McNally's Bluff

August 9, 2004
This wacky, waggish whodunit is the sixth McNally title under the able authorship of novelist Lardo (The Hampton Affair
), who took up the reins from the late Lawrence Sanders with 1999's McNally's Dilemma
. When Archy is invited to attend the gala unveiling of an English hedge maze at the Palm Beach home of Amazin' Matthew Hayes—an ex-human cannonball turned carnival impresario (5'4" in heels) married to Marvelous Marlena Marvel, a bosomy sideshow hootchy-cootchy (6'2" in socks)—our hero is flabbergasted to find Marlena dead at the center of the maze. The boorish Hayes hires Archy to investigate his wife's bizarre murder; Archy is also employed by his attorney father, who has recently been consulted by one of the guests at the unveiling about the matter of a contested will. Black-sheep Laddy Taylor is hoping to relieve Carolyn, his 40-something, widowed stepmother, of his father's loot. With a gay gossip columnist, a young bisexual fortune-hunter, a fast-food heiress and her philandering hubby, an ex-caddy turned TV reporter, a husband/wife TV talk show team, and the sexy housemaid heading a list of suspects as colorful as the boutiques along Worth Avenue, snide, irrepressible Archy sets to work unraveling this baffling case. Red herrings proliferate, and legions of adoring McNally faithful will be left shouting, "Bravo! Encore!" Mystery Guild, Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club alternates. Agents, Frank Curtis at Rembar & Curtis and Ellen Geiger at Curtis Brown Ltd.

Richard M. Davidson excels at creating vibrant, engaging characterizations of 30-something characters. Here he capably voices investigator Archy McNally, as well as the young women in his life, Connie and Georgia. Davidson seems to be having genuine fun with all the backbiting, cynical jibes, and eccentric personalities that are hallmarks of the McNally series. The actual mystery, involving "carny folk" and a murder in a big hedge maze, is adequately engaging, but the real attraction of the series remains the crazy interactions of the Palm Beach elite. If witty froth is what you seek, Davidson delivers it here with skill and charm. J.P.M. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine