Customer Reviews

Fletch's Fortune

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

 

 

Fletch is irreverent, clever, a tarnished white knight. In this mystery, he's in trouble with a lot of people, but you know that he'll turn the tables on all of them in the end. With the help of another reporter, a character that's as funny as he is, Fletch saves the day once more. A book that will make your family wonder why you are laughing out loud all by yourself. Highly recommended.

The CIA will go to any lengths of obtain information on members of the fourth estate. Fletch is blackmailed to bug a convention of his fellow journalists with treats of jail time for not paying income taxes.
Before Fletch arrives in Virginia Walter Marsh, president of the American Journalism Alliance. The grand old man is not the beloved patriarch as portrayed by his grieving spouse. Fletch discovers many of his colleagues have had their careers destroy or hampered by the power Marsh exerts on the industry.
The ending of this one is unpredictable, but it lacks the sparkle of the first two for which McDonald won Edgar awards. FLETCH'S FORTUNE is still a good read.
Nash Black, author of QUALIFYING LAPS.

Irwin Maurice Fletcher, everyone's favorite independently wealthy journalist, con artist, author, art researcher, and sleuth (not necessarily in that order), once again finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place -- this time the "rock" being the CIA, the IRS, and the threat of prison for tax evasion ... and the "hard place" being a national journalism convention at which Fletch has been forced to spy on his former colleagues. Things only get more complicated when prominent publisher Walter March is found lying face up with a pair of scissors in his back -- and all the conventioneers are trying to beat the police to the scoop.

The third volume in Gregory Mcdonald's delightful Fletch series, Fletch's Fortune is as fresh and engaging as the two Edgar Award-winning novels that preceded it. Mcdonald's excellent storytelling skills are on display, as the book is chock full of snappy dialogue, quirky characters, and clever twists and turns along the way. I dare you to put it down.

If you liked the Fletch movies you will undoubtedly enjoy this read. I recently discovered this book and was so excited to find an entire series of "Fletch" books written in the seventies.
The book reads just like the movies with the same clever dialogue. Pure fluffy fun.

I like Gregory McDonald's Fletch novels (particularly the first ones) - I've read everything by McDonald, including the Flynn and Skylar novels.

Fletch's Fortune lands near the bottom of the list for Fletch novels, so if you're just starting out with Fletch, I suggest starting elsewhere.

If you're like me, and want to read the entire canon, then you'll find some of the classic Fletch wit, and some familiar zingers in here. And, in fact, the story starts out great - Fletch gets blackmailed by the CIA to spy on journalists. It sets up a larger-than-life scenario: An international media mogul is murdered, creating the biggest murder mystery in American history.

But as the story develops, it comes nowhere near its potential. In fact, 70-80% of the book hovers around just 3 or 4 central characters. No huge investigation. No meddling police detectives. No secret service, CIA or FBI interference. No national or global media coverage. No competition for Fletch to solve the murder. In fact, the story is just downright implausible. For all its pomp and circumstance in the opening chapters, it turns into a very hum-drum who-dunnit. It definitely does not deliver on its promise.

So my recommendations:

This novel is just ok - I still enjoyed parts of it. Definitely stay away from both Skylar novels - they are absolutely awful, and loaded with some pretty offensive Bill O'Reilly-style racism and sexism. Also stay away from the last two Flynn novels (a *real* disappointment, since I started out liking Flynn even more than Fletch).

The Fletch/Flynn novel, Confess Fletch, is probably the best in the canon. The first 3 novels - Fletch, Carioca Fletch, and Fletch Too - are all terrific. All the other Fletch novels (Widow Bradley, Moxie, etc) all land in the 3.5-4 star range.

Enjoy!

Another great book in the Fletch series. Fletch's failure to pay income taxes forces him to spy on his fellow jounralists. Of course, there is a dead body and Fletch has an investigation to pursue. Great dialogue, a true treat for Fletch fans.