue in cheek, I might add that freed spirits probably have better connections for helping an author into the right publishing contacts for a character series with ironic assonance with this one.

Moving quickly onward and upward, though not with wings attached yet...

In contrast to the other 4 I've read, I noticed that this Archy is less bubbly-buffoonish (though the buffoon is always endearing) and slightly more serious, sensitive, and quietly contemplative.I like both versions of Archy, though I prefer the slight edge of peaceful acquiescence in the pilot, and I can't help but wonder, as I do with all series, how much reader feedback, and editor/agents' interpretation of it, directed the progression of balance of certain appealing or potentially irritating qualities.I wonder how each series would have progressed if the feedback had been balanced and pure (as a species, we're not there yet,but forward motion is perceptible), rather than inevitably polluted by the "life happens" part of the sometimes perverted, capricious tastes of us squeaky wheels, and the healthy ego needs of professionals in positions of swallow and sway.

I'm still trying to understand why honesty is the most appealing human quality to me, yet honest criticism does not speak to my heart, nor to my soul, not even to my head.Often, though, it does speak in perfect pitch to my funny bone.And, of course true Honesty (with the capital "H") leaps beyond speaking the "truth" as one happens to "see" it on a good or bad day.Cultural honesty, of the type dramatized by Stephen King, Lawrence Sanders, Tamar Myers, Barbara Workinger, Joanne Pence, Sue Grafton, (and others) is what most often pushes me to stand up and cheer.

Somewhere.

One of the best spots I've found is on the edge of the clear cliff of ozone found in Amazon's sacred forum of Customer Reviewers.

Of course the first lines in SECRET, the sipping of champagne from a belly button would snag the attention of even the most sexually skittish reader of the nose-raised, neck-cricked, personality persuasion.But, truly and honestly, what sunk me with every hook were the few lines exposing why Archy could never be serious.I know I said I wouldn't, but I have to quote this passage, beginning on page 1 chapter 1.For me, it's one of the main selling points of the series:

"I had lived through dire warnings of nuclear catastrophe, global warming, ozone depletion, universal extinction via cholesterol, and the invasion of killer bees.After a while my juices stopped their panicky surge and I realized I was bored with all these screeched predictions of Armageddon due next Tuesday. It hadn't happened yet, had it?The old world tottered along, and I was content to totter along with it."

I'd bet my fortune (which is based on a skill of "make do"; there are no bananas in it) that the above passage is what captured a collection of readers so absolutely in a "right on" agreement that this series spanned the grave of the author and is still spewing pages and stretching shelves.And, of course, this attitude of "if you can't lick `em; flick `em" which Archy aimed toward "kvetch-ers" as he terms them, continues from the above, with relish accumulating, throughout the book.

Archy is a rare sane person swimming along nicely within the insanity of a last-gasp-culture (which is "drowning in The Be Careful Sea" as I described and termed that syndrome in one of my sci fi manuscripts titled MORNING COMES).

To Jennifer, of the champagne sea in her belly button, Archy answered why he wasn't an attorney:

"Because I was expelled from Yale Law for not being serious enough.During a concert by the New York Philharmonic I streaked across the stage, naked except for a Richard M. Nixon mask."

That answer brought to mind the bright side of Howard Roark (from Ayn Rand's FOUNTAINHEAD, see my review posted 10/14/05) who was arrogantly unconcerned about his and the Dean's reasons for Roark's being expelled from architectural school.You'd be right to wonder where I got that comparison, since Roark could never be accused of being anything but serious.Syncopated irony?Assonance?

You be the judge.Get the SECRET of the McNally collection.

As I relished the final chapters and pages of SECRET, I had a thought about the beauty, warmth, lovely literary melancholy, and subtly complex richness radiating from those concluding textual treasures:

In retrospect, this novel doesn't feel like a planned pilot to a mystery series.It feels to be a singular novel, like but not like, the ones Sanders had written prior to it.What it feels like to me is that Lawrence hit upon a "soul speak" story which couldn't halt the cultural conversation it had initiated, however serendipitous that initiation may have been.

