Flynn [Paperback]

Gregory Mcdonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2003

Ever since F.X. Flynn made his first appearance in Confess, Fletch, matching wits with the inimitable Irwin Fletcher, he has befuddled, infuriated, and amazed his colleagues on the Boston Police force while in pursuit of blackmailers, murderers, embezzlers, politicians, and, occasionally, his fellow policemen.

It might have been an accident that brought down the Boeing 707 over Boston Harbor, virtually in Flynn’s own backyard. But it seems unlikely, with so many potential targets on board: The heavily insured, elderly Federal judge; the has-been British actor; the middleweight champ; the Middle Eastern finance minister. The motive could have been greed, murder, revenge, or even terrorism–and it’s up to the good inspector to get to the bottom of it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Flynn is one of the smartest, gentlest, most sarcastic cops you will ever meet.” --The New York Times

“Much more than a tough sarcastic cop.” --The Washington Post

From the Inside Flap

Ever since F.X. Flynn made his first appearance in Confess, Fletch, matching wits with the inimitable Irwin Fletcher, he has befuddled, infuriated, and amazed his colleagues on the Boston Police force while in pursuit of blackmailers, murderers, embezzlers, politicians, and, occasionally, his fellow policemen.

It might have been an accident that brought down the Boeing 707 over Boston Harbor, virtually in Flynn?s own backyard. But it seems unlikely, with so many potential targets on board: The heavily insured, elderly Federal judge; the has-been British actor; the middleweight champ; the Middle Eastern finance minister. The motive could have been greed, murder, revenge, or even terrorism?and it?s up to the good inspector to get to the bottom of it.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375713573
• ISBN-13: 978-0375713576
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #661,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars McDonald's other series character, May 10, 2008

By 

Genevieve Hayes (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flynn (Paperback)

After a Boeing 707 explodes shortly after take-off, unconventional Boston Police Inspector, Francis Xavier Flynn, is called in to investigate.

Inspector Francis Xavier Flynn was first introduced in the second book of McDonald's other series, "Confess, Fletch", and in this book he gets his own novel. Readers of McDonald's "Fletch" novels will, undoubtedly, also enjoy this novel as there are a lot of similarities between the characters of Flynn and Fletch; the humour is very similar; and both are written in the same heavy on dialogue, light on exposition style that makes McDonald's novels so easy to read (as an aside, McDonald's first novel, "Running Scared", was not written in this style - there is very little dialogue in it at all - and I consider it to be my least favourite of his novels that I have read).

Story-wise, this isn't one of McDonald's best. Although McDonald does present the reader with a number of suspects and has Flynn determine the killer from those suspects, I felt he spent too little time with each of these suspects, so that when the killer is finally revealed, it has very little emotional impact. I also found the ending to be anti-climatic. After investing a week of my life into reading this, I wanted something bigger. Still, the journey to the end was interesting enough, and I did like McDonald's terrorist organization, the Human Surplus League (a group that believes that there are too many humans on the planet, and that mass murder is the best solution).

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First novel in the "Flynn" series, August 8, 2000

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flynn (Paperback)

This is the first novel featuring "Francis Xavier Flynn," a Boston police inspector who investigates some most unusual cases. This novel is typical Gregory McDonald, fast paced, often funny and a good mystery. Fans of his "Fletch" series, in particular, should enjoy it.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, Engrossing Book w/ Weak Ending, April 26, 2003

By 

David A. Lessnau (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flynn (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this book. I picked it up because Flynn was the Boston Inspector Fletch worked with/against in "Confess, Fletch" (a very good book). The book is a fun, engrossing read. But, the ending is a bit weak. Oh, the bad guys are found out, but there's no satisfaction in it. Various third parties clean things up once Flynn figures things out, but Flynn doesn't really get to say "I told you so" or to rub someone's nose in their stupidity. Truth, Justice, and the American Way are served, but it's an intellectual service, not a visceral one. Nevertheless, it's still a good book to read.