Customer Reviews

Confess, Fletch

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't like it when reviewers reveal plot points, so I won't. Suffice to say, if you like other Fletch books, you will like Confess, Fletch. If you haven't read any Fletch boosk, you might want to start with Fletch, which was adapted into a funny movie starring Chevy Chase.

McDonald brings the heros of his two great detective series, Irwin M. Fletcher and Francis Xavier Flynn together for their only joint appearance on the printed page. The result is a quite satisfying story in which someone attempts to fram Fletch for murder. Fans of either series will love this fine entry into both of them.

Fletch turns up in Boston claiming to be researching for his forthcoming biography of Edgar Arthur Tharp Jnr. the famous artist. He's left his fiancee in Italy while she deals with her dad's kidnapping and apparent death and is a little taken aback when he finds a young dead girl in the apartment he's arranged to stay in. All of the evidence points to Fletch as the culprit and an unusual police detective called Flynn eyes him with suspicion but just can't bring himself to make the arrest.

I would have enjoyed Confess, Fletch more had the stakes been higher, but the plot is all about paintings which is too low-key and hardly creates mental images that are likely to stay with you. The procedure of solving the mystery isn't too rewarding either as it seems to be all over the place until the final twenty pages. I ought to be familiar with Fletch's methods by now, but the entire book seems to be Fletch driving around, getting in and out of cars, and having cryptic conversations with mostly bland characters. The only saving grace is Flynn who turns out to much deeper than I first expected.

I'd call this the second weakest of the Fletch series (Carioca Fletch has been the poorest so far), but is still worthy of your attention even if your a casual fan. I hope that Fletch's Fortune is better (I'm reading them in chronological order, not publish order).

Irwin Maurice Fletcher (Fletch) arrives in Boston, and finds himself the prime suspect of a murder of a woman he has never met. Enter Inspector Francis Xavier Flynn, the ONLY inspector of the Boston Police Department. Against his every wish to bring Fletch in for arrest, he bumbles about in his own way until the real killer is caught.

This book is extremely entertaining, with lots of one-liners by the dry Flynn to keep one laughing. Fletch is also at his best, mixing a murder investigation with an art-theft investigation of his own.

Quite an enticement to read other Fletch books, as well as the three resulting books about Flynn (way too few in my opinion).

CONFESS, FLETCH by Gregory McDonald pits Fletch against Francis Xavier Flynn. Arriving from Italy to research do research on a book the first thing discovers is the nude body of a beautiful young woman on the living room floor of the apartment he has leased for three months.

Enter Inspector Flynn who is the only inspector on the Boston police force. It is an open and shut case--Fletch is the only possible killer. A battle of wits and skills ensure between Fletch and Flynn as the fun begins.

A fantastic afternoon of pure reading pleasure.

Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS.

Confess, Fletch is a good time. It feels much more like a Fletch read, along with the introduction of Inspector Flynn. It's a well-crafted whodunit and Macdonald's writing still seems edgy and fun.

Well, I'm glad I read this book after giving up on "Carioca Fletch" (hint: stay away from that book). This is a very good book that grabs your attention and keeps it all the way through. The one thing I didn't like about the book (and it might just be a function of the genre and not a fault specific to the book) is that the "solution" to the mystery is not one that you really have any stake in finding. Essentially, you're hit with more information at the very end of the book which gives you a surprise ending. That aside, it's still a very good, fun book that's well worth reading.

This is one of the fastest moving and most interesting of the Fletch novels. I have read it 10 times now at least and love it more each time!