Yes, I do recall that in some of my other reviews ("reveries" according to my Amazon Friend, L.E. Cantrell) I speculated on something which could seem contradictory to the above mentioned "thought."I had wondered if Parker's Senser series might have been somehow a spark for this McNally series.I continued to see references to Boston in this book (as in other McNally's I've reviewed), which, of course, is the city for which Spenser did the Walkabout.So possibly SECRET was somewhat an antithetical homage to Spenser, possibly even a hat "doff" with a friendly, competitive "one-better" attempt, meant only to be a single novel rather than a never-die series.

Based on Agatha Christie's official web site, Miss Marple was not originally intended to be another Poirot, and look what happened there (see my Listmania of the Miss Marple series).

To me, Archy appears to be a gatekeeper for pure and primal, hidden wishes and dreams.Living home comfortably, guiltlessly at 37, on the top floor of his parent's mansion in Palm Beach; eating drool-food from a house chef; having established a club like The Pelican as a side atmosphere to partake in daily; working at a cushy, just challenging enough, engaging career for discreet inquiries ... If an author's (or reader's) going to retire that would be da place (or at least an entertaining option).

It'll be interesting to see if/how I'm able to bridge the gap from Lawrence Sanders's Archy to Vincent Lardo's.I'd love to know how that bridge was built and continues to be maintained.

Though a perfectly acceptable, gorgeous reprint in a mass market paperback was (probably still is) available on Amazon's Super Saver Special, I felt lucky to find a vender on Amazon (a-bookworm2) holding a used G. P. Putnam's Sons hardcover of this novel, a first printing of the 1992 copyright.What an honor it will be to have this version of the pilot of such an auspicious series from such a life-perceptive author, Lawrence Sanders.The glossy-black jacket provides a luscious background for the name and title printed in thick, gleaming, copper ink, with the artwork of an antique magnifying glass and fancy-brass scissors weighing down the million-dollar-valued, 1918 US Stamp of the Inverted Jenny.

This pilot is a rare find in a rare series.

Linda G. Shelnutt

A pleasurable romp with a pleasurable chap!
Lawrence Sanders' first Archibald McNally novel is much like Arhcy's mother, pleasingly plump and full of delight! Archy is part of McNally & Son Attorney-At-Law, notice the word 'attorney' is singular, not plural. That's because Archy is not a lawyer, though he did go to law school. But he got kicked out. We won't go into that unpleastantness, however.
Dear, dear Archy heads a department of his father's firm called "Discreet Inquiries", he heads it because he's the only person in that particular department.Archy is asked to make some "discreet inquiries" into the disappearance in rich-and-randy Lady Cynthia Horowitz's valuable Inverted Jenny stamps. They could be worth upwards of a cool half a mil. Archy has several suspects, including but not limited to, the Smythes (whom are Lady C's son and wife), Lacy C's daughter Gina Stanescu, including Lady C's other son and wife. And her dear friend the very much gay Angus Wolfson, Lady C's chaffeur and and his girlfriend. But more and more questions arise, like: why is Lady C costantly leaving in her bronze-colored Jag and not telling her social secretary where she's going? Is Wolfson and Lady C's chaffeur having an affair? And what about Archy's personal life? Will the beautiful and astute Jennifer Towley go back to her husband or stick with Archy? One never knows, does one? ... Read more

Book Description

Palm Beach private investigator Archy McNally takes on the murder of a socialite and uncovers a thorny tangle of blackmail and deceit, south Florida style.

Playboy Geoffrey Williams is dead. But it's not a search for the killer that brings Archy McNally to the case; the lovely Melva Williams readily admits to the crime passionnel. After finding Geoff in a precarious position with an attractive young lady, she pulled the trigger on husband number two. It sounds like an open-and-shut case for McNally & Sons' Department of Discreet Inquiries until Melva asks Archy to shield her daughter, Veronica, from the press and paparazzi. Gallant Archy takes the case -- and escorts grown-up and gorgeous Veronica home to the McNally manse. Rumors fly, and some of them may be true.

Veronica is no damsel in distress though, and she's certainly not sorry her stepfather is in the grave. When her story doesn't match Melva's, which doesn't match Geoff's, Archy realizes he does indeed have a dilemma on his hands. Someone's lying, and the one person who knows the truth -- Geoff's perky playmate -- has gotten away.

