Customer Reviews

Lawrence Sanders' McNally's Dare (Archy McNally)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"McHally's Dare" by Vincent Lardo is yet another pleasant romp amongst the rich and infamous on the island of Palm Beach by Discrete Inquirer Archy McNally.

The twelfth installment contains a more complex plot as Archy attempts to solve a murder and determine if an apparent heir to a fortune is an imposter, all the while lunching in fashionable bistros and attending parties and benefits.

The eclectic supporting cast is terrific as usual...lending color, intrigue, witty dialog and interesting sidebars.

Archy has no shortage of suspects and eventually brings the truth to light...but not before a couple of reversals, amusing detours and romantic interludes.

"McNally's Dare" is not hard boiled noir...rather a mystery in the wry...easy to enjoy...a weekend diversion...a book for the beach...a guilty pleasure.

Big time fun!

Vince really nailed it with Dare! Writing, plots, and character exposure were right on the money. Unlike some of the earlier efforts, there were no dead spots in this story.

The other reviewers have done a good job in describing the overall plot, so I won't waste your time with more of the same. Having read all of the MaNally series, I'd say this one ranks among the best. All of the usual characters are there, and are given enough exposure that you don't tire of them. I'd like to see Bunky disappear, since he's become more annoying than fun.

The Archy character is more hard edged, and some readers may not like the way he treats people in this story. I've always enjoyed Archy and his dad's chats in the home study, and these did not disappoint. I've also enjoyed Archy's late-evening reflections in his third-floor apartment, and was disappointed that in this story they lacked detail.

The story has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, but some the clues were so obvious that I thought they were intentional curves. They weren't! As a result, the ending was a bit of a letdown, but that doesn't distract from a very good book.

When a waiter is found dead in the swimming pool during a millionaire-intense tennis fund raiser, Archie McNally, all-around investigator to the rich and snobby, is called into action. Clients come quickly and Archie isn't too proud to take them all. But does everyone really want him to find the killer, or is someone hiding a deadly secret?

Archie moves through Palm Beach society, sipping martinis with muckraking authors, exchanging bon-mots with billionaires, and dating beautiful Georgia while still lusting after the lost Connie. Archie making a charming character. He is fixated with his own appearance, sexist to the extreme, frequently contemptuous of those around him (especially of Binky who returns Archie's scorn with love and disloyalty), yet manages to stay sympathetic. Author Vincent Lardo humanizes Archie in McNALLY'S DARE by making Georgia feisty, by a cute scene when Archie's trunks are too large for hunky billionaire Lance Talbot, and by reminding the reader that Archie does still live with his parents.

Those seeking a quick-witted private investigator with an attitude, a way with women (if not quite as much so as he would like to believe) and a clever setting amongst the billionaires of Palm Beach will definitely want to pick up the latest in the McNally series.

It cannot be easy, writing a mystery series and keeping the prose fresh. It has to be even more difficult to take over characters created by another author. Keeping these two points in mind, author Vincent Lardo does a good job in McNALLY'S DARE, continuing a series begun by the late Lawrence Sanders.

In DARE, the story is fresh and, oddly, believable, once the reader accepts that Palm Beach, the place where all of these McNALLY mysteries are set, is a peculiar town. PB forever marches to the beat of its very own drummer--a drummer who uses solid gold drumsticks.

And since, for a time, I had lived in Palm Beach, I can say that Lardo definitely gets its rhythms. The sense of place is perfect and Archy, the protagonist, never fails to be amusing.

In fact, Archy's being, well, arch may be these books' greatest problem. There are times when the dialogue gets too damn cute. Lardo needs to watch this; there is a fine balance between clever and fey.

Still, as with all of the McNALLY books, McNALLY'S DARE is lots of fun.

I have read all of the McNally stories and almost all of Mr. Sanders novels. I believe that Mr. Lardo has done a marvelous job of picking up where Sanders left off. To those who don't see it that way, so be it! Just wish you could open up your minds a bit and allow yourself to keep enjoying these wonderful stories. Dare is highly entertaining if a bit busy. It keeps one guessing about who really "done it" throughout the story. Archy's panache and his love of fine food is strangely comforting and all said and done, these stories are like an old friend, and good company to boot.

Vince Lardo is now up to his fifth in the 12-book Archy McNally --"Discreet Inquirer" to the rich and famous in Palm Beach -- series originated by Laurence Sanders. His mostly credible continuation of the lead character still pleases, as we witness Archy's usual sartorial splendor and wit, his gambols with new love interest, state trooper Georgia, and his drinks with Father and anybody else that comes along. Playing at a posh tennis benefit, Archy is on hand to help discover the drowning death of one of the waiters. The prime suspect, Lance Talbot, newly rich inheritor of his mom's fortune, is alibied by none other than McNally himself. Soon Archy has three employers to look into the matter, one of whom wants to find out if Lance is the real son or an imposter. A missing toe helps solve that puzzle, but many other twists and turns keep us in suspense til right near the end. As usual, our hero adds most of the crime solving initiatives, with just a little help from his pals on the police force. Fending off a writer working with Binky (a frequent foil) trying to imitate his escapades adds some comic relief through much of the tale.

There's little to dislike in this entire set of stories: a reasonably fun leading man with good enough wits to catch the clever bad guys, the "lifestyles of the rich" themes, and the dining, drinking and bedding exploits of our hero, coupled with suspenseful mysteries, add up to unfailingly enjoyable reading. Have at it!

Briefly, I am a big fan of the McNally series as created by Lawrence Sanders and, IMO, Mr. Lardo has never caught the "flavor" of ANY of the characters.
I could go on and on, but briefly, would Simon Pettibone ever call Archy "Archy" in Mr. Sanders' books? Of course not, always it was "Mr. McNally."
And Mr. Lardo has entirely altered the character of "Al," his policeman buddy/sometimes friendly adversary. Of course he has done this with all of the cast. I could go on and on, but, as stated, every single character is changed; although I will admit it would be hard to duplicate Mr. Sanders' witty dialogue and "where's the nearest dictionary" words.
And now Archy is acting occasionally as a PI instead of strictly as a member of his father's firm...in charge of discreet inquiries, of course.
It's enough to take the enjoyment out of these books for me.
If I run across a paperback copy of one of his "Archy" books, I might spend a quarter for it just because of my fondness for the series...but not a penny more.

I missed the detailed description of Archy's dress, his meals, and his Marc and English Oval at night in his room. Also, his policeman friend, Al, was hardly around in this book. The plot was good and kept me interested but it seemed to lack the personal details and daily routine of Archy that makes this series so good.

Lardo is changing McNally's style, in sort of the way Roger Moore changed Sean Connery's version of James Bond. In other words, it gets a little too silly at times. But the story is interesting, involving a rich young man from Switzerland who may or may not be who he claims to be. Another young man ends up dead in a swimming pool at a party, starting the mystery. At one point, McNally is working for three clients at the same time, which I thought would develop into more conflicts of interest than it did (seemed like a lost opportunity for the author). The drama of the second pool party was one of the best parts of the book. Especially when McNally started to count toes.

i just finished mcnally's dare this week. i have read all the books in this series and all of lawrence sanders work. this book has lardo writing more in his own style, rather than that of sanders. it seems to me that he is not quite the same as sanders in description writing, however he has done a fine job of plot and carry through. i will forever miss the vivid and textured descriptions that sanders gave the reader, and fervently hope that lardo will keep archy dressing with savvy and eating the fabulous concoctions by ursi at the mcnally manse and the pettibones at the infamous pelican club