Fletch Reflected [Hardcover]

Gregory McDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1994

Fletch and his newfound son, Jack, go undercover again to help Jack's ex-lover find out who is trying to kill her fiance+a7's father.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Marked by Mcdonald's offhand humor ("I can't figure out whether Wyoming is big or just empty") and offbeat characters, the 11th Fletch story features a finale that is not so much a resolution as a deflation, like a spent balloon. Fletch's son Jack, having sold his story/expose of rightwing crazies to Global Cable News (see Son of Fletch), heads to the huge Georgia estate of billionaire inventor Chester Radleigh at the request of Shana Steufel, an old, but memorable, one-night stand of Jack's. Shana, who is engaged to one of Radleigh's sons, believes her future father-in-law's life is in danger. Jack gets a groundkeeper's job at the estate, which is run like a benevolent dictatorship. Meanwhile, Fletch pere is planning to have Jack's mother Crystal lose 400-plus pounds at a Wyoming training camp for boxers. While probing the dysfunctional Radliegh family, in which the spoiled wife and four grown children rebel in individual ways, Jack finds snakes under every rock and psyche. Then Fletch appears at the estate and triggers the sorry ending. Fletch and his newly discovered son Jack are an appealing pair in need of a better plot.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Irvin Fletcher, redoubtable antihero of the Fletch novels, has a son named Jack, who was introduced in Son of Fletch (1993). Jack has just completed an expos{‚}e of a redneck cult--he's an investigative reporter just like Dad--when he gets a call from an old lover, Shana Steufel. She and Jack had a meaningful relationship one weekend, and now's she's going to marry the son of the billionaire inventor of a mirror that allows you to see yourself as others do. The inventor, Chester Radleigh, is eccentric and lives on a secluded estate with many family members, associates, and domestics. Shana is worried because there have been accidents lately involving Radleigh that could have been fatal. Would Jack investigate? No one on the estate is even borderline normal, and everyone has a potential motive for wanting the patriarch dead. Jack, in the guise of a summer pool hand, engages each in witty exchanges of dialogue, fraught with cryptic meaning. The Fletch novels have always offered a unique mix of suspense and cartoonish characterizations. The son of Fletch continues the family tradition. Wes Lukowsky

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 222 pages
• Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons; 1st edition (September 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399139834
• ISBN-13: 978-0399139833
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #762,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For those expecting a page-turner, look elsewhere., September 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Fletch Reflected (Paperback)

I like Gregory McDonald's work -- really. McDonald's not Robert B. Parker, but you can generally count on a Fletch novel to move along at a reasonably brisk pace and provide the wit that's become such an integral part of the detective-protagonist in the modern mystery genre. That's why I was so dissapointed in Fletch Reflected. I saw somewhat of a decline in Son of Fletch, but that book looks like a masterpiece when compared to this loose sequel.

For my money, the central plot is far less interesting to me than character development and interaction. In a very un-McDonald-like way, both Fletch and his son Jack -- the two central characters -- seem flat, as though they are there only to move the plot along. Of course, there are a few witty lines, but they don't come with the frequency or consistency needed to support the novel or engage the reader.

The problem probably begins with the plot itself. From the onset of the book, I didn't buy it. I couldn't fathom why Jack would get involved in the story; the proper motivation simply wasn't there. Fletch's only motivation was to help Jack.

When I finally reached the end of the novel (a rather arduous task), I was dissapointed further by a contrived ending that somehow managed to tie everything together too cleanly and leave unanswered questions. Worse, the ending seemed very abrupt, as though McDonald tired of writing the novel and just decided to end it -- which, mercifly, he did.

Again, I like McDonald's other work-- but if you're looking for an enjoyable read, you'd be better served by looking at his older stuff.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dull and Worn, August 15, 2010

By 

Nash Black "Troubadour" (Jamestown, KY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fletch Reflected (Paperback)

Gregory McDonald's FLETCH REFLECTED is the end of the story line (I think), but not the last written. This one lacks the sharp dialogue one associated with the Fletch novels.
It features Fletch's son in a southern compound of great wealth and deep hatred. The story just doesn't work for a Fletch.
Nash Black, author of HAINTS.