A delectable combination of high society and high jinks, and featuring some of the most eccentric characters to populate Florida's Gold Coast, McNally's Dilemma is as witty and charming as Archy McNally himself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (104)

So So McNally story
It was only by reading the fine print that I learned that this novel was Not by Lawrence Sanders. For me Archy McNally will always remain the creation of Mr. Sanders, but I wanted to read another story about one of my favorite characters. The attempt by Vincent Lardo gave an interesting slant to McNally, but his style of writing wasn't the same as Mr. Sanders.For the first time, it was clear how the story would evolve, and that's another indication that Lawrence Sanders did not write this book. In my opinion, Mr. Sanders name should not be on the cover, for it's a total disservice to the legacy of this great writer.

Hot Dog! Pass The Mustard!The New Archy is Up!
This being the notorious "take over" novel by Vincent Lardo, I was particularly interested in how Vince would crook his finger to the reader, and how he would work into the role of Lawrence Sanders's Archy McNally. The reader "in" was steak tartare, a $14.95 plate on the menu upgrade at the Pelican Club.By another name, "Steak Tartare" was a hamburger, juicy, rare.

Hamburger up! Phase one locked in.

In opening scenes Lardo appeared to have Archy's entertaining "Voice" in order, with a handle on most if not all the nuances which have enhanced this series.Yet, I felt a wisp of an added designer scent to this "new" man leading ths show.This guy felt subtly darker, more intense, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, not to imply that the Sanders Archy was a sheep.He was not.

Reading onward in McNally's DILEMMA, I noticed the differences between the two Archy's continuing to flicker, like old celluloid running through a movie projector.The original character had a feel of a free-spirited-youth in a mature-male-body.Lardo's Voice for Archy seemed an octave lower, and Lardo's Archy had a macho undercurrent.

The original Archy could giggle ... at any spontaneous moment.

Lardo's Archy would be able to burst spontaneously into a manly type of laughter, possibly described as a deep chuckle fluctuating with a high pitched peel.But, he could not produce a true, free-flowing giggle... unless, possibly, if he were plowed out of his mind by long applied liquor ... or if he were to reside too long in the Sanders Archy's shoes.

The Sanders Archy could easily play act the light grace of a ballerina, for and in fun. If Lardo's Archy tried that he would appear the classic bull in a china closet, probably stubbing his toe; and his late-morning, beard-shadow would ruin the show (or slide it into farce). Archy-1 might own a light stubble in the morning if he hadn't shaved since the previous morning, but a late-morning shadow would never darken his facade, at least not naturally by way of wiry hairs popping forth in dense supply, a few hours after the blade had scratched paths of baby-buns effect.

I found myself hoping that this stubbled, more intensely male Archy would maintain the market demand which survived Sanders' demise.To that end, I wondered how Lardo would work in Archy's bottom line appeal, as exposed in McNally's SECRET:

>> "I had lived through dire warnings of nuclear catastrophe, global warming, ozone depletion, universal extinction via cholesterol, and the invasion of killer bees.After a while my juices stopped their panicky surge and I realized I was bored with all these screeched predictions of Armageddon due next Tuesday. It hadn't happened yet, had it?The old world tottered along, and I was content to totter along with it." <<

Lardo's Archy paraphrased the above sentiment in DILEMMA, as he also linked to many thoughts, themes, and scenes from the original 7 novels.Those tributary reminders gave warm, effective touches.However, somehow Lardo's paraphrase of the above passage felt hollow. The femme fatal's question, "Why can't you be serious, Archy," almost seemed to puzzle Archy-2 as much as it did the woman posing it.

As I read along with Lardo's Archy, observing how he handled heated situations, I continued to see this new man as a push/direct type of guy, acting in clear confidence (though, at times, that esteem slipped under a graciously appropriate humility).

To me the old Archy cajoled much, but did not seem to have a habit of pushing or directing, and often his confidence was endearingly and genuinely lax, as he tottered along, playing with life's dictates as a youthful spirit carrying a complex sensitivity which sometimes slipped into a contemplative moodiness.I loved the way he would work himself out of those dark-side slips by using (and detailing to the reader) his cherished daily routines, reveling in them, mentioning the flavors and items of nearly every meal, every afternoon dunk in the ocean, every evening pause with his journal, when he often turned aside to speak directly to his reader.

