I, every now and then, like a hard-boiled detective story – and this one almost harkens back to the beginning of that genre in the 30’s. When Lawrence Sanders, author of a lot of those books, was no longer writing, Vincent Lardo continued one of his most famous / best series – the Archy McNally novels.
Set in Palm Beach, the cover of this one indicates its hard-boiled status – 4 playing cards, 3 kings and a queen. It’s full of all the stuff we read these books for: interesting, and some whacked out, characters; descriptions of exotic locales; side stories which usually lead back in, sometimes in several spots; and lots of clues, carefully hidden so we see them only in hindsight.
Beach reading, or maybe desert island reading – hanging out with McNally will switch your brain into a different gear, and you’ll return refreshed!