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This Archy - not a 'Goodwin' - solves a crime involving Birds Rather than Orchids |
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Reviewed: McNally's Puzzle By Lawrence Sanders Berkley
Books, New York, ©, 1996. ISBN 0-425-15746-6, Pb. $8.99 Cdn This is one of those books I picked up on a whim, simply because the parrot on the front cover caught my eye while I was shopping for something else. After reading the synopsis on the back cover, I decided it had enough of a “parrot” theme to warrant the $5 sale price expenditure. It’s one of several in a series of mysteries featuring protagonist Archy McNally, the “son” in the law firm of McNally & Son, who looks after the investigative chores of the firm. In this story, one of his father’s clients, Hiram Gottschalk, the owner of a pet parrot store, requests an investigation be made as he feels someone is trying to kill him. The evidence - a picture of he and his deceased wife is destroyed, his favorite record is broken, his pet mynah bird is found strangled - is not something he can take to the police, especially since it’s apparent the person doing this is either a family member or store employee. Before Archy can reach any definite conclusions, Gottschalk is found dead, stabbed through the eyes with a stiletto. Digging deeper, Archy finds odd things going on at the pet store, and a net search for info about endangered parrots results in the firm’s computer system getting hacked. Sanders, a veteran crime writer, weaves a good yarn, and Archy’s unique manner of expressing himself (“leaving me with my flabber totally gasted”, "plussed I was non") injects chuckles throughout the tale. I did find a few holes, some items that I can only assume were meant to be red herrings, but were never explained at the end, which indicates some weakness in the plotting. I might have found that more annoying, but because I am such parrot lover, I find it difficult to dislike any mystery story that involves a parrot. I tend to cut such stories more slack than I would stoires with similar flaws that do not involve parrots. Even with those flaws, it still makes for an enjoyable read, whether you’re a mystery buff or a parrot lover - or even better, if you’re both! - Reviewed by John Geary "It has been estimated that 250,000 parrots are imported annually and legally into the U.S. … illicit trade probably exceeds $25 million annually.”" --
passage from McNally’s Puzzle |
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General Information About African Greys Fiction
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