The new Archy touched upon, but didn't seem to WALLOW within simple routines, or elaborate meals; most of his underlying focus seemed to be on powering, with finesse or foible, through problems.And, I had the feeling that Lardo would not harbor a hidden dream of, in his late thirties, living in his father's mansion.Early in the plot, Archy-2 gave off subtle scents of seeming not to understand, nor to like pater McNally.

Contrasting all this, periodic flickers of the old Archy flashed through Lardo in clear brilliance.

At "off" times it appeared that Lardo did not quite get Sanders' motivation for writing a character like Archy McNally, did not precisely comprehend the market success of a rarely serious Archy being a true heroic persona to great masses of readers.It appeared that, to Lardo the old Archy was somewhat of a simpering wimp, and, furthermore, why did he live in gawd-awful, flooding Florida, instead of NYC, when he obviously had the choice to do so.This is my speculation of Lardo's possible feelings; I get the Florida appeal, as well as the charisma of NYC (if one has money to maintain the lifestyles).

Will Archy-2 carry the series? According to observations of reviews and steady sales ranks on Amazon, readers want more Archibald by Vincent.

Though I miss the old Archy, I was attracted to the changed nuances in McNally's DILEMMA, and I believe Archy-2 will carry the series into a stronger style, not quite as delicately sophisticated (with none, or less of, the figurative ballerina dancing, contemplative moods, or extended introspection ... or giggles).

At this point, I'm recalling a feeling I had reading the original Archy's attractions to women.I often wondered why they seemed to lack the type of deep-throated, Adam's Apple "gggrrrrrrrrr" which Lardo's Archy would naturally have been able to give them (though the Sanders Archy was amusingly, artistically sensual).When Archy 2 described Victoria Manning I could feel his seething attraction. That gave an effective sensual substance.

As noted, the new Archy was a living, heavily breathing, sauntering, strutting male. How could that guy take over a character as stylishly, delicately, sensitively sensual as the Lawrence Sanders Archy McNally?

He could not.Viva la difference.

I feel an amusing, warm empathy for Lardo's willingness to dawn Archy's hats, scarves, and shoes.How could he not?I hope Vincent Lardo will be able to fully link to the unique market of his appeal, because that market exists.I'll give McNally's FOLLY a chance to grow the appeals of Archy-2.How could I not? (See my Listmania for titles/links for this series and Lardo's web site address.)

This novel does not have "twists and turns."It has a labyrinth of convolutions, and the wrap of them bogged the gulls in my mind.

Hats off to Lardo.Salute!

Linda G. Shelnutt

The real dilemma is this book
Poor Archy.No matter how dandified he dressed, he was always self-aware, there was a kind of rebellion expressed in his style, & nobody could doubt the quality of his duds.& when he wooed & bedded a woman of dubious background or reputation, as part of a "discreet inquiry" or just because she was beautiful & he could, the seduction was always accompanied by a complexity of emotions regarding his true soulmate, the fiery, jealous, no-nonsense Consuela. But the ever-positive Archy always viewed his cocktail glass as at least half-filled, if not overflowing. A drizzly gray sky today means driving the red Miata under Florida sunshine tomorrow.

Alas, Vincent Lardo's Archy McNally is oblivious when his attire makes him resemble a Lime Rickey, & his yachtsmanoutfit, complete with bell bottoms left over from college days, is twice-removed from Cary Grant by-way-of Tony Curtis in "Some Like It Hot." Even worse, he chases after a transparently untrustworthy22 year old heiress like a pathetic, deluded, middle-aged lothario, fantasizing marriage & a houseful of little McNallys, as if this spoiled post-adolescent was actually the equal of the self-reliant, intelligent, & sexy Connie, who is there to remind Archy that some people must work to pay their rent, & for bosses like the absurd Lady C.No, now he practically insults her with lies & risks breaking her heart altogether. At one point in this novel he even loses count of how many Ovals he's smoked.This Archy is not so lovable a fellow.That's the real dilemma here.

