Book Review by T. E. Hill
McNally’s Chance by Vincent Lardo
Archy McNally is a character developed by Lawrence Sanders and then used by Vincent Lardo who continues the series under license from Sanders, I assume. Archy is the antithesis of the hard boiled detective, preferring instead to live at home with his rich parents, wearing outlandish clothes, eating only the best food, drinking only the best wine and cocktails, all while enjoying the rich culture of Palm Beach, Florida.
Archy also considers himself a sophisticated gentleman, speaking only the King’s English and making obscure (to me) literary references to make his points. He has a similarly challenged girl friend that he follows closely so long as it doesn’t get in the way of his roving eye for other women. I wonder why I have any interest in his stories but it turns out, I do. He is smart and dedicated and solves the crime in spite of his character flaws.
In McNally’s Chance, Archy is hired by a well-known romance novelist who’s adopted daughter has reached the age where she is old enough to defy her mother and search for her biological parents. Her adopted mother admits to actually being her biological mother and that she was conceived during spring break in Florida. The mother refuses to identify the father who has paid handsomely for her daughter’s upbringing and is now in the upper crust of Palm Beach.
The fun starts when the richest men of a certain age all begin working to avoid a scandal, even if it involves murder. McNally’s Chance can be a challenging read but I learned a lot looking up words on Google (see pissoir for example) and made me laugh (see pissoir, again). I don’t recommend it for regular reading but it is fun every once in a while. I also find that Lardo is just as good as Sanders at telling Archy McNally tales.
