Customer Reviews

Flynn's in

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I can't figure out why Gregory McDonald's "Flynn" series has paled in comparison to his much more well known "Fletch" novels. Flynn has his own share of fast paced, funny and interesting mysteries. In this case, he investigates a murder among the political elite of his native Boston. Those of you who are Fletch fans, I urge you to give Francis Xavier Flynn a chance.

If you know the Fletch/Flynn series, you know what to expect: a fast-paced murder mystery with some sizzlingly sarcastic dialogue. In this case, Flynn is called in to investigate a murder at a lodge that hosts some of the nation's elite, who want the mystery solved on their terms... terms which don't jibe with Flynn's system.

On the plus side, it's a quick read, entertaining, amusing, and has a couple crossover continuity gags with the Fletch series.

My problems with it: several plot holes (granted, they are loosely addressed, but not satisfactorily), there aren't enough clues available for me (as a reader) to solve the mystery as I go along (though others may disagree) and McDonnald's prose dives headlong into a personal pet peeve of mine: heavy-handed use of passive voice. That last is just a personal preference (passive voice annoys me) and other readers probably won't notice it unless they're trained to look for it.

Worth reading for completionist's sake, but if you're new to the Flynn milieu, start elsewhere, or at least keep your expectaions in check.

I was a big fan of McDonald's FLETCH series in the late 70's and early '80's and then the later FLYNN spin-off's, buying each as the came out in paperback. But somehow this title escaped my attention until recently.

To begin with the positive, FLYNN'S IN is filled with McDonald's trademark bantering dialogue and light tone.
And this mystery, which involves murders at a secluded lodge peopled by the uber-wealthy and who pull the strings of power in our country seems even more timely now than when this book was published back in '84.

But as a mystery this book is a rather frustrating read. McDonald's story is riddled with plot holes, contradictions and implausibilities. His cast of suspects are sloppily introduced and have wafer-thin characterizations so they remain a confusing blur. As a reader, I ended up having little involvement in the murder mystery's outcome since it was so hard keeping track of the characters.

This isn't a bad book for readers who want a fix of a McDonald book they may have also missed, but it's not the best introduction to a reader wanting to experience McDonald at his best.

Gregory McDonald is an excellent writer, with wit and inventiveness... His Flynn series is AT LEAST as good as the Fletch series.