A lighter touch
McNally and Son, lawyers to the upper crust of Palm Beach society, are hired by John Fairhurst 111 and his wife to deal with a case of blackmail which is being leveled against them and which would, if made known, lower their standing in that tight knit community. The McNallys use their own branch of investigation, a service called Discreet Enquiries, which is run by the junior McNally, to ferret out information without anyone being aware that such sordid goings on are taking place. At the same time, Palm Beach society is rocked to hear that one of the town's leading lights, Melva Williams, had admitted to killing her husband, claiming that she found him in a most compromising situation with a young woman, causing her to snap and shoot him dead. Tne urbane and witty Archy McNally, head of Discreet Enquiries, agrees to take Melva's daughter under the protection of his family when Melva is charged and taken into custody. There are many twists and turns during this story which is really rather light in tone and full of references to fine clothes, wines and food and the good things in life which the very wealthy can afford.It reminded me of the old Thin Man movies, with the hero portrayed as a witty man of the world with a Scarlet Pimpernel approach, letting himself be seen as a bit of a fop who is only interested in his stylish clothes and racy cars. Other reviewers have criticised this work as not being up to the standard of earlier books in the series but, as this is the first I have read, I thoroughly enjoyed it as a respite from the more graphic and dark murder mysteries that I've read recently.

Close...
I always enjoyed Sander's books, the McNallys, Commandments and Deadly Sins. This one just felt a little "off", somehow. As if someone else was trying to sound like him. I finished the book before I checked out the cover more thoroughly and discovered why. He didn't write it! I knew he'd passed away but assumed this book was completed before and just released posthumously. Too bad! I'll miss him. I'll still read the McNally series, but with a bit less relish. We'll miss you, Mr. Sanders! ... Read more

Book Description
The bone-chilling story of the "Hotel Ripper" who stalks New York's streets after hours-and the retired cop who must stop him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Sanders slipped a bit here.
This one may be one of Sanders better books over all, but it isn't quite as good as "The First Deadly Sin" or "The Second Deadly Sin". It is unfortunate Sanders didn't see fit to write about the deadly sins 5, 6 and 7. This shows a lack of foresight on his part. Of the four we do have "The Second Deadly Sin" is probably the best. "The Third Deadly Sin" is a bit tiring but still holds one's interest. And lets face it, Delaney will never be a gourmet cook, but he is wild about sandwiches. Amen brother!

One has to have a stalwart stomach to really enjoy the Delaney series. If you aren't particularly bothered by the rather pathetic attempts at psycoanalysis (which Sanders would have done better to have left out) you will probably really like this novel.

Unlike in "The First Deadly Sin" (pride) and in "The Second Deadly Sin" (covetousness), it is difficult to figure out in "The Third Deadly Sin" exactly which sin Sanders is talking about. Ifigure it is either envy or anger. My choice would be anger.

How To Lose A Guy In One Date
This is an interesting serial-killer novel, except for the parts involving sandwiches and Zoe Kohler's suitor, Ernest Mittle.The sandwich stuff makes you feel like you're reading transcripts from The Food Channel, and poor little Ernest Mittle is simply too prim and proper for words.By the time you've known him for about five paragraphs, you yearn for him to meet Irene in a hotel bar very soon, and join the ranks of her victims.

A comfort Sanders novel.
A strange choice for a comfort readI know, but every now and then I come back to read this book again.The familiarity of Edward X Delaney and his delicious sandwiches. The developement of a killer who you grow to like and feel sorry for, even as she continues her murderous adventures.It does not matter that you know she is a killer, it is not even that important how Delaney catches her, I just the style of Sanders writing in this book.It is not similar in any way to his later McNally series, but the one thing Sanders does fantastically is to create characters you believe in.

Super police procedural
Maybe Sanders's best book (other choice is First Deadly Sin). Same detective in all the Sin books, but each has a slightly different feel. This is Ed McBain-ish, but (much) better.

Simply not as remarkable as his first...but getting there.
The Third Deadly Sin had a lot of factors that i found resembled the first novel a LITTLE bit too closely, such as the suspect dying of physical deterioration towards the end, the suspect's pathological relation to the act of sex...things like that. Also, the relationship between Monica and Edward Delaney (the detective) really does not clash well with the rest of the story. Who cares what Monica thinks- i think she is a pathetic and dull character- thats also what made the First Deadly Sin much better- it focused more on the detective, not his wife. Otherwise it was a good book. Lawrence Sanders is GOOD, but he was best in "THe Tenth Commandment." If anyone is wondering what one person thinks is his best work, thats it. ... Read more

Book Description
The dowager duchess of Palm Beach dies, leaving behind a fabulous fortune and a handsome young heir-though Archy McNally has his doubts about the boy's bona fides.

When a young waiter working Malcolm "Nifty" MacNiff's annual Tennis Everyone! benefit is found dead in Nifty's otherwise pristine swimming pool, it's Archy McNally, South Florida's most famous Discreet Inquirer, who rushes in to salvage the town's reputation and solve the un-fortunate crime. Palm Beach is already in a tizzy over the arrival of its newest millionaire, Lance Talbot, just in from Switzerland to claim his inheritance after the demise of his grandmother.

There are those who believe Lance an imposter, and who he is-and was-becomes more of an enigma as Archy traces Lance's progress from the snowy Alps to the sands of Palm Beach. If he isn't the true heir, who is he? And who is the alluring Baroness Holga von Brecht, who is old enough to be his mother but claims to be his lover? When an old school chum of Holga's is made redundant, Archy must make some daring choices to snare a double murderer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Don't Say Money Doesn't. Larry, Vince, Archy. What or Who You Know. And Where. No How.
Vincent Lardo was definitely gilding his wings in DARE (# 12 in the series), and they glided mighty fine, glowing in heady sunlight.He appeared to be attempting what I was saying (in my previous review of McNally's ALIBI, # 11) I wanted to avoid; yet he held my interest and maintained entertainment satisfaction.By first honoring (through at least 3 Archy novels, DILLEMA, FOLLY, and CHANCE) and honestly imitating the spirit and style which Sanders had begun, Lardo had (to me) more than earned the right to veer off Sander's patterns and ploys with this series.I had been concerned that I wouldn't be able to stay with Lardo if he did that too soon or too dramatically.He clearly dared to veer, here, and I was impressed.

At first, the TENNIS EVERYONE! gala in the opening chapter felt like GATSBY redone in an Archy slant, exposing the ennui and utter superficiality of the repetitively empty, "grand" doings of the very wealthy, accompanied by the utter terror of not being invited, by those aspiring to remain in good standing in the social strata of Palm Beach.

Do I have a natural interest in social class issues?The truth?Not really.People are what they are.I am what I am.I've proudly earned everything I have, and have no desire to cling to anyone's skirts, especially not if they're of designer quality, with the resultant price tag.Wouldn't want to seem (seam?) unseemly.I'm okay (for now) with the comfy "rags" I wear and wear, until the holes become too obvious or too breezy.

Yet, Lardo made this social climber scene interesting to me. As a coup of a bonus to that, he designed the situation into a light literary artistry, without the drama descending into depressing drudgery.

I was surprised to realize I had immediately become curious about who Jeff Rodgers and Lance Talbot were and how they were connected.Ironically, considering the outcome (in a complexly satisfying ending), I wanted to know who the real Lance Talbot was, and what his story was, as contrasted the real Jeff Rodgers.I realized that Lardo might be making a statement of disdain of class pretension's chilling abuse to the "less fortunate" young people serving the Palm Beach "snobs," but whatever.

The more I read in this novel, the more it felt very different from any of the previous 11 novels in the series (see my Listmania and reviews).It almost felt to me as if it had been written in a geographic location very potent to the author, though not in Palm Beach.Its atmosphere felt like the Hamptons, as that area has been described by those who live there (thank you again, "HeyJudy," Top 1000 Amazon Reviewer, for insights on your home grounds) or have visited, and especially as described in Cleo Coyle's latest coffeehouse mystery, MURDER MOST FROTHY (See my Listmania and review).In that novel this special area was vividly described, not merely as a cultural phenomenon but as having an unusually ethereal feel in the sunlight and climate.The way Coyle described it made me think of a sort of heaven on earth.Strange.

Yet, the exclusivity of the tremendous heights of wealth of both old and new money in the Hamptons, as described by many authors who have used that area as a location for a novel, seems to have somehow diminished the prime or pristine physical atmosphere.On the other hand, in the cold light of reality, might the exclusivity have also preserved something of value in that ethereal glow?I truly don't know.Cocoons are necessary for caterpillars to metamorphose into butterflies.

I may never have the opportunity to actually step foot into any of The Hamptons, but I feel as though I have, through reading McNally's DARE (with the preparation of MURDER MOST FROTHY). Yet, (I kept reminding myself) the novel's plot took place in Palm Beach.Did Vincent